Tayabas Western Academy

Founded 1928

Recognized by the Government

Candelaria, Quezon

A PORTFOLIO

IN

STUDENT TEACHING

BACHELOR OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

BEED

Trisha Reign V. Gonzales

May 2023
A Portfolio in Teaching: A Compilation of

Observation and Experiences in

Teaching Elementary Pupils

A Portfolio Presented to the Faculty of the

College Department of Education

TAYABAS WESTERN ACADEMY

Candelaria, Quezon

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

of the Course Leading to the Degree of

Bachelor of Elementary Education

BEEd

By:

Trisha Reign V. Gonzales

May 2023

Mrs. Josephine Arquiza

Supervising Instructor
APPROVAL SHEET
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The pre-service teacher is very grateful to GOD ALMIGHTY for without His

graces and blessings, this teaching practicum would not have been possible.

Immeasurable appreciation and deepest gratitude for the help and support

are extended to the following persons who, in one way or another, have contributed

in making this teaching portfolio possible.

Dr. Rufino L. Tanio, Dean of the College Faculty of the Tayabas Western

Academy, for his steadfast supervision, exemplary leadership, and support for future

educators.

Mrs. Aileen O. Tolentino, Tayabas Western Academy Elementary Principal and

College Instructor, for allowing pre-service teachers to practice their skills and for

being approachable with the queries despite her overburdened schedule;

Mr. Aeron James T. Lector and Mrs. Carene E. Jusay, the aspiring teacher’s

cooperating educators at Tayabas Western Academy Elementary, for their valuable

assistance, insightful suggestions, and remarks that helped improve the pre-service

teacher’s learning plans and teaching practices;

Mrs. Josephine Arquiza, Candelaria Elementary School Annex 1 & 2 Principal

and their Practice Teaching Supervisor, for the constant support she provided by

sharing her knowledge and meaningful experiences, as well as by cultivating the

pre-service teacher’s optimistic attitude towards life, which prompted them to

complete their teaching practicum;

Dr. Thelma O. Magnayon, former Dean of the College Faculty of the Tayabas

Western Academy, for sharing her expertise in the field of teaching and for the

words of encouragement and inspiration extended to them;

T.R.V.G.
 DEDICATION

This work is the result of countless and tremendous sacrifices. Through the pre-

service teacher’s efforts, this work is sincerely and proudly dedicated to the

individuals who serve as their inspiration. From parents and guardians, to

classmates and groups of acquaintances, who extend their support and assistance

in the midst of difficulties during her teaching practicum journey.

To the instructors and staff of Tayabas Western Academy and Masalukot 1

Elementary School. Above all, to the Almighty God, who conferred His blessings on

our daily lives, notably for the strength, courage, compassion, wisdom, time, and

guidance in the fulfillment of this portfolio.

T.R.V.G.
INTRODUCTION
RESUME
 MISSION, VISION, AND CORE VALUES OF TAYABAS WESTERN ACADEMY 

MISSION

The TAYABAS WESTERN ACADEMY, the School of Choice provides quality

education that promotes a culture of excellence and instills positive values for

responsible and productive citizenship.

VISION

To be globally competent, confident, competitive, and proactive learning

community in nation building.

CORE VALUES

The TAYABAS WESTERN ACADEMY lives these core values, a central

belief of the school community:

Love of God and Country

Love is a choice. It is decision demonstrated by action. To love God means to

obey His word, trust His power and worship Him.

Love for Country includes the land, natural resources, and the people. To love

your country means to preserves its customs and traditions, take pride in its history,

obey the laws, and remain faithful to certain values such as respect for the flag.

Academic Development

An environment is created to provide academic support which enables

students to reach their potentials, develop skills, strategies and behavior needed to

perform as confident independent and active learners..

Respect for All

Actions for everyone in the school community show concern for the worth of

oneself all others, the school, the learning process, and the environment.
Good Moral Character

Behavior of everyone should enhance the educational welfare of all students

and everyone in the school community. Following school rules will help us make

choices that develop good moral character. Character education involves instilling

through instruction and example, desirable ethical character traits, which constitute

good citizenship.

Physical Wellness

Physical wellness involves your body’s own uniqueness, connecting with your

physical self, knowing principles of good health, avoiding harmful habits, and

engaging in practices that move us toward a higher level of health.

EXAMPLES OFLESSON PLAN
EXAMPLES OF CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
EXAMPLES OF CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
OBSERVATION AND EVALUATION SHEETS
BEST LESSON PLAN USING CREATIVE STRATEGY WITH SET OF MATERIALS
LEARNER’S WORK AND FEEDBACK
 Professional Readings

NAME: Gonzales, Trisha Reign V. DATE: February 18, 2023

How to Factor the ‘Real World’ into the Mathematics Teaching Equation

 Ask your students to find the mathematics in their own lives

Before you decide to change the entirety of mathematics education in the

space of a single lesson, get your students to do some of the work.

It’s easy for students to default to the ‘We Will Never Use This in the Real

World’ mindset when they’re having trouble with mathematics, or when they’re

simply not up to learning on a particular day. They shouldn’t get off that easily

though.

 Have they ever actually looked for mathematics in the real world?

 Have you ever asked them to find mathematics in the real world?

Chances are the answer to both questions is no. Often, our first response to

accusations of irrelevance is to rally our defenses and start getting a

bit too passionate. (‘It’s relevant, I SWEAR. YOU’LL THANK ME ONE DAY!’).

