Let’s Go to the Zoo!

1. Let’s Go to the Zoo! By Lauri-Anne Abrell My Journey as a Teacher and Learner

2. A Zoo Author: Unknown The polar bearsso white and strong...The spot neck giraffewith a stance so long...Monkeys that swingby their tails in trees...The big grey elephantwith the wrinkled knees...Let's take picturesof one or two,Oh, please,let's go to the Zoo.

3. Introduction • I have always loved going to the zoo. I have been going to the zoo since before I could walk. My parents took me and my brother. I took my children, and will probably take my grandchildren, as well. • The zoo is also the theme of my classroom. The room is decorated with zoo animals and each child has their name on an animal that is taped to the door. I have a wooden plaque just outside my door that says “Welcome to the Zoo!”. • Because I have such a personal connection to the zoo, I chose it for the theme of this project. A trip to the zoo is a good metaphor for my journey as a learner and educator. Walking through the entrance is like entering the doors of elementary school for the first time. The zoo map represents the events and influences in your life that lead you toward the choices that you make in your life. There are many paths to take and each choice that you make influences the next. Finally, there are the animals in the zoo. Like the children I teach, each one is unique with its own strengths, weaknesses, and needs. Each animal has adapted to its environment and must be kept in a similar environment in the zoo in order to thrive. Likewise, children must be taught with their adaptations (previous experiences) and needs (predominant intelligences and learning styles) in mind, so that they may thrive also.

4. Teacher Beliefs Statement • Teaching is a science. Teaching requires knowledge of content, knowledge of best practices, and systematic monitoring of student progress. It is also an art. A teacher needs to make personal connections with her students. She needs to have an understanding of whom the students are, their likes and dislikes, where they have come from and where they want to go. • A teacher needs to create a safe and caring environment, an environment where it is okay to make mistakes and take risks. A teacher needs to find a way to get the best from her students, to find what motivates them and keeps them engaged. • A teacher must create a balance between letting their students know her and maintaining the authority in the classroom. • All students can learn, however, they are all individuals. Each student learns at their own rate, in their own style, and according to their own desires. A teacher’s job then is to accommodate the student so that their individual needs are met. Lessons need to be differentiated to meet the needs of the different skill sets that the students have.

5. Teacher Beliefs Statement cont. • One of the best ways to motivate and engage students in their learning is to use an inquiry approach to learning. A classroom based on inquiry is more apt to be learning centered than teacher or even student centered. An inquiry approach fosters engagement, deep thinking, and true learning. • Educational practice should be critically reflected upon. Critical reflection is taking the inquiry approach of learning and applying it to teaching practices. It is important to examine your practice in order to understand why something went well or why it did not go well. • Data should be collected, analyzed, and reflected upon. The data could include observation, interviews, projects or portfolios. Whatever the form the data takes, the data collected should reflect the higher order thinking skills that we want students to use. • We need to examine our practice, ask our self questions, and experiment with solutions. These solutions need to be tested, as well, to make sure our instruction is as effective as it can be. We need to be life-long learners and critical reflection will help us meet that goal.

6. The Learning Journey • The Learner-At the Zoo Entrance

7. The many paths of the zoo. Which path do I take? Just like the paths in the map of this zoo, life offers many paths. Each path leads to a unique experience which leads to yet another path. There are important people in my life that have led me, either with purpose and aforethought or by chance, to the path that I have followed. My experiences as a learner have influenced my path, and opportunities offered or taken in life have influenced my path, as well.

8. People that have influenced the path I have taken. Mrs. Robinson, my 12th grade English teacher. My grandfather My husband, Tim. My family My parents

9. Family and my path • My family has had a profound effect on the choices that I have made. The values that they emulated and support they gave allowed me to pursue my dreams. • Journal Entry: I always viewed (my grandmother) as a strong independent woman. She did what she did because she wanted to do it. She encouraged her girls and granddaughters to be independent and self-sufficient. My own parents were always encouraging, letting me know, except for the soccer thing, that I was capable of doing whatever I set my mind to. • Sometimes your path gets obscured by the day to day needs of life. Perhaps you lose sight of your goals. That is when it is important to have someone that supports you and can guide you back to the path. • Journal Entry: We had only been there (in Anchorage) a few months when he (my husband, Tim) brought home a registration packet and information for the University of Alaska, Anchorage. Unbeknownst to me, he had promised my mother that he would make sure that I went back to school, and he kept that promise. It took me four years but I was able to complete my degree while having 3 small children at home.

