Last Day!

Today was my last day to volunteer for the college class I am taking.  It was bitter sweet.  I am sad to not come back to this particular class but I know I am one step closer to becoming a teacher.  There was a little girl that said the cutest thing.  She didn't want me to leave, at least not without a hug.  She said I should say, "I'm leaving so give me a hug!"  I thought about it for a second.  But I said my good byes.  I can't wait to teach little kids. 

What is the most important thing you have learned during fieldwork observation? Why?

What is the most important thing you have learned during fieldwork observation? Why?

What I feel the most important thing I have learned during my fieldwork observation is that every student is different.  They all are learning at different levels.  This is important to know because when you are preparing a lesson you have to make sure each student will be able to complete the tasks and understand.  You have to accommodate each students needs.  Another important thing that I have learned is how to manage the classroom.  If you want the students to accomplish a task a certain way you need to teach and show by example. 

I loved to see how friendly the students were and willing to accept help from a student teacher.  They wanted to read to me and have me help them with their writing.  I loved to see start to understand a concept after I helped explain/work through it with them.  There are many roles for a teacher.  They need to be prepared and have the assignments ready for the students to work on.  They are a role model for each student and you don't realize how much they admire the teacher.  I was able to observe in a 5th grade class and a 2nd grade class.  There was some differences but for the most part, the students wanted to learn in both settings.  Teachers had to put forth a lot of effort and to encourage the students in their efforts to succeed.  The teachers have a great responsibility but they really do care for their students.

Day 7: What are the procedures the teacher uses to make everything run smoothly in the class?

What are the procedures the teacher uses to make everything run smoothly in the class?

When I come in the morning, the students are always reading their books to themselves.  Throughout that time she calls a group of students to read with.  With that group she gives the students the same book to read and has them follow read out loud all at once. At the same time the other students are quietly reading to themselves.  This is a procedure the teacher always follows so that the students know that when they come in the morning they will be reading.  If she were to not do this then the students might misbehave or be a little more rowdy.  Another procedure that the teacher follows is when the rest of the class comes she has them sit on the rug.   After they listen to the daily announcements she has them stand up and say the pledge of alligence.  Then she has the one of the students help change the calendar, how many days they have been in school, what is the weather that day, and share one thing about themselves with the class. (It is different everyday so that every student has the opportunity to help) 

One of the procedures that the teacher uses is when they come in the room to start the day,  they have to put their lunch box in a big container that the students later carries during lunchtime.  They take their home reading and put in the container.  Because she taught them what to do they don't have to ask where they have to put their home reading away.  Becuase of the procedures that the teacher uses I feel that she has a more smoother running class.  The students know what to expect and when the different activities will happen.  They behave well and know can follow the procedures after she has explains them.

Day 6: What strategies does the teacher use to actively engage the students? How effective are these?

What strategies does the teacher use to actively engage the students? How effective are these?

After learning about the different strategies in the coursework, it was wonderful to see how the teacher I observe uses them in her everyday teaching. I was helping out in a second grade class.  I love how each student is very friendly and will let you help them finish an assignment. With the different strategies I will try to share explain examples of where I saw them being used:

*Withitness:  When I first got there, the teacher had all of the students reading to themselves in some part of the classroom.  At the same time she was working with 4 students at a time.  She was reading a certain book with the book.  Even though she was not with all of the students she was aware of what the other students were doing. 

*Feedback:  The students were helping the teacher write a story.  They were giving the teacher feedback at what she should do next.  Another way is there was parent teacher conference that was going to happen afterschool.  The teacher would be able to discuss with the parents what the students needs help with.  If the student was there, the teacher could talk with the student and help answer any questions.  This could be effective because the teacher could evaluate what needs to change and what they could work on together.

*Closure: In the class, they read two different kinds of books.  The both were about leaves.  One was nonfiction while the other was fiction.  At the end the teacher asked the students what fiction was and what nonfiction was.  The students were able to recognize the difference between the two.