But the discovery of mathematics in the real world is so much more powerful

if it comes from the students themselves. So don’t feel as if you automatically have

to justify the existence of the mathematics as a subject. Put it back on your students

instead.

Try challenging them to find three things they have done at home that involve

mathematics of any kind, and then to share these with the rest of the class as a

weekly activity. Students will come to realize that the real world connectivity of

mathematics is truly limitless.

Of course, you have a part to play in this too. You might also try to…

1) Use mathematics to create resources that help students in the real world

You might succeed in getting students to realize that they are already doing

mathematics outside of the classroom, but the next step is to prove to them that
there are other effective ways of using mathematics for your own benefit in everyday

life.

The simplest example is a timetable. Between music lessons, sport,

homework, play dates, family commitments and so on, kids these days manage out-

of-school lives so complex that they basically need a full-time PA (unfortunately

that’s just another part of a 21st century Mum’s job description).

Have students timetable their before and after school activities, and you get

them actively using division for a real life purpose. Naturally, this also teaches them

a thing or two about time management.

The list of potential applications only continues to grow as students get older.

For example, a personal budget or basic financial plan is an invaluable asset as

more and more of our students come to us with bank accounts, part-time jobs, and

mobile phone plans.

Putting together something that students can actually use highlights that math

isn’t just ‘out there’, only occasionally surfacing when we need to count up some

loose change. Instead, mathematics is something students can actively engage with

in order to live better lives.

2) Set homework that engages with real world mathematics skills

Homework is the perfect opportunity to teach mathematics for the real world.

After all, students are literally using mathematical reasoning outside of school hours

and in a non-classroom environment. At last, they’re in the ‘real world’.

Yet we often persist in setting homework that is really just a continuation of

classroom activity. Finish off the worksheet, complete the review questions in the

textbook, move onto the next chapter… you get the idea. Why not take advantage of

the home environment by getting students to engage with the mathematical

concepts that make a home function? Here are a few ideas:

Budget for the week’s grocery shopping. The fact that most supermarkets

have a full online catalogue makes this so much easier because it can be fully
planned out with as much time as necessary. And it can’t be all candy either. A few

parent-specified items on the list will force them to accommodate mandatory costs.

Cook to a recipe. The perfect opportunity to practice measurement with a

real, edible incentive. This one has the added bonus of winning over parents too!

Simply counting items around the house is a super easy strategy in the younger

years that gets them to see the numerical properties of the physical environment. As

they get older, you could set more complex activities – such as a fantasy bedroom

renovation to scale.

Take advantage of the home environment wherever possible. The added

benefit is that these activities get parents and families involved, so that mathematics

becomes a collaborative real world activity, as opposed to a solitary one.

 Link mathematics to other areas in the curriculum

It’s not hard to understand why students perceive mathematics to be in a

world of its own. It uses an entirely different language to other subjects and requires

its own methods of problem solving and reasoning.

If we link mathematics to other subjects in the curriculum, we show our

students that mathematics doesn’t stand alone. It’s part of an integrated system of

knowledge that helps us to understand the world.

I once observed a Mathematics teacher and an English teacher team-teach a

lesson on picture books. Student minds were blown when they saw them in the

same classroom, but their respective teaching points came together in a way that no

one would have predicted (including myself).

The mathematics teacher first got the students to analyze the composition of

the pictures in the book. Students overlaid the images with a grid and used this to

discuss the way certain objects were given primacy over others, and how one’s eye

would be drawn to specific features for emphasis.

The English teacher then used this to springboard into a discussion of

students’ emotive and critical responses to the pictures, which then informed an

interpretation of the accompanying text.

It was nothing short of genius. Students’ interpretations of the text were so much

richer with the input of both subjects, and they left the class having seen that math

wasn’t just a series of cold, hard rules governing an abstract world.

Mathematics had actually made them think and feel. Is there anything more

‘real world’ than that?

Use your colleagues outside the mathematics department. Yes, cross-

curricular collaboration takes time and coordination that are often in short supply, but

the rewards are worth it.

 Use real life examples

Last but not least, it’s worth taking a step away from the textbook and into real

life during your actual content-centered teaching.

Instead of explaining a concept in the abstract, you can link it back to any

number of the countless real world phenomena that revolve around mathematics in

one way or another. Word problems and research activities can do the trick, but you

might up the game by using a physical, tangible real life resource in (or out of) the

classroom.

Let’s say you’re teaching patterns. Chances are that somewhere in the school

there is a pattern in the built environment. It might be a tessellated floor, the pavers

outside, or even just a brick wall. Instead of working off a photocopied, you can use

this as an authentic resource. You could have students:

Continue the pattern, either on paper or maybe using hands-on material.

Describe it to a partner who has not seen it, who can then try to replicate it

according to their instructions.

Use chalk or an erasable marker to identify other familiar shapes within the

pattern.

Reference: [Link]
the-mathematics-teaching-equation/?fbclid=IwAR0GjL3Px7R0A9VA4ZIGxWBkbcnwkodoL5
hdc00Y9PvSPMJ0EeUSKlG2sSg
NAME: Gonzales, Trisha Reign V. DATE: February 23, 2023

How to Use Formative Assessment in Your Classroom: 5 Effective Ways

 What is Formative Assessment?

Formative assessment refers to a set of methods teachers use to monitor the

in-process progress of students. Formative evaluation monitors a student’s

comprehensive review, including academic, special needs, etc.

Using formative assessments in the classrooms help teachers to assess the

academic growth of a student in different manners, like:

 Which subjects a student finds hard to learn?

 What are the learning standards of the individual students in the classroom?

