Teaching Portfolio for John Emanuelson

 Technology is ubiquitous in the 21st century. It permeates every aspect of life from work to leisure and education is not stranger to this either.  Just as society continues to embrace technology, to the point of what, in my opinion, feels like a sort of fetishization , teachers will have to do the same as well.  This is for a variety of reasons such as the gradual movement towards distance and/or hybrid learning and the increase in efficiency that technology promises.   This video shows some of the technology that I use in my classroom such as an interactive whiteboard, a Chinese version of Class Dojo, and power points utilizing a variety of media to present material in more than one way.  Videos, animations, and GIFs are all a popular way to deliver information in a variety of manners that supersede and will eventually eliminate the traditional lecture.   To be honest, just like the IBM Selectric typewriter and the floppy disk, the things ...

Education is now seen as being tantamount to success.  People who are able to attend and graduate from university have a higher income than those that do not.  Likewise, through a variety of surveys and reported opinions in a variety of media publications, university graduates are reported to have a greater civic participation and overall quality of life .  No longer is it enough to just have a high school diploma and one day in the future, it might not be enough to have a bachelors degree .  As the level of knowledge required to function in an increasingly technologically driven society increases exponentially, the skills that secure employment will become even more important. However, in my opinion, employers will still link many of these skills with credentials.   Therefore, parents and politicians will be put even more emphasis on ensuring future generations' learning.   To meet these demands, ideas and industries have proliferated on how to...

Education does not happen in a vacuum.  Just as with abortion, gun control, and civil rights, it is a politically charged topic that inflames passion on all sides of the spectrum. Political bodies often pass laws for a variety of reasons, which in turn can create a confusion as well as a greater workload for teachers.  The Chinese government, in a bid to arrest the decline in its population , has issued a series of decrees on education.  During the summer of 2021, it practically abolished the after-school education industry.  The reason given by the government was the amount of spending by parents on this sector was a cause of families only having one or no child. By eliminating this industry, it is hoped that parents will feel that they have a greater amount of capital and might be willing to increase the size of their family.   Likewise, the government has also changed the amount and type of homework given to primary and secondary students.  My vid...

Often times, as teachers, it feel as though we are stretched to our limits.  Between the number of students, the marking, and the need to meet administrative requirements, it often feels as though we might be missing what is happening.  One way to counteract this is to write a case study on your student(s).  By doing this, you can get a greater amount of detail that may have gone unnoticed prior to writing it.   These are  3 case studies  of my students.  Each student represents a different level in my class.  The first student, Flora, is a gifted student that needs to have extra material prepared to avoid boredom.  William is a student who might have ADHD.  He acts impulsively and can be aggressive towards both teachers and other students. Finally, Rain is a very low level student who speaks virtually no English.   This was written at the beginning of the school year and it was a reflection of my concerns as a new teacher...

As a teacher or in life, you have come across someone with a learning disability.  Globally, somewhere between five to nine percent of the population has a learning disability .  Dyslexia  (15-20%) and ADHD (9.4% in the USA) are the most common ones amongst children,  In the past, children would have been removed from the general population and assigned to special education classes .  However, that is no longer the case any more.  Students with learning disabilities, unless absolutely necessary, are no longer excluded.  Instead, as inclusivity becomes more widely practiced, students with learning disabilities are being included as often as possible in general education classrooms.  This is beneficial for them since it means that they are no longer being singled out, but instead are being given the support they need.  Likewise, it is g ood for students who do not suffer from learning disabilities since it gives them a chance to interact wi...

One of the most common problems in the classroom is what to do when you see a student struggling. How do you help?  How much help should you provide?  Where should you start?  Is it one thing the student is struggling with?  Is it a variety of tasks?  Are the student's struggles a result of gap in knowledge from a prior grade?  As you can see, even though teachers feel passionately and want to help all of their students succeed, there are so many questions about how to do this.   This can be especially true with regards to students learning English as a second language (ESL).  Even though many classrooms have rules about only using English and not communicating in their mother tongue, students often switch back and forth between their native language and the language they are learning.  This is a reason why it is best to learn a new language at a young age.  Students only need to develop one language acquisition center (Broca's area...

In prior years, physical strength or the ability to memorize significant amounts of information might have been critical elements in the workforce.  However, technical knowledge has overtaken this I believe.  Comfort using and manipulating a variety of applications and platforms will be essential by 2030 .  Therefore, it is essential that teachers know how to use technology as well.  Far too often, the desire to use technology is there, but no the ability.  To counteract, this schools must train teachers.  This VLOG is a synthesis of four interviews that I conducted with teachers at my school and the survey results of students in my class.  I asked the four teachers questions about the importance of technology in the learning environment and how they use it.  I also surveyed my students on their interests and the technology they use at home.  The video below has the results of the interview and the surveys.  