*overlapping:  There is one of the students in the classroom that has autism.  When the teacher was helping the other students write steps to carve a pumpkin, she was able to talk to the student.  She was able to mange both the student who was getting frustrated and the other students who need help with spelling words. This was effective because she was able to still have control over the class.  But I do see how it is hard to be focused on both at the same time.

*Questioning Frequency:I did notice one day the teacher read a book out loud as a class.  The students were suppose to read along.  She asked questions along the way to make sure the understood.  The teacher asked quite a bit of question in the time frame when they read.  This strategy was effective because the teacher was able to ask questions and see if the students really understood what they were reading.

*Equitable Distribution: To make sure that every student got an opportunity to participate throughout the day, she had a little bucket full of sticks.  She would pull out names for volunteers.  It seem to work great.  Another example was she rotated who was able to help change the date or start the pledge of allegiance.  Someone different each day.  I felt that everyone thought it was fair so these worked great for the classroom setting. 

*Prompting:  When working on math, instead of telling the student that the answer is wrong and then telling what the correct answer is, the teacher asked questions.  Her questions helped trigger something in the student head to help remember what the correct answer is.  (The steps to get to the right answer). 

One example of active learning was the teacher set up some clocks on the ground.  They were not actual clocks but pieces of papers with clock numbers on them.  The teacher would have the students practice telling time.  One person would be the minute hand while another would be the hour hand.  The class would have to work together to find the right time that was desired.

Day 5: What do you think is the most challenging role a teacher plays? Why?

I switched teachers this time.  I am now helping in a second grade class.  I wanted to split my hours and spend half the time in an older grade and half the time in a younger grade.  The reason I did this is to give an opportunity for myself to see what it is like to teach in the different levels of education. 

The teacher that I helped had each child read out loud to themselves.  I walked around and had each child read to me.  I feel the most challenging role a teacher plays is being able to fit the needs of the student.  I listened how each student were reading at different reading levels.  One child could read without problems at a really good pace.  While there was another student that struggled to sound the words out.  The teacher would need to find a way to challenge the student who could read really well  and at the same time find material that would help the other student grow. 

Another example was I helped the students write how to crave a pumpkin in their own words.  Some children had no problem doing this task.  While others need help spelling words.  A teacher would need to balance their time.  They wouldn't be able to focus their time on one student, even if the student needed help but make sure the overall class was accomplishing the task.  One good way to find time for the one student would be during recess or lunch.

Day 4: •What clerical and preparation responsibilities have you participated in?

What clerical and preparation responsibilities have you participated in?

The teacher had a math test to prepare for so I helped double check her answers on the computer.  She had to use a program on the computer because the kids put their answers on a bubble sheet.  I helped her make copies.  I then had to staple all of the copies together. There was a cool machine in the faculty room that took the messy papers and shakes it until it becomes neat.

I helped the teacher staple two weeks worth of spelling packets together.   Before stapling I had to assemble the packets.  Another clerical and preparation responsibility that I helped participate in was I graded the students homework assignments.  The teacher gave me a reference on what the answers should be and I then recorded the scores in the computer.  I know that teaching a class takes a lot of work.  You can't teach without preparing beforehand.  The teacher didn't do the test prep before so we had to do it in class.

Day 3: •What strategies does the teacher use to support students who are English learners?

I am helping in a 5th grade class.  One strategy the teacher used while I was there was reading out loud.  There was a book that all of the students were following along as she read out loud.  This strategy does help support the students who are English learners because it shows how fun reading can be.  Another strategy that was used while I was there was oral language development.  I listened to a student read out loud and then proceed to retell what had happened.  I had to ask him questions to make sure he understood what he had read.  I had to do this process with 2 different students 2 different times.  It was interesting to see how different the students were when reading the words and their answers. 