 Which skills do they find difficult to acquire?

Once teachers run the assessment, they can adjust the lessons based on

individual students’ needs and objectives.

In short, formative assessment is something that teachers ask or do to gather

information about a student. For example, asking your students to raise their hands

if they have any doubts is also a type of formative assessment.

 Formative Assessment Examples

Without even knowing, you conduct various formative assessments in your

classroom. Here are a few common formative assessment examples:

1. Asking your students to mention subjects or topics that they find hard to

understand.

2. Providing a specific worksheet or journal to students for expressing their

thoughts.

3. Requesting class monitors to evaluate the performance of their in-mates.

4. Asking students to self-evaluate their growth and performance, etc.

 Types of Formative Assessments

a) Quizzes. Impromptu quizzes are the most preferred way for conducting

formative assessments. After teaching a lesson, many teachers ask for

 quizzes to know how many students have understood the concept.

b) Entry Slips. Before starting a new lesson, teachers can ask questions to check

how much students already know. This helps teachers assess the teaching level

that they should use to make students understand a lesson.

c) Exit Slips. Teachers use this formative assessment technique at the end of a

lesson. In this approach, students are requested to write down a few points or

share opinions on the lesson. This will allow teachers to evaluate how much

students have learned and what they missed.

d) Tag Feedback. It is a peer assessment method where students evaluate each

other’s performance. Tag feedback provides in-depth feedback as students can

discuss with their peers better than their teachers.

e) Interviews and Group Discussions. You can host a one-on-one interview with

your students after a significant period to understand their needs. Having a 10-

minute interaction with your students can help you know a lot about them.

Besides this, you can organize group discussions to get better insight into your

students’ overall development.

f) Practical Exercise. Teachers can ask students to use the lesson in the real

world. With this exercise, students can learn to implement an academic lesson in

an actual situation. Plus, teachers get to know whether students understood the

basic concept or not. 9. Surveys Another formative assessment method is

asking students to take a small survey after the class. You can also send an

online survey to parents. This will expand the scope of your assessment.

 How to Deploy Formative Assessment Strategies in Your Classroom?

The success of your formative assessment strategies depends on how you

deploy them. So, it is critical to implement formative assessments in the correct

order in your class, such as:

1. Define performance criteria

Teachers should explain the performance evaluation criteria to students to

work on self-improvement. For example, describe the requirements to grade test

papers to students. Teachers can also hold class-wide discussions to define the

performance criteria.

2. Boost students’ self-evaluation

It would help if you asked students to use the preset criteria to evaluate their

own progress. This practice will save time and make students understand their

shortcomings. Teachers should ask students to rank their best work to find their

strengths.

3. Provide comprehensive feedback

The best feedback is corrective and forward-looking. So, don’t only pinpoint

problematic areas in your feedback. You should also provide a detailed solution to

overcome the problem. In addition, share feedback over feedback to confirm

whether students have learned something from previous feedback.

4. Encourage peer discussions

Teachers should invite students to discuss the formative learning process

together. These discussions help teachers understand students’ concerns on

courses and respond to them. Teachers can get insightful information through group

discussions to define learning goals.

5. Collect constant data

You cannot provide accurate feedback to students based on past information.

You need the latest data to help students and design formative assessment

strategies. Thus, you should feel free to collect relevant data from students to

provide the correct feedback. Teachers should make a constant effort to monitor

their students’ performance.

Reference: [Link]
classroom/
NAME: Gonzales, Trisha Reign V. DATE: March 06, 2023

The Best Methods for Teaching Reading in Kindergarten

Reading is one of the most important skills children need to learn in school.

Reading gives them knowledge about the world and helps them learn about subjects

such as science and history. It also helps them with their future studies and career

options. As such, teaching how to read is one of the most important subjects in the

earlier grades. In fact, it’s one of the first subjects children learn. Reading is

foundational, and it’s one of the first skills children begin learning. In order to teach

how to read, you must make sure your students have the tools they need. Different

methods can be used to help children become better readers.

 Teach Phonics

  Phonics is one of the best methods for teaching in kindergarten. Even if a

child learns to read words by sight, they still need to know how to use phonics.

Phonics teaches children about how words are pronounced and what the word’s

letters sound like. Even if children learn to decode words by sight, they still need to

know how to use phonics, which teach them about how words are pronounced and

what the words’ letters sound like. For example, “K-I-T” is pronounced as “kit,” while

“C-A-T” is pronounced as “cat.” After they learn these rules, children can figure out

which letter corresponds with each sound, so they can read any word correctly.

 Help Kindergarten students Build Their Vocabulary

  One of the best ways to teach reading is by helping children build their own

vocabulary. A large vocabulary leads to a better comprehension and proficiency in

all language arts skills—not just reading, but also writing and spelling. Children need

to know at least 5,000 words before they start kindergarten, experts say. It’s

important for kindergarten teachers to focus on teaching their students new words

and expanding their vocabulary. This can be done through games that use word

cards or through word work activities. In this way, children will learn new words with

meaning and context as they play these games or complete these activities.
 Teach Sentence Repetition

  One way to teach children how to read is by using sentence repetition. With

this method, children repeat sentences as they are read. The sentences should be

short and simple at first. As students get better at repeating the sentences, the

sentences can get more complex. This may take a little practice on their part but it is

worth it in the long-run. In order to teach reading, you need to know what methods

work best for your students. Some people might find sentence repetition more

helpful than others so you’ll want to experiment with different methods until you find

one that works for your class.