10. Elementary School Babybook Middle School High School As a learner, my path begins at birth and winds through my own experiences in early childhood, elementary, middle, and high school.

11. Me, the Learner, and School I feel that this journal entry sums up how I felt about most of my school years. When I think back through my years in public education, I see myself as the quiet kid that was easily overlooked. I was a good student, self-motivated but didn’t stand out too much in my view. I didn’t cause disruptions. Sometimes I felt the teachers didn’t even know my name, well they knew my name, but they didn’t know me.

12. Me, the Learner, and School • I had a really good start in my education. I went to a Montessori kindergarten. I remember Sister Mary Ellen sitting in the library with me, reading together. I also remember thinking that this is where the real learning was happening and those kids at the kitchen area were just playing around and wasting their time. I have fond memories of my 1st and 2nd grade teachers. I have no recollection of my 3rd or 4th grade teachers at all. It seems that we made no connection whatsoever. I remember 5th grade because the teacher made a negative impression and I asked to be moved from her class. I don’t remember anything significant again until my high school years.

13. Me, the Learner, and High School • Teachers can be either a positive influence or a negative influence. I had a couple of teachers in high school that I vowed to never emulate. I also had some wonderful teachers, my biology teacher, my French teacher, and most especially my 12th grade English teacher, Mrs. Robinson. English was one of my favorite classes in school. It came easy to me. I loved to read and worked really hard to write well. Mrs. Robinson stands out in my mind the most, though, because she made me feel special, when most of the time I felt overlooked. This is what she wrote in my yearbook. • Dear Lauri-of-much-jolly-mental power, • I’ve really enjoyed having you in class. I’ve loved reading your papers. You’re very likely to be a magnificent “scholar” one day. Very best wishes! • Cheers, • Mom R. It is simple, but I took it to heart. I believed her. I wanted to do well for her as well as for myself. She was I teacher that I would want to emulate.

14. Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles Through reflection and study, I have come to understand that my school experiences were heavily influenced by my dominant intelligences and learning styles. • My top 3 intelligences include: • Verbal-Linguistic • Intrapersonal • Logical-Mathematical • My primary learning style: • Sensing-Thinking

15. Multiple Intelligences at the Zoo • A correlation can be drawn between the animals of the zoo and multiple intelligences. Each animal depicted represents and demonstrates a strength of each of the multiple intelligences.

16. Multiple Intelligences at the Zoo Journal Entry: When I look at the description of each intelligence, three of them describe me so well that I am amazed at his accuracy. I am predisposed strongly toward Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence, with strengths in Intrapersonal Intelligence, and Logical-mathematical Intelligence. Spatial Intelligence Inclination for representing ideas visually, drawing and sketching Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence Inclination to activities requiring strength, speed, and hand-eye coordination This elephant is demonstrating it’s spatial ability to create art. The orangutan is demonstrating the ability to use tools and his hands to solve a problem.

17. Multiple Intelligences at the Zoo Logical/Math Inclined toward finding patterns, deductive and inductive reasoning Verbal-Linguistic- Inclined toward speaking, writing, listening, and reading. Journal Entry: As a learner, I am very comfortable with writing, listening, and reading. I love to read to learn and for pleasure. I am not one to write for fun, but when I do write I get very involved. There is no such thing as a short writing assignment with me. Owls have long had the reputation for being wise. But failing that, notice the beautiful pattern on his face! Dolphins have their own language.

18. Multiple Intelligences at the Zoo Intrapersonal Intelligence Inclination for setting goals and monitoring one’s own thinking. Musical Intelligence Inclination for listening, singing, and playing an instrument. Journal Entry: My disposition toward Intrapersonal intelligence is so strong that I have difficulty understanding why others do not have the self-discipline and drive to always do their best as I do. The turtle’s slow and methodical ways remind me of the introspective nature of someone who thinks deeply about his own thinking. This songbird relies on his own musical intelligence to communicate.

19. Multiple Intelligences at the Zoo Naturalist Intelligence Inclination for identifying and classifying living things The wolf is a natural born hunter, as those with a strong naturalist intelligence are often apt to be. Neither of these intelligences would be considered a strength for me as a learner. Interpersonal intelligence Inclination for noticing and responding to other people’s feelings and personalities An individual bee would struggle to survive, but in a hive the bees work together responding to each other’s signals ensuring the hive’s survival.

20. Me the Teacher I have known that I wanted to be a teacher since I was fifteen years old. I had the opportunity to be a teacher cadet as a junior in high school. I loved working with the students and felt I had found my place in the world.

