Jordan Lee Gentry
Liberty University
|
Ozark, MO
501-249-4188
jlgentry3@liberty.edu
Task 1- Unit Plan/ Learning Segment (.docx) 0.04mb Task 1- Lesson Plans (.docx) 0.05mb SHAPE America Membership Card (.pdf) 0.05mb 2022-2024
Varsity Assistant (Ozark High School, Ozark, MO
2024-2025
Junior High Football (Ozark Junior High, Ozark, MO)
2024-2025
Child Abuse Completion Certificate (.pdf) 0.11mb CPR and First Aid certification (.pdf) 0.03mb Praxis Score Report (.pdf) 0.36mb JORDAN GENTRY
1114 W Cobblefield Way, Ozark, MO 65721 I 501-249-4188 I jordangentry@ozarktigers.org
Skills Summary
Coaching Experience, Skilled Classroom Manager, Adaptable, Willingness to Learn, and a Team Player
Education
MAT- Secondary Education at Liberty University
Maintained a 3.63 GPA while working full time and fulfilling coaching requirements. Gained field experience through multiple practicums and student teaching in Elementary/ Secondary settings.
Experience
Ozark Junior High
Paraprofessional/ 2022-2025
Assist Classroom Teachers: Support classroom teacher by providing individual instruction to students, pulling students for testing, and maintaining classroom order
Student Support: Provide one-on-one or small group support to students, especially students with IEP’s or 504 plans.
Student Teaching
Student Teacher: Spring 2025
Classroom Management: Gained hands on experience teaching and managing classroom in both elementary and high school level Physical Education classes.
Create Lesson Plans: Created detailed lesson plans that focused on skill acquisition through forms of differentiation and scaffolding to meet the needs of each student.
Memberships
SHAPE America Member
SHAPE America is an excellent resource for Health and Physical Education teachers, and that equip teachers with quality information, trends, and best practices to ensure their effectiveness.
250420010411_RESUME_2025.docx (.docx) 0.04mb CPAST Mid-Term (High School) (.html) 0.41mb CPAST MID-TERM (Elementary) (.html) 0.57mb Field Experience Summary (.docx) 0.03mb Customized Learning Theory
Intro
As God’s creation, humans are created in His perfect image and are wired to react to and process information in many unique ways. This reaction to the world around us is influenced by different social and environmental factors that allow humans to learn and develop as they mature. Because we are wired to be unique, not everyone develops the same. Social theorists have studied this phenomenon to better understand how learning occurs and how we can successfully develop children during different stages of adolescence. These theories are important for teachers to understand and apply to develop students’ social behavior, cognitive skills, and moral awareness. Although these theories are not one size fits all, educators should strive to develop a style of education that follows these theories and satisfies the student’s needs. This style should allow students to develop character, build relationships, improve self-efficacy, as well as help students with diverse learning needs. By doing so, teachers can implement a game plan that aids students in the classroom, at home, and in the future.
In this case study, we will be looking at Keven. Keven is a sixth-grade student who has bounced around from school to school in the past two years. He lives at home with his father and two younger sisters while his mom is deployed overseas. Kevin is an average student who receives B’s and C’s in all of his classes except in math. Keven failed math the previous year and is continuing to struggle this year. Keven’s teacher describes his behavior in the classroom as unmotivated, careless, and off-task. Although his teacher has tried to offer an incentive-based program, Keven has declined to participate. Keven’s teacher has discussed Keven’s behavior with his father and has noticed that Keven’s father might be overwhelmed with responsibility due to his mom not being around. His father says that Keven has many interests which include: karate, skateboarding, and playing computer games. His father also mentions that Keven loves Sunday School which reflects a classroom setting. Keven requires a game plan to fit his unique educational needs.