 Give Fluent Reading Practice

The fluency of a reader depends on how quickly, smoothly, and accurately

they read. The more fluent the reading is, the easier it will be for the student to

comprehend what they are reading. Fluent readers can use context clues to figure

out unfamiliar words and comprehend what they are reading without having to rely

on their teacher or parent.

One of the best methods for teaching how to read in kindergarten is giving

your students fluent reading practice. Letting them read books out loud to you while

you follow along with the text helps develop this ability. This type of fluent reading

practice also allows them to get feedback on their pronunciation, which can help

them improve as a reader. For example, telling your students when they

mispronounce a word, or when they don't read fluently enough can be very helpful in

improving their skills.

 Have Daily Reading Rituals

The biggest thing you can do to help your students become better readers is

have reading rituals in your classroom. Reading to students is one of the best

methods to teach them how to read. As such, it should be a daily ritual at school and

home. In order to have a successful reading ritual, you must make sure that the

book or story is appropriate for the age group and skill level of the reader. For

kindergarteners, books with simple sentences are typically best..

 Teaching Children to Read: 7 Creative Ideas for Your Classroom

There’s no one best way to teach young students how to read. Learning to

read is a developmental process that takes time. Every child learns differently, so it’s

important to incorporate different teaching strategies to hold their attention and keep

them interested in learning.

Teaching students to read doesn’t always have to be about formal lessons or

worksheets. In fact, sometimes the best lessons are learned when children don’t

even realize they are learning.

Here are some practical ideas you can incorporate into the classroom to help

your students become independent readers.

1. Display letters and words around the classroom

Children are naturally curious. Displaying different words and letters around

the classroom encourages students to ask questions about the words and learn

without even realizing they’re learning. Try labeling objects around the room like

windows, doors, chairs, and whiteboards, or pinning words like ‘black’, ‘red’ and

‘blue’ to the wall, with the font being in that color. Children will learn to associate the

words with the objects they see.

2. Create word families

Word families are words that rhyme. Teaching students about word families

helps them see patterns in text and encourages them to begin reading by grouping

sets of letters within a word. Once they recognize the word ‘hop’, they’ll be able to

find patterns in rhyming words like ‘top’, ‘pop’ and ‘stop’.

A fun way to incorporate this activity into the classroom is by playing a game

using a corkboard. Write a list of words on the left-hand side, and the second list of

words that rhyme with them on the right-hand side (you could even try using a theme

for the words, e.g. Christmas-related words in December). Place pins beside each

word and have students link a piece of string from the pin of a word on the left, to the

rhyming word on the right-hand side. Not only is this a fun activity to help students

learn about word families, it also helps develop their fine motor skills.
3. Play decoding games

Decoding is the process of sounding words out. Once a child has learned the

sounds that each letter, or group of letters, make, they’ll be able to begin putting

words together. Learning to decode is an important step in learning to read, as the

more students decode words, the more quickly they’ll be able to automatically

identify words. To make the process of decoding a little bit more fun for students,

consider incorporating games into the process. This can be as simple as buying little

finger puppets for the students and having them wear them while pointing to the

letters as they sound them out.

4. Teach phonemic awareness

Phonemes are the smallest sounds in the English language, made of

consonants, short vowels, long vowels, and digraphs like ‘th’, ‘sh’ and ‘ch’. Children

must learn how different letters make different sounds. For example, the ‘a’ in ‘table’

is a long vowel, as opposed to the short vowel ‘a’ in ‘sack’. Phonemic awareness

means learning those sounds and how to manipulate them within a word and is an

important step towards helping children to spell and decode. One thing you could do

to help bring awareness to phonemes and how to separate the sounds of words

from their meanings is to call up children one-by-one using their first names without

the initial sound (e.g., [S]arah). The children have to figure out who’s name has been

called and what sound is missing.

5. Play ‘fish’ with sight words

There are some words that are difficult to decode phonetically because they

don’t follow the rules of phonics. These are known as ‘sight words’ and are most

common in the English language. These words need to be memorized rather than

sounded out, and there are a number of fun memory games that you can use in the

classroom to help kids do this. ‘Sight words fishing’ involves using magnetic fish cut-

outs with words on the back of them. Students fish using a magnetic rod and read

the sight word out aloud from the back of the fish they’ve picked up. The repetition of
the game helps the students master the words and is a lot more fun than reading

words from a printout.

6. Word search bingo

Reading to children helps them develop their language and listening skills and

prepares them to understand written words. However, some children lose focus

when sitting still and listening, so it’s important to find ways to keep them engaged.

One way to do this is to create a bingo game. Hand out sheets of paper to the

students with a list of words from the chapter of the book you’re reading to them. As

you read the book, the students will circle the words from the sheet they hear. At the

end of the chapter, have the class discuss what words they found.

7. Help children love to read by making it fun

As teachers, the ultimate goal is to foster lifelong reading skills in students

and create children who love to read. Memorizing words is only a starting point.

Every child learns to read differently, but ultimately, keeping them engaged in

learning is the best strategy. Getting children excited about learning to read through

games and interaction is something that every primary school teacher can

incorporate into the classroom.

References: [Link]
kindergarten/ ; [Link]
classroom/
NAME: Gonzales, Trisha Reign V. DATE: March 07, 2023

Effective Classroom Management Strategies to Achieve Your Daily Goals

Implementing effective classroom management strategies into your

classroom can be a challenge, especially at the beginning of your career. But with a

little practice, you can develop techniques to keep your students engaged, attentive,

and respectful to you and to their classmates.