21. Me the Teacher • People that put me on the path toward teaching. • Mrs. Robinson, my 12th grade English teacher was my initial inspiration. • Barrett Smith, a special education teacher in Giessen,Germany, encouraged me to continue my education and follow my dreams. • Tim Abrell, my husband, was the push and encouragement that I needed to turn my dream into reality. • My path toward my education and experience • Indiana University, School of Education 1983-1985 • Giessen Middle School, Educational Aide, 1987-1989 • University of Alaska, Anchorage, School of Education 1990-1994 • Teaching at Private Kindergarten 1995-1996 • Substituting for Mat-Su School District 1996-2000 • Substituting for Prince William County Schools 2001-2004 • Teacher with Headstart 2004-2006 • Kindergarten Teacher at Rockledge Elementary School 2006-2010 • 2nd Grade Teacher at Rockledge 2010-Present

22. Teaching and the Zoo Zookeepers, like teachers with their students, know how important it is to keep the animals engaged. Students need to be challenged and taught with their intelligences and learning styles in mind, just like the animals need to remain challenged by using their intelligence. • Enrichment for the animals at the Denver Zoo www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLAkVkiMM0c • Watch this video to see ways Denver Zoo keeps its animals mentally and physically stimulated and learn why it's important.

23. Teaching using the 8 Intelligences • According to Howard Gardner’s research and Multiple Intelligence theory, everyone is born with all 8 intelligences. All of them are modifiable and teachable.(Silver, Strong, and Perini, 2000) • Each person has a sensitivity or an inclination toward a particular type of intelligence that can be used in a variety of contexts. • Using teaching strategies that accommodate the students’ preference toward their dominant intelligences will insure that they have the best learning experience possible while making connections with the material and developing a deeper understanding.

24. Teaching using Learning Styles • While Multiple Intelligences address the way a student thinks, Learning Styles address the way students learn. According to Jung’s paradigm, the way a person learns is based on how he perceives information, by sensing or thinking, and how he judges or processes that information, by feeling or intuition. (Silver, Strong, and Perini, 2000.) • I agree with Silver, Strong, and Perini when they state “educators should help students develop their unique learning style profile, define individual strengths and weakness, and give advice on how to balance the entire picture”(p. 30, 2000).

25. Teaching and Cultural Issues Journal Entry- When we think of literacy as a part of a student’s culture, we enable ourselves to address the student’s learning with an entirely different emphasis, a much more positive approach to the student’s difficulties. If the teacher is more positive, their attitude will positively affect the student’s attitude toward literacy leading to more student motivation, a condition necessary to learning. • Culture is an important factor to incorporate as a teacher. It is necessary to know where a student has come from and what they bring with them into the classroom. • According to Purcell-Gates, “teachers and schools must accept, believe, and act upon the belief that children of poverty are learners, have been learning since birth, are ready to learn at anytime, and will learn.” Next, teachers and schools must “accept their language as that with which they learn, and use that language to help them begin their education.” Finally, teachers and schools must realize that “speakers will use the appropriate oral language register (or “type” or form) to fit the social context they find themselves in, if they know it” (2002).

26. Teacher as Inquirer Zoologists study the animals in order to better care for them and help with their survival in the wild. Likewise, teachers need to study their students and teaching practices in order to better facilitate their students’ learning. In addition, setting students on their own paths of inquiry will help them to become more successful and productive adults.

27. Teacher as Inquirer Journal Entry- Eye witnesses in a crime are notoriously unreliable. They each see the same event but interpret it differently. It is the same in a classroom. The teacher is speaking but there is the potential for that language to be to be interpreted as many different ways as there are people in the room. • “Teaching requires listening, not merely to your students but to yourself being listened to. Simple assumptions about who students are, what their experience has been and what their current conditions and motivations are all require “attunement.” Teachers have to develop their listening skills and their talking skills more now than at any time I have personally known in education. How one speaks and how one hears are essential factors in how well one teaches.” (Kohl, 2002)

28. Teacher as Inquirer Being aware of your message Being aware of your practice • Just as learning styles are about one’s perception, so is teaching. It is necessary to be aware of how your words and actions are being interpreted by your students. Critical reflection will help you to understand whether or not you are sending, and the students are receiving the intended messages. • Journal Entry- • It has been said that nothing ever changes if you keep doing the same thing over and over. Teaching without reflecting on your practice is the same. Issues just become perpetual frustrations when you do not stop to think about what is really happening. Brookfield says “Length of experience does not automatically confer insight and wisdom. Ten years of practice can be one year’s worth of distorted experience repeated ten times”. (p. 7, 1995) Critical reflection requires asking the tough questions and delving into the underlying issues.