Customized Learning Theory
I believe learning is heavily dependent on different biological and environmental development, and one’s cognitive skills and social development directly affect academic performance. Jean Piaget designed a four-step cognitive development process that operates under the premise that children go through four stages of mental development (McLeod, 2018). This means at each stage a child unlocks a new level of cognitive function. Since his stages are characterized by different age ranges, a child might not be capable of the mental capacity to fully comprehend something depending on his or her age. Because we know how old Keven is, we can deduce that he should be in Piaget’s 3rd stage of cognitive development. This stage refers to kids who are between the ages of 7 to 11. By understanding Piaget’s theory, we can better understand Keven and the factors that may be keeping him from succeeding in the classroom.
Keven has developed past Piaget’s 2nd stage due to his ability to read and write proficiently. During this stage, children can recognize symbols and learn words through the use of pictures. Keven has passed the preoperational stage because he can read and write well; however, some outside factors are keeping him from being able to process math. Vygotsky hypothesized the sociocultural theory in which learning is described as a function of social progress where parents, guardians, teachers, society, and a community's culture have a vital role in developing a child's higher psychological functions (Daniels, 2016). I believe his cognitive skills have slowed down due to his unstable home life. While his mom is overseas, and his dad is paying more attention to his younger sisters, Keven has a lack of parental guidance and this could be creating a negative environment for him. This environment could be hindering Keven from developing enough cognitively to have success in the classroom.
Description of an Effective Teacher
When I think of an effective teacher, I think of someone who creates a safe environment, sets clear standards for the classroom, and can adapt to any student’s learning needs. An effective learning environment creates an atmosphere conducive to interest and inquiry (Slavin and Schunk, 2021). This environment should have distinct guidelines, spark imagination, and provoke interest. By creating an effective learning environment, a teacher is ensuring that her students feel comfortable actively participating in the curriculum and have a better opportunity to convert the material into long-term memory. A teacher should also embody a high moral character. Some students, like Keven, don’t get a consistent adult in their lives daily, and this teacher-and-student interaction can positively influence them and their moral development. Albert Bandura’s social learning theory defines modeling as the imitation of other’s behavior learning from other successes or failures (Slavin and Schunk, 2021). In this scenario, the teacher is the model, and the student can mimic or learn moral development through social interaction.
An Effective teacher must also be able to adapt their teaching methods to best fit their student's learning needs. In Keven’s case, he enjoys Sunday School, so I think it would be a great idea to incorporate similar learning strategies used in Sunday School. This would more than likely involve more social interaction. Bandura's social learning theory also recognizes motivation as a primary factor in the advancement of learning (Bandura and Hall, 2018). Just like peer relationships are important, I believe the teacher and student relationship is crucial to the learning process. Students must be able to trust and feel comfortable in the class to learn. One way to bridge the teacher-student gap would be incorporating their interests or today's trends into each lesson. An effective teacher should have a positive impact on the lives of his or her students. This impact can help students become more motivated to learn and get excited to come to class.
Description of an Effective Classroom
An effective classroom has certain characteristics that create a successful learning environment. An effective learning environment creates an atmosphere conductive to interest and inquiry (Slavin and Schunk, 2021). I believe this environment should consist of a flexible teacher who gives good instruction and encourages active participation. In Bandura’s social cognitive theory, he claimed that people, behaviors, and their environment were all variables that determine self-efficacy. Bandura claims that self-efficacy is a key variable in social cognitive theory and refers to personal beliefs about one’s capabilities to learn or perform actions at designated levels (Slavin and Schunk, 2021). Although self-efficacy is not the same as learning, it allows students to feel confident and ready to learn. This concept illustrates that a person’s environment influences his or her behavior and that behavior can allow the student either to thrive or give up. For example, if a person feels they are performing well in a task, they will be more encouraged to continue learning. If a person does not feel comfortable in his or her environment, they might perform as well on a task. From the case study, it is hard to know exactly how Keven feels about the classroom, but I would say his “unmotivated” appearance stems from his self-confidence in math. I think it would be wise to build Keven’s self-efficacy. If the teacher could incorporate ways to make him feel more confident in the classroom, then I think he would be much more willing to stay engaged and possibly try harder. This is why the teacher needs to create an effective learning environment. The next thing an effective classroom should have is good instruction. Much human learning occurs vicariously, or without an overt performance by the learner, at the time of learning (Slavin and Schunk, 2021). These sources of learning could include listening to the teacher's lecture, observing a cartoon, watching a movie, or reading a book. These types of sources accelerate learning and can protect the student from negative consequences. We learn that poisonous snakes are dangerous through teaching by others, reading books, watching films, and so forth, rather than experiencing the unpleasant consequences of their bites (Slavin and Schunk, 2021). Learning complex skills is typically best done by combining observation and performance. A class's structure should allow the teacher to give the child what he needs for the student to be successful.