Use the following "macro" strategies—ideas you can use to organize and plan

class activities—in my class regularly. These techniques can be very useful,

especially if you start implementing them right from the start of the school year.

 Set the Right Tone

Veteran teachers sometimes tell new teachers, "Don't smile until Christmas!"

But I think that would make for a long, grim fall! Plus, is that really the tone you want

to set in your classroom? Instead of giving kids a long list of rules at the beginning of

the year, set a positive classroom tone by modeling an attitude that's friendly,

respectful, and has a touch of humor. I've found that most kids will try to meet

expectations if they know what they are.

Stand at your door and greet students as they enter with a smile. You can

also have students sit in alphabetical order at the beginning of the year so you can

quickly learn everyone's name. Greeting students by name and smiling

helps establish rapport, and sitting in alphabetical order is especially helpful if you

teach middle or high school and have to learn as many as 100 names in a very short

time. Once you've done that, you may decide to allow your class to choose their own

seats as long as everyone stays on task.

To show that you value your time together, make sure you start class on time.

Many teachers like having a quick activity on the board for students to do as soon as

they enter the room. Maybe it's a math problem, a handful of sentences that need to

be corrected, or a short paragraph about a current event with a discussion question.

These quick activities help students focus on the day's lesson, and you can start

class by asking everyone to share their answers.

 Have a Clear Plan for Learning Activities

When it comes to lesson plans, if you don't know where you're going, it's likely

that you won't get there. Your learning goals for each class period should be clear,

and so should your plan for the day. Here are some effective classroom

management strategies you can use with students to achieve your learning goals:

1. Tell students what the goals are for the day's lesson. If you can build on

yesterday's lesson, that's even better. For example, you might say, "Remember

when we talked about topic sentences yesterday? Who remembers what a topic

sentence is? Today we're going to talk about whether the topic sentence actually

has to be stated or whether it can be implied. Let's look at some examples and

see what you think."

2. Move around the room as the lesson unfolds to keep everyone involved.

3. Engage as many students as possible in discussion. Don't only call on students

who raise their hand. If a student doesn't know the answer to a question, move

on. After a student answers a question, ask another student whether he or she

agrees with the answer.

4. Wrap up direct instruction 5 to 10 minutes before the end of the period for review

or closure.

 Save Time for a Strong Finish

The worst way for a class to end is if you're in the middle of a sentence and

the bell rings. Students jump out of their seats, and you're left yelling something like,

"Don't forget the test on Friday!" as they race out the door. This behavior appears to

be disrespectful, but it really just shows that your students don't know what your

expectations are. What can you do to ensure that the last minutes of class are as

strong as the rest?

 Teach your students that the period is over when you dismiss them, not when

the bell rings.

 Plan your time wisely so that you don't run late and make kids tardy for their next

class.

 Spend the last minutes of class time wrapping up the day's work and reviewing

the major points covered. Make sure students are fully aware of tomorrow's

assignment, future tests, or project deadlines before the bell rings.

 A word of praise is a good way to end the class period. Simply say something

like, "Good discussion" or "Nice job, guys!" My favorite way to send my students

off, though, is with a gentle reminder: "OK, see you tomorrow, and don't forget to

write!"

Reference: [Link]
[Link]
NAME: Gonzales, Trisha Reign V. DATE: March 08, 2023

How to Accommodate Different Learning Styles

We all have a way in which we best learn.  Odds are, every student in your

class has a different preferred learning style, which can make it difficult for you to be

the most effective teacher.  However, by trying to incorporate various methods into

your teaching, you may be able to reach the majority of your students.  At the

college level, it is expected that students have an idea of how to adapt to most

teachers, although it cannot hurt to help them out a little! Below we have the three

major learning styles and ways in which you can accommodate them.

 Visual Learning Style

Characteristics

Someone with a Visual learning style has a preference for seen or observed

things, including pictures, diagrams, demonstrations, displays, handouts, films, flip-

chart, etc. These people will use phrases such as ‘show me’, ‘let’s have a look at

that’ and will be best able to perform a new task after reading the instructions or

watching someone else do it first. These are the people who will work from lists and

written directions and instructions.

Tips for Accommodating

 Use maps, flow charts, or webs to organize materials

 Highlight and color code books/notes to organize and relate material

 Have students pick out key words and ideas in their own writing and highlight

them in different colors to clearly reveal organizational patterns

 Write out checklists of needed formulas, commonly misspelled words, etc.

 Write out and use flash cards for review of material

 Draw pictures or cartoons of concepts

 Write down material on slips of paper and move them around into proper

sequence. (Can be done on PC too)

 Use the chalkboard (them and you) to note important information

 If using the computer, have the student experiment with different font sizes and

styles to enhance readability.

 Auditory Learning Style

Characteristics

Someone with an Auditory learning style has a preference for the transfer of

information through listening: to the spoken word, of self or others, of sounds and

noises. These people will use phrases such as ‘tell me’, ‘let’s talk it over’ and will be

best able to perform a new task after listening to instructions from an expert. These

are the people who are happy being given spoken instructions over the telephone,

and can remember all the words to songs that they hear!

Tips for Accommodating

 Engage the student in conversation about the subject matter

 Question students about the material

 Ask for oral summaries of material

 Have them tape lectures and review them with you

 Have them tape themselves reviewing material and listen to it together

 Read material aloud to them

 Use a talking calculator

 Have them put material to a rhythm or tune and rehearse it aloud

 Kinesthetic or Tactile Learning Style

Characteristics

Someone with a Kinesthetic learning style has a preference for physical

experience - touching, feeling, holding, doing, practical hands-on experiences.

