Running head: INQUIRY INTO STUDENT LEANRING

Inquiry Into Student Learning

Julianne Ocasio
University of South Florida

INQUIRY INTO STUDENT LEARNING

Philosophy of Management
Establishing a classroom is essential to the success of the students. I believe students
should feel welcomed in the room, and have opportunities to build academically through social
interaction and exploring. Students who have exceptionalities and students who are English
Language Learners should be accommodated to meet their needs as learners as well. Every
student should receive equitable education.
Important to know their background and incorporate diversity into the classroom. I
believe the key to classroom management is being student centered. It is important to develop
rules and expectations with our students, and develop an understanding for why the rules exist.
Students need to understand that they are responsible for their actions and behaviors. I am also
a strong believer in Treat others how you want to be treated.. I agree with Alberts
Cooperative Discipline model in the sense that students should feel like they belong. Students
should not be compared to each other, in order to build their confidence. Building
responsibility, belongingness, and confidence will ensure a strong classroom community.

Inquiry Into Student Learning

In order to inquire into the needs of the student learners, it is important to consider the
learning environment then consider the needs of the students in my class and how their needs
relate to the needs of the learning environment.
The Learning Environment and Needs of the Environment

INQUIRY INTO STUDENT LEARNING

My image of an ideal classroom has the student as the center for the design. There would
be groups of desks, for discussions during lessons. The students will be given an opportunity to
write two people they would like to sit with, and two people they do not work well with. This
survey will help me assign the groups that they will sit this for the beginning quarter of the year.
I also believe the classroom should be colorful but organized. There should be specific
designated areas for technology, independent reading, and group work. The classroom should be
set up with clear walk ways for the students to travel to these locations; this allows students with
physical disabilities the space to move. The students materials will be within their reach: pencils
and other writing utensils at their desks, books on a shelve within eye level, and blank paper on
an open table. As the teacher, I am responsible for providing these materials, but the students will
be responsible for keeping them neat within their area. Accessibility and organization is
important to the design of my classroom.
Needs of Student Learners
Classrooms are filled with many diverse learners, and it is important to meet the needs
of all of them. There will be exceptional students, English as a second language students, gifted
students, and other students within our classroom. To meet their needs, it is important to plan
direct instruction, as well as opportunities for discussion. Small group instruction can get
students the direction attention they need to succeed. Discussion provides students with
opportunities to build comprehension and social skills. It would also benefit to incorporate
Universal Design for Learning into my lesson planning. This means that the accommodations
and modifications I make to fit the needs of certain students will be used by the all of the
classroom. For example, using visuals to teach vocabulary will help all visual learners. It is

INQUIRY INTO STUDENT LEARNING

important to me that students work together to achieve learning goals, and help each other
grow.
FEAPS Evidence
This semester, I focused on the classroom environment and how it impacts student
learning. This was done by meeting the second category of the New Florida Educator
Accomplished Practices.
For example, FEAP 2.a Organizes, allocates, and manages resources of time, space, and
attention. I practiced FEAP 2.a in blog Connections with Learning Environments by creating
a colorful anchor chart that the students can reflect back on. Now every day I write the morning
agenda on the board, and file graded work.
Evidence: http://julianneocasio.weebly.com/blog/connections-with-learning-environments
The next practice, FEAP 2.b, focuses on managing individual and classroom behaviors. I
accomplished FEAP 2.b by setting the classroom expectations and maintaining behavior when
giving lessons. I did not thoroughly discuss this in my blog, but I have attention grabbers
checked off on my Classroom Learning Environment Tasks sheet.
Evidence: Classroom Learning Environment Tasks sheet (see Appendix A)
FEAP 2.c involves having high expectations for all your students. I maintain high
expectations for my students on a daily basis. I talked about it in my blog about IRLA
conferencing. I met with the students individually and work with them to set reading goals
appropriate for their reading level. Students were expected to work toward their goal and
provide written evidence that theyve been using their strategies. For example, if their goal was

