Blog 8

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

I think the most important thing I learned during fieldwork is how a classroom works, runs, and how to do it in an effective way. There are somethings I noticed that don't work as well as others. It was interesting being in two different classrooms and age groups and seeing how they function differently. I learned that the same thing doesn't work for all students. I also learned some ways to modify instruction for students with learning disabilities.

I didn't really know going into this the work that a teacher puts in. I know it is a lot of work but I didn't realize just how much work it is. Teachers spend hours outside of school making sure everything will work out. There were also times when the plan didn't work out or ran short and improvising was necessary. It was interesting to see how the different teachers worked around that. I noticed that if you look like you don't know what's going on then the students catch on to that and start to get crazy. 

These are all important skills to have when I am running and managing my own classroom. I hope it is just as effective and well run as the classes that I have been in this semester. This fieldwork has helped me to know that I really do want to be a teacher. I know that this is the right place for me to be.

Blog 7

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

One procedure the teacher uses is having table captains. The table captains are in charge of getting papers for their table, helping the table stay quiet, adding or subtracting table points on the board, and gathering any supplies. This helps things run smoothly because the children are not wandering around the classroom and getting distracted. The table captain is the only one allowed to leave their seat at this time. It helps things not get crazy and stay under control. Students also need to raise their hand to leave their seat. This also helps keep the control of the classroom. Students aren't constantly running around and getting out of their seat for no reason. This all helps the students stay focused and not have the opportunity to display.

The teacher also dismisses children to and from activities by their table. When they gather to the carpet, each table comes one by one. This helps the teacher keep control of the room. When the students are all transitioning at the same time, they may get distracted and stop to talk to their friend and not make it to the next activity. This also allows the kids to talk and be crazy with each other. The students are quieter when only a small group of them is moving. There isn't any craziness allowed in this class.

Blog 6

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

One strategy this teacher uses to engage the students is every hour they get up and part of the activity is a moving activity. All the students must stand up and move around. The activity they do is related to the lesson they are talking about. One example is today the teacher would ask what is 5+8 and they had to do jumping jacks to figure out what the correct answer was. She did about 4 or 5 of those and then moved on to the next activity. It was very effective. It let the students get their wiggles out and they were much more willing to listen to the next activity.

The other thing the teacher does is activities on the carpet. The students come sit down and participate in a discussion about something that they are learning about. Today they were talking about animal migration. The students were the main participators in the discussion and the teacher just guided it and made sure they stayed on the right track. This helped the students create new ideas and thoughts and got them involved so they weren't just sitting and listening.

Blog 5

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

I think the most challenging role for a teacher would be keeping everything fair and being the mediator. I think it will be hard to look past the different personalities that each child has when making a decision. Having a favorite child will be hard to not do.

The children that are more challenging or have a personality that is more out there will be hard. I think it will be challenging when a situation arises with that child, like constant talking between that child and another, to not jump straight to the conclusion that the problem child is the one starting the problem. He or She could be trying to be quiet and the other student is the distraction. Trying to keep the balance and fairness would be hard.

With picking a favorite child, that would be challenging not to show. There will always be that one child that you will like more. The one who is always on their best behavior and does well in class will be hard not to favor. It will be hard to treat them just like the other students. You have to learn how to love each child for who they are and their personality. They are not a bad kid if they are talkative. They are just extra friendly and we need to love them for that trait.

Blog 4

What clerical and preparation responsibilities have you participated in?

On Thursday I participated in multiple clerical duties in both of the classes that I am in. I come into the room a few minutes before class so I am able to help the teacher prepare for the day and also prepare myself for what I am to do that day.

In the second grade class I am in I helped her to sharpen pencils and staple papers. I prepared packets for the children to work on later on in the day. It was kind of a slow task but was necessary to do so the children had something to work on and didn't have to wait later for us to get it done. I also sharpened about 40 pencils that day as well. That was a task I did not enjoy doing at all. It was a slow moving task because I was doing the same thing over and over again.

In the fourth grade class, I helped set morning work on the students desk for that day. When the students come in they know that they have to work on the busy work that is on their desk. That gives us time for the last few students to trickle in and to get lunch count and attendance taken care of. It also helps them to know what is coming that day. The work usually foreshadows what they will be learning today. It also is a way of pre-assessment. While the teacher or I am talking to the students about the work that they will be doing, we quickly look through the papers to see who already knows the subject material and who could use more help on it. This helps to establish groups for a group activity later on, if that is part of the plan that day.

Blog 3

What modifications for learners who are exceptional do you see?

In both of the classrooms I have been in the desks are set up in a table format. Most of the children have a group of students that they are by. There are a few students who are set up in partners and other students who are by themselves. I think the children that are by themselves is a modification. I think the students who are alone have some type of learning disability that makes it so they can't focus and get distracted easily. By placing them by themselves, it reduces the distractions. These students could have ADHD. If they are with a group, there are more things to draw their attention and distract them. It is also easier for their mind to wander. Since they are alone, they are able to focus more.

I think the students who are in patterns may also be a modification. One child in the partnership may be gifted and excelling in school. While the other student may be behind. The teacher could have partnered them up so the student that understands the concept is able to help out the student that does not get it as much. The teacher cannot get around and help each student individually so she is relying on other students to help.

Another modification I have seen is a student who does his work on a laptop. When they take notes or do a project, the assignment is digitized and instead of writing in the answers, he fills them out in a word document and submits the assignment electronically. This child may have difficulty writing and it is easier for him to type it out. He is still doing all of the same assignment just in a different way.

Another child is not very good at spelling and reading. They are currently working on writing and publishing their own stories. I helped this child with his story. He would dictate what he wanted to write and I would type it for him. Then, we would read it together and make sure it was just the way he wanted it. We would change what was needed and read it again together. We would do this until he was satisfied with how it turned out. He was still writing his own story he just needed a modification because he can not spell and read well.

Blog Post 2

Tell us about an opportunity you had to work one on one.

I worked with a child this week on his student treasure. Student treasures are books that the students write and illustrate then they send it out to get published. This particular child was very behind on his book. While the others were working on their illustrations and putting the final product together, he was still writing it. He needed a lot of help.

I am starting to think this child has some sort of learning disability. I have worked with him once before on mixed numbers and improper fractions and I am starting to notice things. I had to type the story for him while he dictated what to say. It was hard for him to give me any information. I had to prompt him multiple times to see what we could add to his story. He had his basic story written but he needed to ellaborate on it. WHenever I asked about something, he said he did not want to put that in his story. It was a real struggle to get him to add more information.

This child is very smart however. I think he struggles in the social aspect. When we worked on mixed numbers and improper fractions, he was able to do it perfectly but refused to share how he got the answer with the class. It will be interesting to work with him more and observe him in the classroom.