These people will use phrases such as ‘let me try’, ‘how do you feel?’ and will be

best able to perform a new task by going ahead and trying it out, learning as they go.

These are the people who like to experiment, hands-on, and never look at the

instructions first!

Tips for Accommodating

 Write out checklists of materials to be learned or looked for

 Trace words and diagrams on paper

 Use textured paper and experiment with different sizes of pens, pencils, and

crayons to write down information

 Use role play or dramatize concepts. Students can move objects around to

dramatize a concept or act out the concept themselves.

 Ask the student to envision a scene in which the material to be learned is being

used or acted out somehow. For example: a student could imagine being a

character in a novel.

 Have the student take notes (on paper, word processor, in textbooks) while

reading or listening.

 Use some form of body movement (snapping fingers, pacing, mouthing ideas)

while reciting material to be learned.

Reference: [Link]
accommodate/how-to-accommodate-different-learning-styles/
NAME: Gonzales, Trisha Reign V. DATE: March 09, 2023

10 Effective Questioning Techniques To Help Steer Students

In The Right Direction

We all ask our students questions, but how often do we question how we

question? Be honest. Possibly not that regularly, and it’s all too easy to fall into a

routine of using the same two or three approaches every lesson. Instead, consider

introducing these effective questioning strategies.

1. Wait time

Once you have asked your question, allow adequate wait time before taking

answers from pupils – they need time to consider their responses.

2. No hands up

I mostly discourage my pupils from putting their hands up in class. They know

they’re expected to contribute, and this avoids discussion being dominated by a few.

Choose pupils based on your knowledge of your class and don’t confuse this

technique with arbitrarily picking students using a random name generator. Pupils

who often contribute in a lesson may try to shout out the answers – remind them not

to do this and sanction appropriately if they do.

There are times when it may be useful to have hands up – to see how many

pupils think they know an answer, for example, or to check if pupils agree or

disagree with a classmate.

3. No opt out

Most of us have encountered a pupil who says they ‘don’t know’. Respond by

saying you will get back to them, then ask a pupil who does know the answer and

have the first pupil repeat the correct answer.

You could also try rewording your question or helping the pupil to scaffold

their response. The crucial thing is: make sure you go back to them. They’ll soon

realise you won’t accept ‘don’t know’ as an answer.

4.  Say it again, better

I really like Tom Sherrington’s ‘say it again, better’ technique, where you

simply don’t accept average answers.

For example:

Teacher: How could you test for chlorine gas?

Pupil: It makes litmus paper white.

Teacher: Good start, but what could you say instead of ‘it’ and ‘makes’? Can you be

more specific with the litmus paper?

Pupil: Chlorine bleaches? Not sure about the litmus.

Teacher: OK, let’s say it again, better. How could you test for chlorine gas using

damp litmus paper? Don’t use ‘it’ and ‘makes’ in your answer.

Pupil: Chlorine bleaches damp litmus paper white.

In this example, I had to scaffold that the litmus paper is damp, making sure the

pupil used the word in their answer. After establishing the better answer, you can

then ask another pupil to repeat it for maximum effect.

5.  Probing

Probing is when you ask the same pupil several questions to check and

improve understanding.

For example:

Teacher: What is the relative formula mass for H2SO4?

Pupil: It’s 98.

Teacher: Can you explain how you worked that out?

Pupil: There are two hydrogens, one sulfur, four oxygens, and you just add them

together.

Teacher: Add what together?

Pupil: The relative atomic masses, so (2 x 1) + (1 x 32) + (4 x 16), and that gives

you 98.

Teacher: Good. Is anyone still unsure of how to get to the answer of 98?
6.  Pepper

In this technique, you fire quick retrieval questions at pupils. Don’t slow down

or engage with pupils to discuss an answer. If a pupil gets an answer right, move on

to another pupil with a new question; if they get the answer wrong, ask another pupil

the same question.

7.  Think-pair-share

This technique was developed by Frank Lyman in 1981. You pose a question,

give pupils sufficient time to think, have them pair up to discuss their answer and

then select individuals to share their answers with the class.

8.  Whole-class response

A quick way to check whole-class understanding is to use mini whiteboards.

Pose the question, have pupils write their answers on their boards and show you

their answers, then quickly check responses. You may then wish to discuss incorrect

answers, address misconceptions, have pupils analyse other pupils’ responses, or

get them to expand on their answers.

9.  Call and response

Ask your class a question and get students to reply in unison. If they get a

question wrong, give them the correct answer and have them chant the answer

together. Ask the question again later in the lesson. This is particularly useful when

introducing new scientific vocabulary.

10. Hinge questions

Hinge questions are a useful way to check if you need to go over something

again. Often, they are multiple-choice [Link] questions should:

 be quick for pupils to answer (one to two minutes);

 be difficult for a pupil to get the right answer for the wrong reason/s;

 contain wrong answers that link to common misconceptions;

 make it easy for you to check pupils’ responses (~30 seconds).

Reference: [Link]
[Link]
NAME: Gonzales, Trisha Reign V. DATE: March 10, 2023

How To Help Students Ask Great Questions

Questions can be extraordinary learning tools. A good question can open

minds, shift paradigms, and force the uncomfortable but transformational cognitive

dissonance that can help create thinkers. In education, we tend to value a student’s

ability to answer our questions. But what might be more important is their ability to

ask their own great questions–and more critically, their willingness to do so.