INQUIRY INTO STUDENT LEARNING

vocabulary, the student would be asked to use the dictionary and record the unknown words
they encountered and their definitions.
Evidence: http://julianneocasio.weebly.com/blog/into-irla-confrencing
It is important to respect students cultural and family background, which is what FEAP
2.d focuses on. This is another practice that I believe should be present every day in the
classroom. I respect my students diversity and accept our differences. I blogged about this when
discussing my Morning Meeting. Many of my students identified their family and parents as
significant parts of their lives. I was able to learn how important the family is to the students.
This motivates me to reach out to parents so they can be aware of the progress their students are
making, and what they can do as a parent to help.
Evidence: http://julianneocasio.weebly.com/blog/family-is-the-final-frontier
It is essential for students to model the expectations they want their students to me. This
involves FEAP 2.E Models clear, acceptable oral and written communication skills. To
achieve this, I performed a read aloud in which I modeled fluency, and asked the students to
make inferences. This was beneficial to students as they can see why they are constantly
practicing and building their reading skills.
Evidence: http://julianneocasio.weebly.com/blog/read-aloud-matter
Students should feel comfortable in their classroom, which is where FEAP 2.F comes
into play. FEAP 2.F states Maintains a climate of openness, inquiry, fairness and support,
which I believe should be a daily action. I led a short community building activity which
facilitated motivational support between the students. I did not blog about it. In figures 2 and 3,
the activity can be seen. The students selected one name off the board and wrote a positive note

INQUIRY INTO STUDENT LEARNING

to that person. They were not required to sign their name or reveal that they were the author.
The students seemed to be joyful when they saw a nice note about them.
Evidence: Treat Tuesday and student work (See Appendix B)
Technology is a major part of our society, so it should be incorporated in the classroom.
FEAP 2.G guarantees that students will be exposed to current information and communication
technologies. I incorporated technology by designing a Kahoot as a pre-assessment. The
students enjoyed being able to use the iPads and computers without being graded for it. I
discussed the information technology in my blog.
Evidence: http://julianneocasio.weebly.com/blog/technology-the-advantages-and-challenges

FEAP 2.H Adapts the learning environment to accommodate the differing needs and
diversity of students is another key factor of success in the classroom. This includes modifying
lessons to include accommodations that will help our students succeed. Having anchor charts
around the classroom helps students connect ideas to a visual that they can reflect on. I
discussed this in my blog. Another way to meet the needs of my diverse students, in which I did
not blog about, was making accommodations for my students with learning disabilities. My
collaborating teacher would give the students extended time for tests, and I would also read the
questions aloud to the students. These accommodations help the students best show their
understanding of the content.
Evidence: http://julianneocasio.weebly.com/blog/connections-with-learning-environments

INQUIRY INTO STUDENT LEARNING

It is important to incorporate assistive technology to help are students in the Exceptional
Student Education program. FEAP 2.I states Utilizes current and emerging assistive
technologies that enable students to participate in high-quality communication interactions and
achieve their educational goals. This is something I have not been able to witness of try. The
students in my classroom use iPads and computers, but I have not seen any of the other assistive
technology tool that I have learned about through my exceptionalities course. In the future, I
would like to plan my lessons to incorporate the tools.

Final Thoughts
I have been able to learn more about my ideal classroom environment and how I would
want the community to be like. I learned that I have a more collectivist view about my ideal
classroom. It is important to me that students build their social skills as they develop a
community in our class. I have also learned the different behavioral models and where I stand
in them. I now agree with Alberts Cooperative Discipline model the most. This semester I took
more charge in the classroom. I strove to build relationships with my students during free
moments (like walking to specials or during recess). I am still shy at times. I feel like I am not
as in charge as my collaborating teacher, in the sense that I feel like I am her student and not
her equal.
Teachers always have room for growth, and I am aware of some areas I need to continue
practicing to strengthen my classroom management. I know I still need to practicing
communicating with parents. It is something I did not really do this semester, but I know it will
play a major role in my own future classroom. Next semester I want to reach out to parents and

INQUIRY INTO STUDENT LEARNING

let them know that they are my partners in the educational development of their children. I
would like to write a weekly newsletter pertaining the information their students will be
focusing on.

INQUIRY INTO STUDENT LEARNING

References
Charles, C. M. Linda Albert's 'Cooperative Discipline'. In Building classroom discipline. Boston.
Allyn and Bacon. 2002. Ch. 5. pp. 67-84.
The Florida Educator Accomplished Practices (FEAPs). (n.d.). Retrieved November 24, 2016,
from http://www.fldoe.org/teaching/professional-dev/the-fl-educator-accomplishedpractices.stml
Levin, J., & Nolan, J. F. (2013). Principles of classroom management: A professional
decision-making model. New York, NY: Pearson.
Trumbull, E., Rothstein-Fisch, C., Greenfield, P. M., & Quiroz, B. (2001). Bridging cultures
between home and school: A guide for teachers. New York, NY: Routledge.

10

INQUIRY INTO STUDENT LEARNING

Appendix A
Classroom Learning Environment Tasks sheet

11

INQUIRY INTO STUDENT LEARNING

Appendix B
Treat Tuesday and student work

12

INQUIRY INTO STUDENT LEARNING