analitic essay

Only information about coteaching

Susan and Frank Gately in their article “Understanding Coteaching Components” state the importance of “identify the developmental level for each component may help teachers set goals that will let them move more quickly from one developmental level to the next”. (2001, p40) After reading and analyzing their ideas, I shall say that even though the authors provide information about coteaching to support their thesis, the definition of each of these levels does not explain how to move from one level to another.
They start their argument by giving importance to the collaborative work between general and special educators. They define their thesis and state that the article is compound of descriptions and examples about each level of the developmental stage needed to acquire a collaborative classroom. Also at the end of the article, they include an instrument called the coteaching rating scale (CtRS) which has been created to examine teachers’ coteaching work and focus on those areas which need improvement.
What seems disconnected of the argument is the way they present the CrRS and the ways the authors believe should be used. First of all, they present scales for each teacher separated and it is evidently seen that both are the same. This is something that may confuse the reader in terms of using different instruments to measure the same job in the classroom. Secondly, the authors suggest some ways in which teachers can use this scale focusing only in the agreement between the teachers’ answers more than in the way this work can be improved. Finally, they conclude the article by stating the use of the scale as an instrument without referring to any of the levels previously presented.
This article states there are uneven ways of development in the components of coteaching, and it has been said that there is some information missing in order to improve their coteaching work in the classroom. What should be included in this article is a way of applying this scale where teachers not only get together, but work on a way to use the components in the classes and acquire those levels faster. There should be more research on the topic to find out more ideas of how to improve coteaching work in every type of classroom. Also, it is important to follow an organized form of presenting the elements, avoiding the lack of conclusion. Reflecting not only in the presentation of the scale but also on the input these levels of developing can bring to the discussion about coteaching work.
In the end, it is fundamental to say that if the authors pretend to identify the developmental levels of the components to improve the time in which they move from one to another, they should have to include not only the levels. Moreover, they need to include some more information about coteaching and the appropriate use of the scale to find the applicability of this one in the classroom. Exposing ideas and information is not enough to produce a possibility in the teachers’ ways of working within their classrooms.


Gately, Susan E. and Frank J. Gately. “Understanding Coteaching Components.” Teaching Exceptional Children 33.4 (2001) : 40-47.

Annotated Bibliography_final

Burns, David J. “Will I do as well on the final exam as I expect? An examination of students’ expectations.” Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. 8.3 (2008): 1-19. The study was published in a well-known journal of teaching, giving many details on the relationship among concepts and the procedure of the research, and having a very powerful and attractive title for teachers. David Burns work tried to prove the relationship between students’ expectation and their final marks. Considering students’ time and effort on what they do previous to an examination, this study focuses on the previous experiences and expectations that students have about their performance on tests. This study took based its results in variables such as 353 students, a single teacher, the same course and different performances. The study showed that there is not relationship between students’ expectations and their final scores as a final conclusion. However, Burns gives some explanations of which may have happened to obtains these results. People may infer from this study that the author believes in this relationship, although he could not prove it statistically. Methodology is a variable element that can affect the results of a research, which it may have happened in this case. Furthermore, the process of this study introduces some concepts that can be taken in a further bibliographical research.

Book Review_final

How classroom management affects students’ learning?

The purpose of this book is to give teachers the first input about classroom management and how to organize it. This organization will allow teachers to create an appropriate environment for students learning.It is a must have book for teachers because it answers all those common questions about classroom management. It is divided into two parts; the first one focuses on classroom organization and the second one, on behavior management. From the beginning you can see how well organized the writing is and how these tips are appropriate for any primary teacher in the classroom.In the first part, the book deals with classroom organization and routines you must develop in order to provide your students with a healthy environment. Also, it includes some tips to organize paperwork and communication with students’ parents or caretakers considering the important role they play in the students learning process. This part gives organization to the role needed into the classroom: it is a tool to improve students learning.In the second part, this book provides teachers with elements that may help to deal with students’ behavior; giving tips in terms of how to prevent problems and solve them if they happen afterwards. This is also fundamental; new teachers do not know how to deal with certain behavioral issues. This part of the book allows them to try some of the tips that are considered appropriate for some situations presented in the classroom.In conclusion, this book makes you think about how important a good environment is for learning and how important communication and organization are in the classroom. It is a text that invites students to participate in this process of making decisions along with the teacher. It has a simple format, it is easy to read and well organized in terms of topic and idea development.
Ruggieri, K. Claire Cherry, and Jane Bluestein. Keys to Classroom Management. Ohio: McGraw Hill Children’s Publishing, 2003

