"Growth" vs. "Fixed" Mindsets

"Growth" vs. "Fixed" Mindsets is a pod cast created by Psychologist Carol Dweck, a professor from Sanford University. This pod cast discussed the mindsets of our youth. Children can be so much fun, in that, many perceptions they have created are priceless. Many children believe in the word “can’t”. “I can’t do this, I can’t do that.” I think it is just so hard for a young minds to understand that they possess the power of their destiny. They are just use to someone telling them what to do and how to do it, they do not think freedom is an option. The “fixed” mind concept is the belief that they are intelligent and they feel smart even if they are not. I will forecast this message to my students by setting high expectations but most importantly provide the "growth" mind concept to allow them to feel smart and actually be smart at the same time.


The “growth” mindset believes the sky is the limit and will not allow anyone to hold them back or tell them that “can’t” regardless of the effort to achieve it. I believe I am a “growth” mindsetter. I will become an efective teacher and secceed in my career regardless of what anyone has to say. All it takes is dedication and determination.


There was a workshop conducted to validate the debate between controlled brain knowledge with “growth” study skills and just study skills. The teachers were able to tell the students that were exposed to the workshop with “growth” study skills by their academic achievement in the classroom after the study.

I loved the way the speaker related all this information to other topics for better understanding. That is what is so great about my experiences with pod casts. The speakers for the most part are very thorough and informative. I cannot wait to utilize pod casts in my classroom.

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WGBH Podcasts

WGBH started out in 1951 as just live radio performances by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. "Today, WGBH informs, inspires, and entertains millions of people not only in Boston, but across the country and around the world. They reach their audiences at home, at work, at play, in the car, in the classroom, in movie theaters...wherever media is accessible. WGBH is the single largest producer of PBS prime including airtime and online programming, and a major source of programs heard on public radio from coast to coast. They are a pioneer in educational multimedia and in media access technologies for people with hearing or vision loss."

WGBH pod casts addresses grades k-12. The pod casts I viewed focused on individual topics or questions within the curriculum. I watched “What is a planet?” that discussed the activity in the solar system in great detail. These pod casts would be an excellent way to teach my students in the classroom while integrating pod casts too many subjects being taught. Another great thing is that the pod casts provide the information and also answers questions.

Being a visual learner, I found visual and audio pod casts more interesting and could easily understand the topics being covered. I find pod casts not only helpful for teaching my students but for my children at home as well. Instead of watching television all the time, I can provide educational based pod cast for enjoyment and knowledge. Many young children these days can surf the web better than many adults. Allowing my daughter to use the computer will only strengthen her skills. This would be great for students that may not understand a concept maybe the way the teacher is presenting it. It could give them a different perspective on the concept that they may relate better to or understand better.

Accessibility For All

Mr. Sullivan's presentation was very informative. I had no idea all the rules and regulations there were in providing public services to all people. Mr. Sullivan is an excellent speaker and developed his speech with ease. It was a pleasure to be his audience for his lecture. He knew the information very well. He has not let his disability be a handicap.
There are many challenges disabled individuals address to live like non-disabled individuals. When I thought about the society accommodating handicapped individuals, I usually only visualize wheel chair ramps, enlarged restroom stalls, and handicap parking. I guess that is what the media and my surroundings have only exposed to me.

I had no idea that I, as a future school teacher, had the authority or was personally required to make sure that all my computer software is handicap accessible. I never thought about, partially blind individuals, would utilize the web. It just never crossed my mind. I am glad technology is that advanced to be able to provide tools to assist the blind and others to use computers and do anything they desire.

I now know how important it is to do my part in making sure my computer websites are handicap accessible. I will definitely teach my students the importance of these procedures as well. Although it is the law, it is an honor to assist as much as I can.

Alabama Virtual Library (AVL)

Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) is a resource tool for researching just about any topic. This website is very handy to K-12 students, college students, teachers and actually anyone who is a resident of Alabama. To access this website, you need to register at any of the local libraries for a library card. You must bring proof of residence in Alabama and picture identification. If you are a student you can register at your school if they have that option. AVL contains magazines, newspapers, and journal articles from the internet database. If anyone should have problems locating a specific item or technical help, they even provide a technical support team for your convenience.

I will take a field trip to the library when I become a teacher to ensure all of my students register for a library card to receive this free benefit if my school does not provide the students this service. It will definitely save everybody some gas money. You can surf Alabama Virtual Library instead of driving to the library to do research. This will be a great idea to help my students with their studies.

A Night in the Global Village

The Global Village at Heifer Camp is a project founded in Perryville, AR. This project was created to bring awareness to light about the unprivileged countries around the globe. This project is a reality check for those people in the United States who don’t appropriate how well or know how good they have it in this country. A program called Global Gateway provides support to these needy countries. This project reconstructed struggles the countries are experiencing to have the children participate in reenactments of their survival skills. The camp is actually filled with people who want to end poverty and hungry. The camp provide programs on an individual and group level.
Groups of children get to spend the night in realistic camps without all the supplies needed like food, water, or wood. Each group will be subjected to one of the hardships found in Guatemala, Thailand, Zambia, the Appalachians, or refugee camps. The children, in one night, will get a reality check on the world outside of their own. They will mimic several of the many daily activities other countries’ children endure. This project will help children to understand what is going in the world today. It will let them know that they should be happy with everything they have and appreciate their lifestyle. This is a great awareness activity for children to experience. It is also a great lesson to integrate into your curriculum about learning the counties around the globe.