8 Strategies To Help Students Ask Great Questions

1. TeachThought Learning Taxonomy

The TeachThought Learning Taxonomy is a template for critical thinking that

frames cognition across six categories.

It imagines any learning product, goal, or objective as a ‘thing,’ (i.e.g, a

subject of some kind) then suggests different ways to think about said ‘thing’–

mitosis, a math formula, an historical figure, a poem, a poet, a computer coding

language, a political concept, a literary device, etc. It’s designed to promote ‘whole’

thinking about otherwise discrete or disconnected ideas.

 Function– thinking critically about how a ‘thing’ works

 Self– Making sense of how the thinker relates to the ‘thing’

 Abstraction– Thinking about the ‘thing’ creatively, or in non-traditional ways

 Parts– Seeing the individual parts of the ‘thing’

 Interdependence– Examining how the ‘thing’ relates to other (similar and non-

similar) things

 Whole–See the ‘thing’ fully and within context

A literary device–a metaphor example, is usually studied in isolation. This

writer uses this metaphor in this way to this effect. Using the TeachThought Learning

Taxonomy, a learner would be forced to confront that metaphor in much more

diverse cognitive terrain–to think about something in multiple ways for a more

complete picture and advanced understanding.

Function– Communicate the metaphor’s most ideal utility (how it can and should be

used, and why).

Self-- Identity what you do and don’t understand about the metaphor

Abstraction– Design a ‘sequel’ of the metaphor (not a simile–an extended metaphor

would be a good start)

This framework can be used not only as a planning or assessment tool, but to

promote students in self-directed learning and self-created questioning and

examination. In short, they can use this framework (or a simplified version of it) to

create their own questions. Some examples?

Prompt: Parts–Give examples and non-examples

Questions: What are 3 examples and non-examples of mammals? What are 5

examples of push-pull factors? What are 3 non-examples of mixed fractions?

Prompt: Interdependence–Direct others in using it

Questions: How do–or might–others use alternative fuel sources to help create

fresh water sources?

Prompt: Explain it differently to a novice or an expert

Questions: How would explain the Pythagorean Theorem differently to a 2nd grader

and a college freshman? What would the main difference be?

The downside to using the TeachThought Learning Taxonomy to help

students ask their own questions is the relative complexity of the framework, and the

extra step of converting prompts to questions. Therefore, it’s better suited to late

middle school–university settings.

The upside? It can be used in any content area to think deeply about almost

anything.

2. Digital Taxonomy Power Verbs

‘Power verbs’ aren’t exclusive to Bloom’s Taxonomy (see below). In addition

to our TeachThought Learning Taxonomy (see above), there are ‘verbs’ that

describe cognitive ‘actions.’ Add some kind of framework or hierarchy, and you’ve

got a full ‘taxonomy.’

 Enter the ‘digital taxonomy’ power verbs. You can download a ready-for-the-

classroom curricula version of our power verbs here, but you can do plenty with

digital taxonomy power verbs to help students ask great questions without spending

a penny. From designing projects and refining assessments to classroom,

discussions and digital citizenship lessons, the ‘actions’of students are among the

most critical components of any learning experience.

3. Socratic Discussion

A Socratic Discussion, which is also referred to as a Socratic Seminar, is a

group learning strategy designed to support students in open-ended examination

and extended critical thinking through dialogic terms. In short, students learn

together by talking together in an open and student-centered format. These

discussions are not teacher-led, but student-led–students talk to one another.

It is a dialectal method of learning inspired by Socrates’ iconic teaching

methods that depend on a pattern of theory formation, revision, and elimination to

arrive at loosely-held “truths.” Used strategically, this approach should promote

inquiry as learning and the close examination of one’s own beliefs as primary

catalysts for learning.

4. Paideia Seminar

A Paideia Seminar is similar to the Socratic Seminar–in fact, it uses Socratic

Discussions on the part of the students, combined with a minor but clear role for

teachers, to facilitate verbal and critical examination of ideas. From the (a?) Paideia

Seminar website, “The Paideia Seminar is an integrated literacy event built around

formal whole-class dialogue. The purpose for doing Paideia Seminar is to support

students’ ability to think conceptually and communicate collaboratively.”

One of the key differences between a Paideia Seminar and a Socratic

Seminar is that within the Paideia format, teachers are “allowed” a role, provided that

that role doesn’t exceed 10% of the total discussion. You can see a video here to

learn more.
5. The Question Game

The Question Game focuses on “teaching children a kind of thinking which is

particularly useful in creative problem-solving–a focused approach to get from a

problem to the most effective solution. It is most effective when combined with

regular repetition, which solidifies the thought pattern, and with groups, which

encourages contributory exploration of alternative responses and creativity.”

Its dice-form not only offers a whiz-bang manipulative, but also introduces a

level of gamification and playful uncertainty into the process, and its open-ended and

universal stems make it practical for a wide variety of classroom applications.

6. Bloom’s Taxonomy 

Similar to the TeachThought Taxonomy, Bloom’s Taxonomy can act as a

framework or pattern to funnel content, inquiry, or other learning processes. These

use of the taxonomy to create universal stems is one approach as modeled in the

following graphic from flickr user enokson.

7. Question Formulation Technique

We’ll have more on this soon but in short, the Question Formulation

Technique (QFT) is a kind of question brainstorming process based around a topic

as a kind of kernel.

In their words of the Right Question Institute, QFT is “straightforward, rigorous

process that helps all students learn how to produce their own questions, improve

their questions, and strategize on how to use their questions. In the process, they

develop divergent, convergent and metacognitive thinking abilities.”