I think it is safe to say that nowadays it is frowned upon for a teacher to stand in front of a class and lecture.  No longer do we want students to sit and passively absorb information.  Instead, we want them to be more than just members of the audience.  We want students to take ownership of their learning and become active participants i the process.  To do this, teachers need to make their lessons more student-centered.   However, designing student centered activities can be a difficult endeavor.  This is a link to a  Wakelet  that I collaborated on with my cohort.  It has strategies to make assessment, teaching reading, the design of the physical environment and use of technology, differentiation, and collaboration more student-centered.    I am excited to try these different methods out in the classroom in the future.  

In the beginning of the year, I produced a case study on three of my students.  This case study follows up on one of them,  William,  but in greater detail.  I attempted to analyze the school, the role of culture, as well as his speaking, listening, reading, phonics, and socio-emotional abilities.  In addition, I looked at a variety of techniques that could help him in these areas.   I am happy to report that even though William continues to struggle with reading and listening, he has shown improvements in his phonics and socio-emotional skills.  He is less aggressive and is trying harder to write even though mastering penmanship is a difficult skill for him.   This case study was produced on an app called Emaze.   

As society's reliance on technology increases, it changes the path of education.  A wide array of pundits believe that we will move away from the traditional model of school, which t rained people for factory work , and towards a different paradigm that values problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, and an ease with using many different modes of technology.  This new paradigm could also be referred to as 21st Century skills.   (Source: Teachtought.com. (2022). 3 Knowledge Domains for the 21st Century Student. https://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/knowledge-domains-for-the-21st-century-student/) In this  video , I cover this change as well as what I think the five biggest challenges for students will be in the future.  

Lesson plans are an essential feature of teaching.  They dictate the direction that the class will take as well as ensure a teacher is prepared for that class.   (Source: Secondary English Coffee Shop. (2021). Simple Steps for Effective Lesson Planning. https://secondaryenglishcoffeeshop.blogspot.com/2018/10/simple-steps-for-effective-lesson.html) Just as teaching is changing, so too is the physical environment.  Therefore, I have included the  original lesson plan ,  a lesson plan for the physical classroom , a lesson plan for  blended learning , and a lesson plan for r emote learning  in this blog.  

For me, this topic was quite fascinating.  In Asia, game based learning has not been embraced as immediately as it has in the west.  That being said, I think it is beginning to catch on, just not in the English departments that I have worked in so far.   However, I do like the idea of designing a video game that students can play to supplement the material they have studied, in this case the  haunted house chapter . I also tried to use characters they are familiar with and make the game require collaboration since getting students to collaborate can be difficult.  

  Just as technology has become an essential part of the education process, so too has project based learning (PBL).  PBL is a wonderful way to engage students and get them to ownership of their learning.  It is student centered since students come up with a question and from there, using a variety of means, research the question to find an answer or solution. Below is an infographic about the benefits of PBL.   (Source: Magnify Learning. (2021). What is Project Based Learning?. https://www.magnifylearningin.org/what-is-project-based-learning) The  PBL , including rubrics , was created for a first grade class, but it is part of a great collaborative  STEAM  project. 

To be an effective educator, one must plan for a variety of factors. It needs to include norms, procedures, routines, transitions, technology, and ways that one will communicate with parents, since these are all critical facets of the job.   This plan should be created before the school year starts and reviewed periodically through out the year.  From there, it can be amended and improved for the following school year.  Obviously, this process is always ongoing.   This is my  plan  for managing the learning environment. 

In my cohort, we discussed three strategies for managing student behavior.  They were Whole Brain Teaching (WBT), socioeconomic learning (SEL), and professional learning communities (PLC).  Below are two videos role playing a disruptive student in the physical environment (part 1) and disruptive students in the remote environment (part 2) and how the PLC collaborates to come up with strategies to effectively modify their behaviors.   PLC Video (Part 1) PLC Video (Part 2)

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) are a prime cause of traumatic stress.  According to a  recent survey , 64% of the respondents have undergone some type of ACE.  Therefore, understanding what ACEs are, how they can negatively affect student outcomes, what the symptoms of traumatic stress are, and how to provide support to students who are suffering from traumatic stress is critical.  This is a  Coggle  on how to help students with traumatic stress.  

( Screenshot of Classroom Dojo ) Besides creating an effective learning environment plan (LEP), teachers need to know how to implement and utilize technology to effectively manage the learning environment.  There are many apps out there that can help with this.  Below are two of the apps that I talked about in a video presentation.  ( Screenshot of Smart Seat APP ) ( Screenshot of Quizlet ) In my video, I explore two such apps, Smart Seat and Quizlet and how these apps can be used in both the physical and virtual classrooms.    

Students misbehavior has been a factor in classrooms for time immemorial.  How we deal misconduct, however, has changed.  No longer is corporal punishment or shaming considered to be acceptable options.  Instead, there has been a shift towards understanding the mindset of the student and collaborating with the student and his or her parents to solve problem behaviors.  This is a  plan  to help a 6th grade student  Samantha .