Technology has also made it possible for students to be able to interact with different learning tools while still using Bandura’s social learning theory. These tools can incorporate concepts being used in Bandura’s prerequisite of reproduction. Although technology is a useful tool, the teacher must align the activity with learning objectives to avoid distraction. By incorporating technology into the classroom, the teacher creates a more coinvent way for teachers and students to interact. This technology could also be used as a motivator for students. Instead of drilling classwork, the use of computers, games, or videos could create a more relaxed learning environment. By incorporating technology into the classroom, the teacher can be flexible and adjust the learning content to fit the student’s needs. I think Keven would benefit from using technology to learn in the classroom. His father mentioned he enjoys playing computer games, so if a teacher could assign math games to keep him engaged, that could help him boost his confidence with math.
An effective learning environment must also incorporate an appropriate behavior management system to protect all students’ ability to learn. Although there might be structure in the classroom, there must be rules set in place for students who forget or disregard the rules. Feeling safe is vital to establish an effective learning environment. Interactions between students and their teacher should be polite and appropriate to protect the effectiveness of the classroom environment. This politeness protects students from the possibility of bullying and ensures safety for students to feel safe and confident.
Biblical Basis
As educators, it is important to set an example and lead children to the ideal behavior just as Christ has modeled for us. Just like Albert Bandura’s theory of moral development, students are constantly learning and processing information, so teachers should demonstrate high moral character at all times. Students may come from messy homes, but teachers can be that positive influence that inspires positive behavior. Ephesians 6:4 states, “Fathers do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in discipline and instruction (2003)”. All teachers should be compassionate and loving to their students just as Christ showed us, love. Teachers and students will never be perfect, but by showing grace we can ensure that a classroom is always a safe place that encourages learning. Ephesians 4:32 explains, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ forgave you (2003)”. Because of Christ, we are forgiven of sin, so we should look to glorify him in all of our actions. We should be loving in all of our occupations and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ. And for those who have not come to know Him, we should let our actions lead them to Christ. Matthew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let your shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven (2003). Positive development can only be guaranteed by modeling these practices within the classroom. This will provide a safe learning environment and encourage behavior that can be applied in the classroom and at home.
Conclusion
These learning development theories explain the process of how students develop cognitively and perform in the classroom. Social factors allow students to develop the cognitive function and this affects academic performance. Although many theorists have explained cognitive development, I believe Piaget’s theory explained learning development the best. Piaget’s sequential development process explains how students unlock cognitive function at different ages. Because of this, teaching strategies should be designed to meet the learning capabilities of its students. The social relationships between students, teachers, parents, and peers are crucial to a child’s development. Because of this, teachers need to create an effective learning environment for their students. Without this environment, students will not be able to develop as well cognitively; therefore, this will result in shortcomings in the classroom. That is why teachers must consider factors that affect cognitive and social development when formulating an effective teaching strategy.
References
Bandura, A., & Hall, P. (2018). Albert bandura and social learning theory. Learning Theories for Early Years Practice, 63.
Crossway. (2003). The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Classic Pew and Worship Edition.
Daniels, H. (2016). Vygotsky and Pedagogy: Classic Edition. Routledge.
McLeod, S. (2018). Piaget's theory and stages of cognitive development. Developmental
Psychology, Simply Psychology.
Slavin, R., Schuck, D., (2021). Learning theories. (Third Custom Edition). Pearson Education Company.
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