29. Future Teacher Research • 1. What is another way to address multiple intelligences within the curriculum and in lesson plans? • 2. What is a way to address cultural difference within the curriculum and in lesson plans? • 3. What is a way to structure the classroom to encourage student inquiry? • 4. What is a way to structure the classroom to encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning?

30. Summary Reflection • At the beginning of EDUC 612, I believe that I had a basic understanding of critical reflection. When thinking about my thinking, I realized that I had been reflective in my classroom, but the issues that I addressed were primarily behavioral and student performance issues. I collected data as Falk and Blumenreich preached, but did not look at the data with the in-depth questions that the issues deserved. • During the course of EDUC 612 I have come to see critical reflection in a different light. Kohl and Fecho taught me that you have to look more deeply into the social and cultural influences on my perspective and my students’ perspectives. I have to be able to put myself in my students’ shoes to try to be able to understand issues from their point of view. It is too easy to let my own cultural influences color my perceptions of my students. While I cannot discount my own culture, it is part of who I am, I am at least aware that it may color my view, which will allow me to be more critically reflective than I might otherwise be. • As a learner, Purcell-Gates helped me see that it was the culture that I was raised in that influenced my attitude and my perceptions toward literacy. I see it as important because I was raised in a home where it was important. My mother read to me when I was small. My father always had a dictionary out when he did his crosswords puzzles. We had discussions at the dinner table, and more often than not, we ended up going to the encyclopedias to look up one thing or another. Because literacy was such an inherent part of my life, it is hard for me to understand when others do not value it as I do. Purcell-Gates points out that because reading and writing are related to cultural practice, a student’s understanding of literacy, the meaning they make regarding literacy, is an example of a cultural difference, not necessarily a deficit. • This idea of cultural difference instead of deficit affects me as a teacher. When I inquire into my practice, when I ponder data collected, I need to critically reflect upon cultural difference within my classroom. Understanding why a student is truly having difficulty will greatly affect how I go about trying to address the problem. • Also, when I critically reflect upon my practice I need to keep in mind that student’s strengths and weaknesses may be a reflection of their multiple intelligences and learning styles. As a learner and teacher I am most comfortable with Verbal/Linguistic and the Mathematical/Logical intelligences. Silver, Strong, and Perini helped me to understand that all students favor a few intelligences over others. When I critically reflect on my practice, I need to question whether I am teaching from my comfort zone, or if I am successfully meeting the needs of students who learn best using different intelligences and learning styles than I do. • Through reflection on my growth as a learner and a teacher, I find that I am open to new practices, better practices. I am ready to be an inquirer. As I reflect upon my practice this new school year, I will keep in mind what I have learned about perspectives, cultural influence, multiple intelligences, and learning styles. I will try to understand issues from my students’ points of view as well as my own. I will strive to become more disciplined in my inquiry in order to have a deeper understanding of myself, my students, and my practice.

31. References Brookfield, S. (1995). What it means to be a critically reflective teacher. Becoming a critically reflective teacher (pp. 1-27). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Falk, B., & Blumenreich, M., (2005). The power of questions: A guide to teacher and student research. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Fecho, B. (2004). Is this English? Race, language, and culture in the classroom. New York: Teachers College Press. Kohl, H. (2002). Topsy-Turvies: Teacher talk and student talk. (pp. 177-193) In Delpit, L & Dowdy, J.K. (Eds.) The skin that we speak: An anthology of essays on language, culture and power. New York: The New Press Purcell-Gates, V. (2002). “...As soon as she opened her mouth!” In Delpit, L. & Dowdy, J. K. (Eds.), The skin that we speak: An anthology of essays on language, culture and power. New York: The New Press Silver, H., Strong, R., & Perini, M. (2000). So each may learn: Integrating learning styles and Multiple intelligences. ASCD: Alexandria, VA