Book Review

How classroom management affects students’ learning?


The purpose of this book is to give teachers the first input about classroom management and how to organize it. This organization will allow teachers to create an appropriate environment for students learning.
This is a must have book for teachers because it answers to all those common questions about classroom management. It is divided into two parts; the first one focuses on classroom organization and the second one, on behavior management. From the beginning you can see how well organized the writing is and how these tips are appropriate for any primary teacher in the classroom.
In the first part, the book deals with classroom organization and routines you must develop in order to provide your students with a healthy environment. Also, it includes some tips to organize paperwork and communication with students’ parents or caretakers considering the important role they play in the learning process. This part gives organization to the role needed into the classroom: it is tool to improve students learning.
In the second part, this book provides teachers with elements that may help to deal with students’ behavior; giving tips in terms of how to prevent problems and solve them if they happen afterwards. This is also fundamental; new teachers do not know how to deal with certain behavioral issues. This part of the book allows them to try some of the tips that are considered appropriate for some situations presented in the classroom.
In conclusion, this book makes you think about how important a good environment is for learning and how important communication and organization are in the classroom. It is a text that invites students to participate in this process of taking decision along with the teacher. It has a simple format, it is easy to read and well organized in terms of topic and idea development.

Ruggieri, K. Claire Cherry, and Jane Bluestein. Keys to Classroom Management. Ohio: McGraw Hill Children’s Publishing, 2003

Annotated Bibliography

Burns, David J. “Will I do as well on the final exam as I expect? An examination of students’ expectations” Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 8.3 (2008) : 1 – 19. The study was published in a well-known journal of teaching, giving many details on the relationship among concepts and the procedure of the research, and having a very powerful and attractive title for teachers. David Burns work tried to prove the relationship between students’ expectation and their final marks. Considering students’ time and effort on what they do previous to an examination, this study focuses on the previous experiences and expectations that students have about their performance on tests. This study took based its results in variables such as 353 students, a single teacher, the same course and different performances. The study showed that there is not relationship between students’ expectations and their final scores as a final conclusion. However, Burns gives some explanations of which may have happened to obtains these results. People may infer from this study that the author believes in this relationship, although he could not prove it statistically. Methodology is a variable element that can affect the results of a research which it may have happened in this case. Furthermore, the process of research of this study introduces some concepts that can be taken in a further bibliographical research.

Summary: David Burns

Teachers’ most common way of evaluating their students is by testing. So, it is important to know which factors may influence test’s final scores. Recent studies have seen students’ expectations as one these main factors; although, there are few researches on this topic.
David Burns, in his work published in 2008 called ‘Will I do as well on the final exam as I expect? An examination of students’ expectations’ tried to prove the relationship between students’ expectation and their final marks.
Considering students’ time and effort on what they do previous to an examination, this study focuses on the previous experiences and expectations that students have about their performance on tests. This study took based its results in variables such as 353 students, a single teacher, the same course and different performances.
The study showed that there is not relationship between students’ expectations and their final scores as a final conclusion. However, Burns gives some explanations of which may have happened to obtain these results. People may infer from this study that the author believes in this relationship, although he could not prove it statistically.

Online Resources

JORNAL
CURRENT ISSUE IN EDUCATION

http://cie.asu.edu/

This journal has free access to its documents; aproximately 3 articles per year. It is defined by a scholarly webpage where they can reflect on the current importance and changes of education.

