#melissa keller

[mxchaelridley]

this film was made with every piece of my heart. and now it belongs to you.

KNEE HIGH. written & directed by marissa vonn.

now available on @tubi

[blackros78]

Melissa Keller

[mxchaelridley]

IndieWrap for KNEE HIGH

thank you x a million for the conversation. it means the world.

Knee High is available now on @tubi

In Knee High, Michael Ridley delivers a quietly devastating performance as Cal, a young man navigating grief, fatherhood, and the unspoken w

[lustcovetdesire]

California Dreamin' courtesy of Lust Covet Desire

Tiffany is wearing Nomia's Mock Neck Crop Muscle Tee and 3.1 Phillip Lim Classic Square sunglasses

Photographer: Melissa Keller Model: Tiffany Toto, Q Management Inc. Stylist: Amanda Gilbert

[cinderellafellajoe]

Budweiser has done it again. *sobbing due to too much cuteness*

[mjk5432-blog]

Melissa's Self Assessment

Self Assessment

Overall Grade: A

Field work/field notes: movie critique

For this assignment we had to not only critique our classmates work, but we had to have our own work critiqued as well. This assignment was one of the more difficult ones because I had to be sure that the advice that I was giving to the behaviorist group was accurate, meaningful, but not offensive with the language that I used to describe the flaws. It also meant that I had to really know the content of behaviorism in order to give accurate advice. It was nice but also a little nerve racking to have our work reviewed by our peers and made me a little uncomfortable. After reflecting on this assignment I can see why Joe made us do this, because as a teacher we are going to have to be able to have our work reviewed by our colleagues and administrators to make sure what we are teaching the students is quality information and has a purpose in the classroom.

Reading responses: Tumblr

Throughout the course of the semester we had various readings that focused on different philosophies of teaching. We were encouraged to document our thoughts and findings on the different topics on our group’s Tumblr page. The reading responses allowed us to get a better understanding of the information and made it easier to process and also look back on. The Tumblr also helped out a great deal when writing our philosophy statements. I feel like our Tumblr really demonstrates all of the hard work our group did the whole semester, and allows a person to see all of the hard work and learning that went on when we were in the classroom. It documents how our learning has changed, allowed other classmates to see our work and use it as a resource, and it was just nice to be able to have all of our group’s work in once place.

Philosophy Statement:

For our philosophy statement we were supposed to write about our own personal teaching philosophy, how it has changed, and how we will use it in our future classroom. We had to write a rough draft before turning in the final product. I liked that we were able to have our peers review and have editing workshops in class to get our classmates thoughts and opinions on our to improve our statements. It really helped me out and I feel like my group mates were able to give me useful advice. It was nice to be able to see the change in my thinking of teaching from what I thought in the beginning of this class to the end. I feel like Joe really allowed us to understand the different philosophies and shaped us into forming our own opinions in how we would want to incorporate in our own classroom. When we go on job interviews in the future we will have to have to discuss our philosophy statements and it is nice to already have the groundwork laid out, and it will be interesting to see how my philosophy will change by the end of my time here at Penn State.

Multimedia Case Study: Final Project

For our final project my group decided to make a video of how the College of Education should make it mandatory that ECE 451 and CI 295a be taken during the same semester. We interviewed our group mates and shared our opinions on our personal experiences with taking the two classes. It was interesting because we had students who took them during different semesters, and also students who were taking them simultaneously. We discussed the benefits and disadvantages to having them in the same semester and also provided useful advice for the administration that could make great changes for the education program at Penn State. During the process of interviewing Joe really helped us dig deeper and encouraged us to really ask interesting questions and try to understand how the person feels. We had to start out with broad questions and just allow the person being interviewed express their opinions freely. I feel like this is an important skill to have as a teacher because you want to be able to understands your students and get an idea of what they are thinking, without having your questions influence their personal opinions. Our final product I feel will help the education program and will be of great benefit to future Penn State education students. 

