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TWS 2: Getting to Know the Students, the Classroom Community, and the Curriculum
In order to engage my students in meaningful learning experiences that foster
understanding and application of knowledge, I must first learn about my students interests,
concerns, strengths, talents, weaknesses, and goals. I conducted multiple student interviews as
well as implemented a whole group activity that focused on these areas. Through these two
means of inquiry, I was able to find various similarities among my students. For example, some
of the things my students do well are playing basketball, football, and cards, drawing, and
gaming. The people my students admire or look up to most are their parents, grandparents,
famous athletes, actors, and siblings. After they graduate high school, most of my students plan
to go to college and become a police officer, a veterinarian, a mechanical engineer, an actor, a
teacher, a pilot, a surgeon, or an air force mechanic. I also learned that a majority of my students
are self conscious about their appearance, weight, and height. As a teacher of young adolescents,
it is fundamental to understand that students are trying to connect their prior experiences and
interests with their new experiences as a way of understanding and comprehending the material
given to them. By using my students interests and concerns as a guide for constructing themes,
units, and enduring understandings, I can foster a more engaging, relevant, and challenging
learning environment. For instance, because a majority of my students are interested in sports, a
theme could be sportsmanship with enduring understandings of personal responsibility, hard
work, and cooperation. Through incorporating students interests and concerns into the
curriculum, I will provide students with opportunities that support their development and
learning.
By incorporating the knowledge I gained from successfully communicating with
students parents/guardians, I will be able to maximize the learning of all students. When

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surveyed, parents/guardians answered questions regarding their childs strengths, weaknesses,
responsibilities, and learning styles. I added kindness, responsibility, respectfulness, leadership,
and helpfulness to my list of students strengths by integrating the parent/guardians perspective.
I found that some of my students struggle with anxiety, attentiveness, procrastination, writing,
and peer pressure. I also discovered that my students seem to be more active and visual leaners
who benefit from hands on activities and group work. Parents/guardians, when asked what they
admire about their student, confirmed what I have been observing during placement, which is
individuals that possess strong work ethics, intelligence, respect, and compassion. Through
communicating with parents or guardians, I gained valuable information that can be incorporated
into the teaching and learning of all students. For example, because I learned that my students
learn best through active participation and visuals, I will plan lessons that involve physical
activity, hands on learning, visuals, and active demonstrations. One of the common student
weaknesses perceived through both parent and student surveys is writing. In order to turn their
weakness of writing into their strength, I will build writing activities into my lesson plans. By
working collaboratively with parents/guardians, I enhance student achievement and can better
alter my teaching to my students needs.
When discussing the curriculum for the remainder of the year with my host teacher, I
took the information we found out about our students interests and concerns into consideration.
The themes we created using the eighth grade curriculum map and GPS standards are as follows:
personal responsibility, respect, compassion, empathy, hard work, questioning, cooperation,
pride, and integrity. Not only do these themes correlate with the information learned from student
interviews, parent surveys, and observations, but they also support the development of the young
adolescent.

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