ACCION PEDAGOGICA: UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES VENEZUELA

http://www.saber.ula.ve/

This university web page has some free articles in Spanish. They talk about researches done by themselves and others. Accion Pedagogica is one of the online magazines they have and where you can find some good topics on education.

THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN

http://www.futureofchildren.org/

This journal is not about education, instead talks about children and topics related to them. however, there are some free articles that you can use, considering that children are more than just students.

LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TECHNOLOGY

http://llt.msu.edu/

This web page which I believe comes from The Minnesota University has many free articles from the Educational Field. Also, there is the possibility to subscribe and receive information from it.

NEW HORIZONS FOR LEARNING

http://www.newhorizons.org/

This web page has some online articles which cover many different elements in the Educational field such as teaching and learning strategies or special needs. It has a different approach to the learning topics.

PRACTICAL ASSESSMENT, RESEARCH AND EVALUATION

http://pareonline.net/

This web page has some online articles which cover many different elements in the Educational field, especially focus on the evaluation or methods use in the classroom.

DATABASE

SAGE JOURNAL ONLINE
http://online.sagepub.com/

This database has many different topics where you can search on, including
This month until April, 30th all the documents are for free. If you register, the other months the journal sends you news about which articles are for free.

FULL TEXT EDUCATION JOURNALS
http://www.lesley.edu/faculty/kholmes/libguides/edjournals.html

This is a list of journals in Education. It provides you with some well-known journals, easy to find and use.

HIGHWIRE PRESS
http://highwire.stanford.edu/

This web page is from the Stanford university. Even though you have to pay for this articles, I think we can use it as a list of journals, where you can find some articles related to the topic you will like to research on.

Religion in the classroom

Religion may be discussed in terms of personal beliefs and faith; however, it is fundamental to find the right place to express an opinion about it. Classrooms for instance are places where you can manage to talk about this topic, having in mind your personal point of view and being respectful of others.

Being polite and respectful allows anybody to talk about any topic. In this case, religion is a controversial theme because people tend to avoid talking about it because it has been a taboo topic and people are not used to tolerate opposite opinions. For instance, believers and non-believers have different ways to express their opinions; especially non-believers need to be careful about how to express their ideas in front of believers which you will se in the following examples.

On one hand, there are people like Bill Maher who are not believers and are always very critical about religion; moreover, most of the time they express their ideas disrespectful and rudely. For example, in a NPR interview with Terry Gross ahost and co-producecer of "Fresh Air", he states that religion must die in order to let humanity live.

On the other hand, there are people as Deborah Mitchell, also a non-beleiever, who writes respectfully about religion and can see the benefits of being open to topics different than your own beliefs. She wrote as part of this work how great religion can be in order to make people understand and being tolerant with others. (6)

The previous examples show that some people do not believe in religion, however, they have different ways to express their opinion about it. It is absolutely essential to find the correct way of expressing opinions. A confrontational and closed minded opinion will only cause problems and misunderstandings and in many cases, no matter how solid your point could be, it will not be accepted it. Therefore politeness and sensitivity are extremely important in order to show your point of view.

Teachers are respected inside the classroom; they have the authority in front of the students and because of this, they can approach different subjects for discussion. This is the reason why they need to be careful about the way they talk about religion even though they may be believers or not. Students spend so much time inside classrooms that they should have the opportunity to talk about anything with their teachers and classmates. By being tolerant and respectful with others’ beliefs, students will learn a lesson for their lives.

Gross, Terry. Interview with Terry Gross. Fresh Air. NPR. 30 September 2008

Mitchell, Deborah. "You Might Not Expect an Agnostic to Say Let's Teach Religion in the Public Schools" The Dallas Morning News.

Leland, John. “Cameras Roll, and Faith hasn’t a Prayer” The New York Times 26 September 2008. 28 March 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/28/movies/28lela.html