[mjk5432-blog]

Melissa's Rough Draft Philosophy Statement

Melissa Keller

Philosophy Paper

ECE 451

              Learning is an ongoing process that is always changing as your grow older and learn more about the world and yourself. Before taking ECE 451 I was used to a typical college class where you would go in, listen to the professor lecture, take notes, and then study for the 2 exams that you have through out the semester. That was not the case in Joe’s class. He wanted this class to be interactive, and at times a little bit unpredictable because he was trying to show us what it is really like to be a teacher. He put us in situations where we were not always comfortable and allowed us to experience first hand all of the difficult tasks we will have to deal with as a teacher. At times it was a bit frustrating, but I am thankful for the experience because I can look back and see what I was learning, and the process that it took to allow me to fully understand what Joe was trying to teach.

Before this class I knew little about the actual philosophies behind how I was taught in school. Starting early in elementary school it seemed to be mainly behaviorist and constructivist. In elementary school and going on into later schooling we were constantly reinforced in our learning, a main component of the behaviorist theory. MacNaughton stated, “When a child’s behavior is reinforced they are made stronger or more likely to occur through the use of rewards (or reinforcers)” (MacNaughton, 2003).  In one of my elementary school classes, if we preformed well on quizzes and homework’s we would receive stickers, then after a certain amount of stickers we were able to trade them in for a prize like a bouncy ball or candy. In this aspect of behaviorism I enjoyed it and was successful at it. I did what was needed to get the good grade and then get the reward. For many students this type of learning works. Behaviorism learning is organized and orderly, and seeks to encourage and motivate learners.  We learned about behaviorism through project based learning when we had to do the claymation. By acting out how behaviorism would play out in a classroom it allowed my understanding of the concept to be stronger.  MacNaughton (2003) says, “adjust reinforcement to each child's learning so that they can understand comprehend reinforcement from teacher for different types of behavior” (p. 21). However there also was the part of behaviorism that many find boring and unsuccessful, skill and drill. Almost everyday during my formative years, the schedule was the same in each class. We would come in, listen to the teacher lecture by either power point or examples on the board and then do practice problems. We would then have quizzes, tests, and papers to assess our learning. This was the part of behaviorist style learning in which I did not like, however I was successful at it. I would memorize the information taught and that we were being tested on and do well on the tests. Still, right after the test was over I didn’t remember or use any of the previous information. This type of learning helped me do well in school but is it really worth it if I didn’t remember the information the day after it ended?

 In my future classroom I plan to incorporate behaviorism but in some different ways. I like how MacNaughton’s book it says, “Set clear goals for child's learning: structure clear step by step program to reach those goals; Encourage children to stay on task; Reinforcers; Design learning" (Slee, 1998). This quote incorporates some of the key aspects I would use in my classroom. By working together with the children to set classroom and individual goals it will help everyone have something to accomplish and work towards. Also I do like being organized and orderly so by encouraging to stay on task I can work individually and in groups with students to help them if they are falling behind. As well, I do believe in the power of reinforcement and think that if a child is successful at something they deserve to be celebrated and feel good about it. I will incoroporate all the theories that we learned throughout the semester and not just soley focus on one theory to bring into my classroom.

In the beginning of Joe’s class the classroom environment was based on the theories of behaviorism and maturationism then we moved into the reform stage of our class. We were able to choose what we wanted to do and assess how it would affect our learning. Joe gave the option of whether or not we wanted to continue using the Tumblr and he really gave us the option of what we wanted to do using the constructivism theory. As MacNaughton says, “The goal is to support the child in his or her need to actively interact with his or her environment in order to make sense of it” (MacNaughton, 2003). This style of teaching is very child centered and emphasizes self-discovery. Constructivism seems to take the completely opposite approach as behaviorism when stated, “Teachers should guide, stimulate and challenge thinking, rather than using rote learning to teach new thinking” (Henniger, 1999).  I like the idea of self-discovery and allowing the child to think on their own and I will use this in my classroom to promote critical thinking and problem solving skills. 

[mjk5432-blog]

Melissa's Philosophy Statement

Melissa Keller

Philosophy Paper

ECE 451

              Learning is an ongoing process that is always changing as your grow older and learn more about the world and yourself. Before taking ECE 451 I was used to a typical college class where you would go in, listen to the professor lecture, take notes, and then study for the 2 exams that you have through out the semester. That was not the case in Joe’s class. He wanted this class to be interactive, and at times a little bit unpredictable because he was trying to show us what it is really like to be a teacher. He put us in situations where we were not always comfortable and allowed us to experience first hand all of the difficult tasks we will have to deal with as a teacher. At times it was a bit frustrating, but I am thankful for the experience because I can look back and see what I was learning, and the process that it took to allow me to fully understand what Joe was trying to teach.