32. Pictures Dolphins Kissing http://www.squidoo.com/dolphin-gifts?utm_source=google&utm_medium=imgres&utm_campaign=framebuster Elephant painting http://www.google.com/imgres?q=elephant+painting&num=10&hl=en&biw=1517&bih=741&tbm=isch&tbnid=CtDYGDMH2AA4zM:&imgrefurl=http://www.humanflowerproject.com/index.php/weblog/comments/elephant_atelier/&docid=lUcDD5LqzBrJuM&imgurl=http://humanflowerproject.com/images/uploads/elephant-painting.jpg&w=320&h=240&ei=gukOUKKO National Zoo Sign http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Zoo+entrance+national+zoo&start=267&num=10&hl=en&biw=1517&bih=712&tbm=isch&tbnid=YnP-8a_x8N3CrM:&imgrefurl=http://dc.about.com/cs/familyactivities/a/NationalZoo.htm&docid=0cl8zOiuoaHlCM&imgurl=http://0.tqn.com/d/dc/1/G/N/1/Zoosign.jpg&w=160&h=133&ei=l_8OUOHgBYHb0QHI1IC4 National Zoo Map http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Zoo+entrance+national+zoo&num=10&hl=en&biw=1517&bih=712&tbm=isch&tbnid=IygQs99bHkHzgM:&imgrefurl=http://primawan.info/national-zoo-map/&docid=tYv7hWeZCb8hKM&imgurl=http://primawan.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/national-zoo-map.gif&w=560&h=269&ei=-P4OUPnrGYHv0gGlvoDoDQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1150&vpy=22& Owl http://www.google.com/imgres?q=owl&start=75&num=10&hl=en&biw=1517&bih=741&addh=36&tbm=isch&tbnid=gq-9b3tHLaZoIM:&imgrefurl=http://aceofcupsaromatherapy.blogspot.com/2011/11/owl-magic.html&docid=YcO7SmOZaUXRVM&imgurl=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-loAj3KyhpUQ/TsJ4URsy9qI/AAAAAAAAALE/dWdzK9oXUt0/s320/great-grey-owl.jpg&w=300&h=300&ei=QekOUO-uFOO-6QHTl4HoCg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=462&vpy=200&dur=1534&hovh=224&hovw=224&tx=73&ty=243&sig=105112976852942355747&page=4&tbnh=167&tbnw=160&ndsp=30&ved=1t:429,r:17,s:75,i:59

33. Songbird http://www.google.com/imgres?q=songbird&num=10&hl=en&biw=1517&bih=741&tbm=isch&tbnid=TeBdEnlf0OO4TM:&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songbird&docid=gKtVcGIvi2g9nM&imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Eastern_yellow_robin.jpg/240px-Eastern_yellow_robin.jpg&w=240&h=240&ei=aeoOUN_nKpGu6gGK54HgCA&zoom=1&iact=hc Orangutan http://www.google.com/imgres?q=orangutan+using+stick+as+tool&num=10&hl=en&biw=1517&bih=741&tbm=isch&tbnid=pmGucv0TQEm0SM:&imgrefurl=http://www.superstock.com/stock-photos-images/4141-1331&docid=7YNtXpDEH6EOuM&imgurl=http://wwwdelivery.superstock.com/WI/223/4141/PreviewComp/SuperStock_4141-1331.jpg&w=350&h=289&ei=GuoOUL69H4fT6gHg8 Tortoise http://www.google.com/imgres?q=tortoise&num=10&hl=en&biw=1517&bih=741&tbm=isch&tbnid=myV4sRLN8zUDbM:&imgrefurl=http://www.tortoisecentre.co.uk/&docid=SQEcszKvPAFaHM&imgurl=http://www.tortoisecentre.co.uk/images/ProductImages/Web_wm20028.jpg&w=475&h=339&ei=_OgOUImmIcfZ6wHjiYH4AQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1207&vpy=195&dur=1582&ho Wolf http://www.google.com/imgres?q=wolf+stalking+prey&start=128&num=10&hl=en&biw=1517&bih=741&addh=36&tbm=isch&tbnid=frSQGPaq4iH7JM:&imgrefurl=http://thewolfseyes.blogspot.com/2011_10_01_archive.html&docid=3qZidiI-Mjqt1M&imgurl=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3PLMXs4hALs/TpwiQRC8WfI/AAAAAAAAAGg/ACdEBUsN6Mg/s Worker Bees http://www.google.com/imgres?q=worker+bees&num=10&hl=en&biw=1517&bih=741&tbm=isch&tbnid=VESJpPjQAqEmkM:&imgrefurl=http://www.roseofsharonfarm.com/beeKeepingEntry-2.html&docid=6jd6T5HfAQkBrM&imgurl=http://www.roseofsharonfarm.com/rosImages/beeImages/beeLesson2Images/worker-bees.jpg&w=600&h=400&ei=n-oOUJzgK9Cd6AGc8YHYDA&zoom=1&iact=hc&

34. Zoologist http://kids.britannica.com/elementary/art-90497/A-zoologist-goes-underwater-to-study-a-mammal-called-a Poem- A Zoo http://www.scrapbook.com/poems/doc/23847/110.html