The Edible Schoolyard

Today’s society is providing our children with unhealthy foods. Families usually eat out or away from home. This pattern is affecting our youth. Our children need to be introduced to health foods and possibly participate in the preparation of their meals. Alice Waters from Berkeley, California felt we should take it a little further than that and incorporate health foods into our academic curriculum. At Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, Waters created a learning environment that is essential to the students learning and diets, with the permission of the principal who thought it was an excellent idea. King’s cafeteria had been closed due to the overpopulating student body. The students were being served microwave bag lunches outside on the blacktop. Water suggested that the students plant and care for a garden on an acre surrounding the blacktops at the school. This would become their learning environment. She also reopened the cafeteria so the students could utilize it as a learning tool, cooking and eating the foods from the garden instead of the bag lunch they were receiving everyday. The students sit in the center of their garden learning many subjects and eating their home grown produces. “Children learn about the connection between what they eat and where it comes from, with the goal of fostering environmental stewardship and revolutionizing the school lunch program.” Waters believed children learn more when they are eating because they are using all their senses. This area of the school was named The Edible Schoolyard.

I really enjoyed the pod cast. It revealed so many unique ways to educate your students with something as simple as foods. This schoolyard also teaches students long-lasting life skills. I will definitely integrate a few of these activities into my lesson plans. One idea that I thought of while typing this post is when I teach my students their organic shapes, we can grow some fruits prior to the lesson. This will not only teach them science but provide them a health snack.

Podcasts

Coming from a background without any computer knowledge, I had no idea what a podcast was until I enrolled in this class. At first I was pretty nervous about performing for one for the world to see but after actual viewing a few, I feel much more confident and comfortable in producing one. I do not know if I will appear as a pro but I will put my best into this project.

I viewed MacBreak Weekly by Alex Lindsay. Lindsay explains the advantages of using Tubemogul to unload and track you online media. I find this podcast to be fairly boring. The next one I viewed was This Week in Photography by Andrew Darlo which discussed the many ways to utilize photography. I found this podcast very interesting because I enjoy taking pictures of people and the ideas he gave on printing styles would be very helpful for my develop. I could relate to some of the things he mentioned from my photograpy class in high school which I absolutely loved!

SmartBoard Lessons Podcast Episode 146 by Ben Hazzard and Joan Badger described the clouds and their formations. This would be helpful to view before teaching a lesson about clouds to your students in your class. One thing I liked about the way they developed their lessons is that, they always defined words within their lessons they felt were important for interpretation of the lessons. My favorite podcast viewing was from an elementary school in Arlington, VA. The students at Jamestown Elementary used pocasting in creative way. One of them was an audio recording of their second graders. They gave a speech on their understanding of the responsibilities of the students, their teacher, their parents and themselves. They did a great job.

The last one I viewed was from Jamestown Elementary School as well. Their first grade teacher scanned the children’s art work on the computer. She then had her students to display a story about their piece of art work as it was viewed. I bet these students were so proud of the way this teacher displayed their artwork for the world to view with a mini story to go along with it. Jamestown School Podcast #17 is a viewing of Mrs. Weaver's class performing their version of Cinderella. I enjoyed this one also, it gave me an idea for my classroom.

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Randy Pausch's Last Lecture was very entertaining and motivational. All college students need to hear his speech; it covered all the highlights and struggles of life. I learned many things throughout his speech that will encourage me to never give up, remember where you came from to appreciate where you're going, and "we can not change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." There were so many inspirational things mentioned in this video. The things I learned to help assist my students in their endeavors were always providing them with high expectations, sale a fun-filled education, and believe in my students.

When Pausch said "never give up", I felt he was talking directly to me. I have been so stressed out lately and needed a boost. His speech made one thing very clear, "don't complain, just work harder". He said "be good at something, makes you valuable." I believe I will be a great teacher. I like to help others, I self-reflect, and I want to enable my childhood dreams as well as others. He mentioned it is great to have childhood dreams; "childhood dreams are unlimited." We, prospective teachers, need to understand that we will become "dream keepers". It is our duty to instill in our students the fundamental basics and "power of enthusiasm" for education and life skills.

We, as educators must learn to continuously believe in our students. Our students are good at something; it's up to us to found out what that something is. We must make school an essential learning environment as well as fun. Who says education has to be boring? Our children believe we will provide a quality education, so lets give to them. When the students do well, make sure you display their work for the world to see. Provide the students with freedom to be creative and responsive.

We must be patient, helpful, and loyally dedicated. "Loyalty is a two-way street." If you provide your students with effective teaching, they with produce effective grades. Focus on your students’ education and not your career or your paycheck. If teaching becomes to challenging always know help is a good thing. "Brick walls are there for a reason, to stop those who don't really want it bad enough." I will adhere to all the advice from this video, I know it will make me a better person all around.