I went over the students assignment with them as a class.  I would read the instructions and then the whole question before picking a student to tell me the answer.  I strategy I used was exaggerate intonations at times and made sure I talked slowly.  The students were able to know that the right answer was and all were able to understand the assignment.  There was a math test on this particular day.  I helped a few students on a back table with any help they requested.  I was able to go through each problem and make sure they understood.  There was one student in particular who was able to understand much easier with someone being one on one.

I used what I learned in class about English Learners and these 2 websites to write this post:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/strategies-teaching-english-language-learners
http://benchmarkeducation.com/educational-leader/learning-environment/supporting-english-language-learners-in-reading-and-writing.html

Day 2: Working one on one vs. Working with small group.

Tell about an opportunity you had to work with a small group.

Tell about an opportunity you had to work one on one with a student.

I was able to go back to the 5th grade class this past week.  During my visit I helped a little girl write a story down as she recalled it to me.  Her left arm was broken and she writes with her left hand.  She would have had to write a whole page with a cast on.  I was happy to work one on one with her, and I noticed how bright she was.  She gave great detail about the story and I was able to ask her questions about her reading.  The 5th grader was able to tell me the story in her own words.  From her description I would be able to understand what the book was about.  As she was giving me a summary, I could see her interpreting what she was reading in her head.

While I was there the class was working on math  problems (multiplication/division).  I helped a small group of students learning how to divide larger numbers.  They were suppose to solve it using the division bracket (to see it visually).  After they find the answer they were suppose the then take the answer and make a multiplication problem using the 3 numbers.  I found it more difficult trying to work with 2 students than with just one.  I was helping one student understand how to use the division bracket and how to set it.  Then when the one student would kind of understand the other student would need help.  I would start helping the other student understand the same problem.  The first student I was working with would lose focus and not want to work.  Then I would work with student 1.  Overall it was a good experience to work with more than one student, but I could notice how much harder it was to work with multiple students at once.  I loved to see how they started to really understand division.  The students were kinesthetic learning modality because they really learned hands on by actually doing the problems instead of just explaining it.

Day 1: How does knowledge of the way people learn related to the experience of being a teacher?

This is Rachel Harmon's blog.  I am helping a 5th grade class at Orem Elementary.  During my visit I was able to observe the students take turns reading out loud as a class.  There was an assembly while I was there so I was able to go with the class.  It was the book "Evertaster" written by Adam Glendon Sidwell.  It was interesting to observe how he was able to keep the children's attention.  For example the author had some of the students help out by reading part of his book or him being silly and not too serious.

How does knowledge of the way people learn related to the experience of being a teacher?

While I was there I helped out one of the students do their weekly spelling packet.  One of the papers he was suppose to fill out, it had clues and you had to think of which word fit by adding letters. For example, the clue was "These are what musicians read to play music." The answer was notes.  I had to help the student using the constructivism learning theory to find the answer.  That theory states that knowledge is constructed based on personal experience.  I had to use what the 5th grader knew to help him acquire the answer.  Since he had a hard time thinking of the solution, I had to give him hints.  It was rewarding to see the student get the correct answer.  Since being in this class I have been able to acquire the knowledge of how people learn.  This knowledge relates to the experience of being a teacher by the way to help/teach the student information.  The student that I helped on a one on one basics I feel he learns differently than other students.  Just like other students learn differently than each other.  I was trying to help him with the auditory (learning by hearing) modality.  It was working to an extent but I feel if I was using another modality he would of understood easier.

Relating the question back to my experiences at the assembly, I feel the author did a great job at teaching students how to write a book.  He used the different learning modalities, which are: Auditory, Kinesthetic/Tactile, and Visual.  He showed a video (Visual) on how to make graphics in movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Tron.  The students listened to him talk about the steps on writing a book (auditory).  He was able to keep everything on a basic level so they could understand.   The only thing he did to use kinesthetic modality was have some of the students act out part of his story.  Overall I feel my experience at this elementary school was beneficial because I was able to connect what I learned doing the bookwork with hands on classroom experience.