In their words of the Right Question Institute, QFT is “straightforward, rigorous

process that helps all students learn how to produce their own questions, improve

their questions, and strategize on how to use their questions. In the process, they

develop divergent, convergent and metacognitive thinking abilities.”For now, you can

read more about the QFT here.

8. Question Stems 

As seen in the Bloom’s graphic, sentence stems and question stems are

wonderful tools that can empower students to ask questions by giving them a head-

start in doing so.

By using a ‘stem,’ a teacher has set the ball on the proverbial tee for the

student to smash. Yes, ideally the student asks their own great questions, but what if

they can’t–or don’t think they can? What if they don’t? What if they’re still learning

how? What if they lack the background knowledge in some narrow sect of science or

math or whatever, and need a push in the back? Stems can help.

Question stems are a more elementary questioning strategy than the

Question Formation Technique (see above), but not necessarily less effective. They

can be used for younger students, students struggling with a concept, or even

“advanced learners” (not a huge fan of this term) as they narrow an open-ended

learning experience, or to be used as ‘bread crumbs’ in the case that the teacher is

trying to help them arrive at a pre-determined destination. Some examples?

8 Basic Question Stem Examples

 Which differences between ____ and ____ stand out to you?

 Why does____never seem to____?

 How does_____impact____?

 How does _____ work?

 What’s most important about?

 What’s most simple/complex about ______?

 How could you classify____? (And ‘Why would you classify____?’)

 When____, why does____?

Reference: [Link]
NAME: Gonzales, Trisha Reign V. DATE: March 15, 2023

7 Strategies to Help Students Remember What They Learn

According to the authors of the Neuron study, one key to helping students

retain lessons is to employ strategies to help them form synaptic connections—

linking new lessons to existing memories to create a web of connections. Each

connection is a strand in the web, and the more strands there are the stronger the

web.

Another strategy is to make students access lessons repeatedly so they’re

not able to simply fade away. Here are seven concrete ways teachers and parents

can help boost learning retention:

1. Assign students frequent practice tests or quizzes. When students are given

tests or quizzes that they’re not graded on, they’re able to review material in a

low-stress environment (stress can undermine memory retention.)

2. Combine visual and verbal lessons. Learning to use multiple senses helps

increase retention. Showing students visual aids while teaching a lesson verbally

helps to illustrate and cement the message for students.

3. Encourage and help students to develop memory "cues." Examples include

acronyms like "Roy G. Biv" (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) to

remember the colors of the rainbow and "Pretty please my dear aunt sally"

(parentheses, powers, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction) to remember

mathematics’ order of operation. Another way to "cue" memories is to

create memory-boosting songs about lessons.

4. Encourage peer discussion and group-based learning. Group discussions

naturally help students retain information, because when students see their

fellow classmates, that visual will spark memories of what those students had to

say about the lesson in question.

5. Include constructive comments on graded assignments or tests. Each comment

becomes another synaptic connection enforcing the "memory web" for a given

concept or fact.

6. Encourage students to make lesson review the last thing they do before

bedtime. Research shows the information circulates in the mind during sleep,

bolstering retention.

7. Employ the spacing effect. Research shows that revisiting lessons just as they

are on the verge of being forgotten boosts memory retention. Instead of teaching

one lesson, considering it complete, then moving on to the next lesson, a better

approach is to teach a lesson—but then revisit it at regular intervals in the future.

Reference: [Link]
ey-learn/
NAME: Gonzales, Trisha Reign V. DATE: March 24, 2023

4 Tips for Helping Keep Your Classroom Noise Level Under Control

 Tip #1: Use a soft, calm voice right before students go off to work independently.

When I’m getting my students ready for centers or any other kind of

independent work, I remind them of expectations—and I use a very soft, calm voice

to do so.

In fact, I usually give last-minute directions in a voice so quiet that it’s almost

a whisper! And students tend to follow suit, whispering right back.

Our own demeanor and voice level can really set the tone for students. Yes,

the noise level usually goes up after students go off to work. But when you START

with a very quiet, calm classroom, the noise level usually stays manageable—at

least for a while!

 Tip #2: Assign a noise level monitor OR a group leader for each group.

If you have your students work in center groups, choose one student to be the

leader. The leader can be responsible for monitoring the noise level of the group

members.

If students aren’t working in groups, you can assign a noise level monitor for

the entire class. The noise level monitor can keep a chime next to her and ring it if

the noise level of the class gets to be too high.

 Tip #3: Teach students a quick clapping pattern to remind them that the noise

level is too high.

If your students are too noisy, the LAST thing you want to do is yell over

them, right?! I like to teach students a little clapping signal to remind them to lower

their voices. If students become too noisy, you simply clap the pattern, students clap

to imitate the pattern, and then (hopefully) they get a little quieter!

 Tip #4: Pure bribery. Plain and simple. 

Let’s call this one “motivation to work together as a classroom community”

instead of “bribery,” okay?! ?

 I like to keep a classroom marble jar. When I see students working together

and doing the right thing as a class, I add marbles to the jar. For example, if students

are working quietly during centers, I may add marbles to the jar. When we fill the jar,

we have some kind of reward—like extra recess, extra indoor playtime, etc.

However, I do remove marbles sometimes. When we’re having a lot of trouble

with noise level, I’ll take the marble jar and keep it next to me at the guided reading

table. If the students working independently are getting too loud, I remove marbles

from the jar. And I do it noisily so they can hear me! This quiets them down pretty

quickly.

Reference: [Link]
room-noise-level-under-control/