Before this class I knew little about the actual philosophies behind how I was taught in school. Starting early in elementary school it seemed to be mainly behaviorist and constructivist. In elementary school and going on into later schooling we were constantly reinforced in our learning, a main component of the behaviorist theory. MacNaughton stated, “When a child’s behavior is reinforced they are made stronger or more likely to occur through the use of rewards (or reinforcers)” (MacNaughton, 2003).  In one of my elementary school classes, if we preformed well on quizzes and homework’s we would receive stickers, then after a certain amount of stickers we were able to trade them in for a prize like a bouncy ball or candy. In this aspect of behaviorism I enjoyed it and was successful at it. I did what was needed to get the good grade and then get the reward. For many students this type of learning works. Behaviorism learning is organized and orderly, and seeks to encourage and motivate learners.  We learned about behaviorism through project based learning when we had to do the claymation. By acting out how behaviorism would play out in a classroom it allowed my understanding of the concept to be stronger.  MacNaughton (2003) says, “adjust reinforcement to each child's learning so that they can understand comprehend reinforcement from teacher for different types of behavior” (p. 21). However there also was the part of behaviorism that many find boring and unsuccessful, skill and drill. Almost everyday during my formative years, the schedule was the same in each class. We would come in, listen to the teacher lecture by either power point or examples on the board and then do practice problems. We would then have quizzes, tests, and papers to assess our learning. This was the part of behaviorist style learning in which I did not like, however I was successful at it. I would memorize the information taught and that we were being tested on and do well on the tests. Still, right after the test was over I didn’t remember or use any of the previous information. This type of learning helped me do well in school but is it really worth it if I didn’t remember the information the day after it ended?

 In my future classroom I plan to incorporate behaviorism but in some different ways. I like how MacNaughton’s book it says, “Set clear goals for child's learning: structure clear step by step program to reach those goals; Encourage children to stay on task; Reinforcers; Design learning" (Slee, 1998). This quote incorporates some of the key aspects I would use in my classroom. By working together with the children to set classroom and individual goals it will help everyone have something to accomplish and work towards. Also I do like being organized and orderly so by encouraging to stay on task I can work individually and in groups with students to help them if they are falling behind. As well, I do believe in the power of reinforcement and think that if a child is successful at something they deserve to be celebrated and feel good about it. I will incoroporate all the theories that we learned throughout the semester and not just soley focus on one theory to bring into my classroom.

In the beginning of Joe’s class the classroom environment was based on the theories of behaviorism and maturationism then we moved into the reform stage of our class. We were able to choose what we wanted to do and assess how it would affect our learning. Joe gave the option of whether or not we wanted to continue using the Tumblr and he really gave us the option of what we wanted to do using the constructivism theory. As MacNaughton says, “The goal is to support the child in his or her need to actively interact with his or her environment in order to make sense of it” (MacNaughton, 2003). This style of teaching is very child centered and emphasizes self-discovery. Constructivism seems to take the completely opposite approach as behaviorism when stated, “Teachers should guide, stimulate and challenge thinking, rather than using rote learning to teach new thinking” (Henniger, 1999).  I like the idea of self-discovery and allowing the child to think on their own and I will use this in my classroom to promote critical thinking and problem solving skills.

            Joe was trying to transform our thinking, and for the most part I feel like it was a success. Project based learning was a big part of our class and I now can see the benefits that it has on students and their learning. I will use project based learning in my class because I feel like it can assess the learner, without the major pressure of an exam or presentation. The students are able to experience their learning, and as a teacher I will ask the student how they are experiencing their learning and why it is important to that individual.  “Educators can choose to be actively involved in transformation of inequalities in their work or implicitly involved in reproducing inequalities. As teachers we are cultural workers, whether we are aware of it or not. If teachers don’t question the culture and values being promoted in the classroom, we socialize our students to accept the inequalities of our society along lines of race, class, gender, and ability”(Jungck and Marshall, 1992).  I feel like this is important because as an educator you need to be sure you are recognizing all the different types of cultures that are being brought into your classroom.