Accounting I - Active Learning Center

The active learning center I created for my Accounting I classes had two activities on it.  The first activity called "Who has......I have......." was geared to reinforce the chapter terms.  We will be having a quiz on the terms and wanted to use this portion of the active learning center as part of a review for the students.  The students had to use clear speaking tones, listening skills, and their prior knowledge of the terms we had been discussing in class.  The assessment was the students reactions to the questions by raising their hands if they knew the answer but did not have the actual card in their hand with the correct answer on it.  The students were able to help out the students who were unsure of the answer by giving their response.  This reinforced the question and answer to the student who was unsure.  How to play:  Each student picked an index card from a stack that was fanned out.  Each card contained a "Who has" question and a "I have" term that did not match.  The students stood in a semi-circle facing each other so others could hear.  The "Who has" portion of the card was read aloud in a clear, crisp voice.  The card was sometimes read twice to make sure everyone heard the question.  Students would then raise their hand if they knew the answer.  The person who had the card would say "I have" and read the answer.  The activity would continue until all students had read a question and giving an answer.  Good points:  Good activity students really enjoyed it!  Down fall: Start out with one card that has a "Who has" question only to be read by the teacher to start.  It would work out better and create an even flow.

Activity two:  "Complete the Puzzle" activity created by me for groups of 4 students to work together.  Each group received an envelope packet with 2 journals, 1 terminal summary sheet, 2 debit/credit proof sheets, 1 cash proof, and 6 journal entries.  Students were instructed via powerpoint to utilize all four members of the group by each taking on a task to complete the work.  One for the terminal summary calculations, one for journal (1), one for journal (2), and one for proofing the journals.  Students had 15 minutes to complete all the tasks and come up with the right answer.  I (the teacher) monitored the groups and answered brief questions.  All groups enjoyed the activity which reinforced the journals learned in the chapter along with the cash proof, terminal summary and debit/credit proof.  This activity helped to tie the elements of the chapter together and provided a good review for the upcoming test.  Students were monitored throughout the activity by me (the teacher).  Good points:  Students really enjoyed the group activity and helped each other out with the different parts.  They explained a part to the other team members that may not have understood something.  It was good to see the teamwork.  It refreshed the learning focus in the classroom.  Students were very eager to participate in the classroom after the activity.  Even the students that seemed reluctant at first to do the group work, seemed to dive right in and join the others in their group.  Bad points:  Some students were called out of the classroom for sports meetings and could not participate.  They really wanted to be part of it.  I assured them I would come up with more group participation activities.

Top Education Blogs

The education blog that I chose to summarize and blog about was one written by Brittany Maling who's favorite color is green, can figure skate well and when she is bored likes to move.  The link for Brittany's blog is http://www.guidetoonlineschools.com/blog/2011/02/03/real-life-teachers-you-wish-you-had/.  The reason I chose this blog for my posting is the interesting ideas different teachers used with technology.  It is always good to hear what others are doing in the profession I am seeking to obtain.  The blog lists several teachers across different subjects integrating technology into their classrooms making their class fun and exciting.  Becoming creative helps students to choose to take your class especially if it is not a core subject.  Many schools or curriculums struggle with promoting different subjects to students or students show a lack of interest because the course sounds boring.  I believe the best way to get across to students is to take a course and make it something the students would enjoy while getting the information across.  The teacher needs to relate to students and also relate the information to real life.  Students understand if they can relate it outside the classroom.

I watched a movie last night that I have seen numerous times, Mrs. Doubtfire with Robin Williams.  One of the scenes in the movie shows Robin Williams at work playing on the tv stage set with dinosaurs.  He was rapping and singing about the dinosaurs when the owner came in and watch his performance.  This scene in the movie reminds me of teaching and how material can be delivered in two different ways with one of them getting the students attention while the other may not be as exciting.

I hope I can be exciting and memorable to students as the teachers mentioned in the article.  Sometimes a little creativity goes a long way. 

Assessment 2.0

The article on Ed.gov was interesting and hopefully a better wave of testing will be developed.  Assessments are not only in test form but are constantly ongoing.  Assessments should be tied to the four domains and not be just a bubble test.  Students are assessed daily on the information they comprehend, the teacher for the delivery of the information, the lesson for its ability to promote learning and the atmosphere in which the material is presented.  Assessment 2.0 is a more hands on approach to learning with students doing physical tasks not just looking at a flat image on a piece of paper and trying to figure out what is being done.  Students learn using all their senses - the more senses used the better.  This is very true when it comes to special needs students and students with disabilities as well. 

Creating a Common Core set of Standards across all states would make it easier to compare the assessments.  I would think it would be harder to assess the different states if the guidelines were different for each state.  But let's think about the teaching standards in all states.  None of the requirements for teachers are the same in each state.  Therefore the education the teachers are delivering will be different and the out comes different as well.  The young people we are teaching are not cookie cutter students, they are individuals with individual learning styles and individuals learning abilities.  How realible can a test be for students being taught in Nebraska and students being taught in Hawaii?  What about Alaska?  Are the teaching standards and abilities of the teachers the same?  What about the ability of the students?  I do believe if we take a more physical, interesting type assessment approach for students the results may be more accurate than a bubble test. 

The Business Education field contributes to all the other subjects in the school.  Business education actually helps all core subjects in the school by helping students with Business Law (history, english, and science), Computers (typing, math, science and history), Accounting (english and math), Business Math (math and english), etc.  Business Education is a center anchor aiding all other subjects in the school and has become a vital part of education especially with technology.  Business Education is needed now more than ever in all schools. 

First Days of School

Ah, the first days of school.  Since we start our journey of student teaching in the Spring semester, students are already in the routine of school unlike in the fall when they are coming back from 3 months off.  There is however, the beginning of a new marking period (semester) for the students.  Some classes are continuing from last semester and some are new classes, new students and new teachers.  For the classes that are continuing from last semester, the only change is us.  We are the ones that will carry on the classroom rules set in place by the co-op teacher, who are starting in the middle of the learning materials and who need to learn the rules and what is expected.  It is the students that will watch us and make sure we are on the right page.  I looked up various sites to see what other student teachers had to say about their experiences and found quite a few with good advice.

Talk to students, grade papers for the co-operating teacher, talk to the office staff, to other teachers, to other student-teachers in the school working in different departments, and find out what the school offers.  The first days of school in-tale getting yourself acclaimated to the school routine.  The students are use to it, for someone like me who has been out of high school for more than a couple of years, I am the new person. 

For the first days of school, there are the seating charts, school rules, learning the classroom equipment, teaching materials, computer log-ins, parking decals and student teacher ids.  Getting the students into a routine with me at the teacher is something I really look forward to.  I overheard a student say to the co-op that it was nice to have a student-teacher because it gave him a new fresh start with the teacher again when I am done.  I didn't take that negative at all and neither did the co-op.  It actually made us both smile.