Practice Teaching: Group Profile In order to know more about my practice group (1-2) I administered a survey with specific questions towards the objective of gathering information for the group profile. The following graphs are the results of the survey given to the students, so I can learn more about their demographic information and their interest. It’s important to inform that these graphs may vary inconsiderable, because there is one student that may be removed to another school. Of course, this data may also vary significantly, because the questions were asked to the students and not their parents which can implicate considerable difference in the data given. 1. Name (Gender)
From a 100% of the group a 43% of the students are feminine and the majority which is 57% masculine. 2. How old are you? (Age)
Miss. Clemente (2014)
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Practice Teaching: Group Profile The 56% of the students are of 5 years old and only an 8% of them are 7 years and one of them is repeating the grade. The one who’s repeating the first grade has many behavioral problems. The majority of the students were born on September, December and April.
3. Where do you live? (Place) Type of home.
The majority of the students live at Juncos and Las Piedras where the location of the school is basically on the border of both towns. Many of the students live in houses and only a few in Projects or Apartments.
4. With whom do you live?
Miss. Clemente (2014)
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Practice Teaching: Group Profile
The 72% of the students from group 1-2 live with their parents which indicate (according to social standards) that the environment is a healthier and stable one. A 14% of the students live only with their mother. A 10% live with others such as uncles or grandparents and only 4% live with their fathers. Drastically, we can see how the role of women as a single parent is more prominent than single fathers. Luckily, the majority of these students are living with both of their parents which is something uncommon now days. 5. Do you have any brothers or sisters? How Many?
Miss. Clemente (2014)
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Practice Teaching: Group Profile
Impressive as it is, our overpopulation it’s outstanding. Regarding with the results of this information a 38% of the students have more than 1 sibling which indicates that this factor may contribute with the variety of behavior and attitudes of the students. Some factors can be the division of attention they receive at home, copying the behavior of older siblings and even lack of economic resources, may have a positive or negative effect on these students. 6. How do you arrive to school?
Miss. Clemente (2014)
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Practice Teaching: Group Profile The majority of the students do not arrive in the School Bus. Most of the students have their parents drive them to school and there is no specific problem with either of them arriving to school. 7. Do you have a computer at your house?
A 50% of the group has a computer at their home and the other 50% doesn’t, but there are many facilities in the school that they can use in order to complete the assignment that requires one. 8. What do you like to do in the English class?
Miss. Clemente (2014)
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Practice Teaching: Group Profile A lot of the students like to perform the four skills presented, but most of them prefer to read (even if the majority still doesn’t read), to write and to definitely sing. 9. What is your favorite TV show?
While asking the students about their favorite TV show some of them mentioned cartoons in general, but others were very specific and said, SpongeBob Square Pants, Tom & Jerry, Lego, Monster Hat, Green Lantern, Strawberry Shortcake, Discovery Kids, Dora the Explorer, Doki and My Little Pony. Others mentioned programs or movies in general; they had no specific TV show as a favorite. 10. What is your favorite Hobby? (You can select a minimum of 3)
Miss. Clemente (2014)
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Practice Teaching: Group Profile There is a common preference between Video Games, Dancing, Exploring and Movies. Some of the students that selected sports mentioned that Basketball, Soccer and Swimming were their favorite sports. 11. What is your favorite class?
There is a 25% of the students that love Spanish class, a 22% English and an 18% Math. Still, most of them do not domain or understand fully the English language so that can be frustrating for them. 12. What’s your least favorite class?
Miss. Clemente (2014)
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Practice Teaching: Group Profile
The majority of the students dislike the English class because they do not understand the language as it is mentioned previously. The teacher and I try to give the class a 90% English and 10% Spanish, but it’s inevitable to code switch constantly because only a few understand and are fluent in the language. Some of the other classes are dislike because of the level of difficulty or content (what students said when this question was asked). 13. What’s your favorite color?
There is a lot of preference with the colors red, pink and blue. The students were really excited with this question. It’s important for me to know their favorite colors because I can reach them with examples and analogies in order for them to understand better what is being given. 14. What’s your favorite animal?
Miss. Clemente (2014)
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Practice Teaching: Group Profile
Loving dogs was not surprising for me, but there were a lot of preference with the horses and there were only a few variety of favoritism towards animals. As a teacher even though it may sound simple I will try to integrate animals in the class in order to promote diversity helping the students find their own identity and preference. 15. What’s your favorite food?
Favorite Food
29%
4%
Rice and Beans Chinese Food
15%
81%
Burguers 52%
Pizza
Insignifically, as it may seem the majority of the students prefer junk food instead of cultural and healthier food. These results speak of their health and attention in class. While researching for information I found out that those different types of junk foods do not only affect your health and body, but also the capacity to receive information and the energy required to do so. 16. What do you want to be when you grow up?
Miss. Clemente (2014)
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Practice Teaching: Group Profile In the results of this question I was happy to know that the diversity was present in students mind. Usually students prefer the same profession (cliché) because is the only thing they know. III- Analysis of the results The analysis presented thru this information contributes a lot with the student’s behavior and attitudes not only towards English but all the subjects in general. The majority of these students have no study structure whatsoever, although there are exceptions that demonstrate the contrary. Thru this study I have encounter that this group needs to be engaged differently from the other first grade, but changing the style can affect those who are more advanced. Because of the lack of responsibility of parents I feel I have to find a way to reach deeper into the students. I have noticed that the majority are not receiving help at home. I need to find new strategies to develop not only the listening and speaking skills but most importantly writing! The group doesn’t finish their work. They don’t like to write and many parents don’t seem to care and they just send them to school as a day care center. Some of the answers of this survey may be wrong because I noticed how some students lied or invented answers to the questions made (not all of them). It was surprising for me to see how many students sill live with both of their parents and I understood a little bit other students that are presenting behavior and attention problems. I noticed that some of them have no computer facilities. The existence of many siblings requires division of time and attention, so that can affect the student’s behavior in class. A few parents that are always helping their children present problems with the language but motivate their children to do better. IV- Reflection During the process of this survey, I got to know better my students and developed new and different ideas to bring more realia to the class. Using this information I may be able to reach them better and assess their understanding of what’s being given. The purpose is to lower negativism and promote success among the students. Many of the students mentioned what they wanted to be when they grow up and it was impressive for me to see the amount of diversity of the group. Students indicated that they loved to write, read and sing, but as surprising as it is almost all of them do not finish their work and a lot of them do not know how to read, so I didn’t quite understand the results of that particular question. This survey reinforces that education is like a building because teachers built something and parents at home destroy what’s being build, because there is no consistency or reinforcement. We need to be on the same page. The group progression may improve with time and more study structure, but I believe they won’t be able to do it alone if not guided thoroughly. .
Miss. Clemente (2014)
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