Sample Research Paper: Peer Responds

Sample Research Paper: Peer Responds

To View the Final Research Paper, Visit http://academicresearchtutor.com/

In this media segment, you will observe Mr. Robert Recio in his Prekindergarten classroom. Throughout this media file you will notice how Mr. Recio presents himself towards parents and students, his classroom procedures, his expectations of his students, and effective practices (Laureate Education, 2014h). Let’s take a look.

          One crucial effective practice that is showed in the media file is how tuned in you is to the students and parents and actively tries to make them feel comfortable. It is shown that “students need to see things around the classroom that represent them” (Laureate Education, 2014f). You have pictures of students and their families around the classroom, making your classroom feel like home, great job! In one situation that we saw, you observed that one student came in and didn’t act quite like their normal self, you then found out they were tired (Laureate Education, 2014h). It is shown that the students trust you socially; this will in turn increase academic motivation. Mr. Recio, one question for you, how long did you take you to build a relationship with the parents? Also, to newer early childhood educators, what is some advice you can give them in getting to know their students?

          Let’s talk about what we saw during transitions in your classroom. We saw you singing a little tune for Wally to either use the bathroom and then to line up. We also in a different transition that you prompted students to activate their schema and think of an “Ss” word or a pet (Laureate Education, 2014h). Your transitions flowed so well; did you always do different types of transitions for different times of the day?  I would love to hear about your process of trial and error, if there is any. 

          When watching you in action, I noticed how often you say ‘thank you’ to the children (Laureate Education, 2014h). Modeling like that is so great to see! I am sure that the majority of students pick up on the modeling that you implement. My question to you, have you ever had a student that deliberately did the opposite of everything that you modeled? If so, how was that handled?

          Overall, I wanted to give you kudos on how well you are running your classroom. You seem to have a handle on behavior management and activating your students’ schema. We saw that during one of your transitions having the student’s think of an “Ss” word, bringing literacy learning into transitions! In the future, I would love to see more examples of how you implement literacy in your early childhood setting.

PEER 2  JAM G

In this week’s media program Robert Recio, an early childhood educator, is featured and discusses how he provides a culturally, socially, and emotionally supportive environment (Laureate Education, 2014b). Robert is the lead teacher in a preschool class of 4 and 5 year olds, working alongside two other teachers. Many of Robert’s students speak Spanish, as does Robert. He can often be heard speaking in Spanish to students as well as parents. This use of primary language with ELLs helps the students and families feel welcome and more comfortable, especially for those who are coming to a school setting for the first time. Robert uses many different effective classroom management practices, which are extremely important in an early childhood classroom setting. The classroom is organized by subject or area, such as science, blocks, computers, library, and dramatic play. Students are provided with opportunities to learn during “circle time” as a group, as well as engage in independent free play. Every experience in this classroom is a learning experience, including transition times. Robert also pays attention to the interests and needs of individual students and scaffolds according to these needs. Robert models trust and respect, as well as appropriate behavior and manners. He creates a feeling of family and community in his classroom where students feel valued and that they belong. All of the teachers use every day situations to create problem-solving opportunities, such as conflicts between children and clean-up time. Robert also brings a sense of pride to his students in his classroom. He includes real photographs of the children in multiple places in the room, from the daily schedule to the attendance to their cubbies. He also uses student-made labels and posters to identify different areas of the classroom, as well as asks students for their permission to display their artwork. When students look around their classroom and see these things which represent them, they will feel a sense of pride and inclusiveness, which is an important part of a culturally responsive environment (Laureate Education, 2014a).

In addition to effective classroom management, Robert includes many opportunities for literacy development. Robert uses phonics activities as well as music to help students transition to new activities. He includes literacy activities such as read-alouds and whole group discussions during circle time. The classroom is a print-rich environment with words and pictures found all through the classroom. He and the other teachers speak to and engage in conversations with students constantly, encouraging speaking and listening skills.

One question I would ask Robert, is what other literacy activities and instructional practices do you use in your classroom, especially when working with these very young ELLs?

Secondly, Robert, how do you encourage problem solving when two or more students come into a conflict, such as when one boy knocked over the other boy’s tower?

Third, how do you try to involve the families and your community in your classroom?

One missed opportunity I saw was when the three boys where playing with blocks and one boy could be seen yelling and upset because another boy was bothering him. While I mostly agree with how Robert handled the situation, but explaining to the boy that it is not acceptable to yell at his friends, I feel that he could have extended this situation as an opportunity for the boy to practice how to appropriately speak to and engage with his friends when he is feeling mad or frustrated.