Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Week 1 Reflection
On our first day back at West Milford, the interns accompanied the rest of the Harrison County teachers to view a presentation by Doctor Willard Daggett, President of the International Center for Leadership in Education. Dr. Daggett’s presentation was quite illuminating for a number of reasons.
First and foremost, Dr. Daggett is simply an entertaining and engaging presenter. He knows how to keep an audience captivated and attentive. But more importantly, Dr. Daggett’s message was an important one. He argued that the practice of today’s educators are outdated when compared to the information input that today’s children are now used to, going so far as to compare the majority of today’s schools to museums. His point was well founded and echoed some of the sentiment we’ve heard before regarding the shift towards 21st century learning.
As educators, we have to find a way to incorporate this new technology into our classrooms so that kids truly are better prepared for the world around them. For some teachers, that can be an uncomfortable change in practice. I consider myself rather fluent in technology, but even I was mesmerized at some of the advances Dr. Daggett referenced in his presentation, new discoveries that were just around the corner. The world is changing and advancing at a pace that most of us are not used to, but if we want to properly educate the students of the future for the world in which they will live, we need to do our best to adapt to the changes we see around us.
First and foremost, Dr. Daggett is simply an entertaining and engaging presenter. He knows how to keep an audience captivated and attentive. But more importantly, Dr. Daggett’s message was an important one. He argued that the practice of today’s educators are outdated when compared to the information input that today’s children are now used to, going so far as to compare the majority of today’s schools to museums. His point was well founded and echoed some of the sentiment we’ve heard before regarding the shift towards 21st century learning.
As educators, we have to find a way to incorporate this new technology into our classrooms so that kids truly are better prepared for the world around them. For some teachers, that can be an uncomfortable change in practice. I consider myself rather fluent in technology, but even I was mesmerized at some of the advances Dr. Daggett referenced in his presentation, new discoveries that were just around the corner. The world is changing and advancing at a pace that most of us are not used to, but if we want to properly educate the students of the future for the world in which they will live, we need to do our best to adapt to the changes we see around us.
Week 2 Reflection
After having a three-day week to start, this week was the first full five-day week at my PDS school. We started on Monday and Tuesday with kindergarten home visits, had one final day on Wednesday to make any final preparations, and then the students had their first two days of school on Thursday and Friday.
Being able to go on the home visits to meet both parents and students was a very interesting experience. From a generic standpoint, I experienced about what I expected to see – a broad range of living conditions and parent involvement. I saw some things I was quite happy about, and other things that I was disappointed with.
But all in all, being able to go into the homes of these children and see first hand what their home life is like does give me additional insight as to what could be going on around them on a regular basis. I was able to see what kind of resources each of the children had and what kind of instructional support they’d receive at home. I was pleased by the number of parents who had sent a kindergartener through West Milford before and thus knew the routine.
The first day of school was a challenge, but one that was alleviated in some manner by most of the students attending open house earlier in the week. Because of that, the room was not completely foreign to them. But we still had to walk each of them individually through the classroom procedures for when they arrived in the morning, and the rest of the day was spent familiarizing them with the general calendar. It was encouraging to see how many of them already knew things such as days of the week, months, money and coinage, and colors.
Day Two seemed to be a bit more demanding, at least from my perspective. The students were slowly getting used to the school and the classroom, which meant not only were they more comfortable in opening up to us as teachers but they also wanted to test their limits and see exactly what they could get away with. In an effort to perfect a new school-wide positive approach to discipline, my host teacher would award a clip (which counts for five minutes of recess/free time) to an individual student any time she witnessed an exceptionally good behavior (as opposed to the first day’s strategy of awarding them to the entire class for group good behavior).
This individual strategy proved difficult, as some kids who were not behaving badly did not earn many clips simply because they were not the first to be noticed. It seemed by the end of the day, my host teacher, her aide, and I had determined that some kind of middle ground needed to be reached, and we will likely spend the next week or so continuing to test strategies until we find an effective one.
Being able to go on the home visits to meet both parents and students was a very interesting experience. From a generic standpoint, I experienced about what I expected to see – a broad range of living conditions and parent involvement. I saw some things I was quite happy about, and other things that I was disappointed with.
But all in all, being able to go into the homes of these children and see first hand what their home life is like does give me additional insight as to what could be going on around them on a regular basis. I was able to see what kind of resources each of the children had and what kind of instructional support they’d receive at home. I was pleased by the number of parents who had sent a kindergartener through West Milford before and thus knew the routine.
The first day of school was a challenge, but one that was alleviated in some manner by most of the students attending open house earlier in the week. Because of that, the room was not completely foreign to them. But we still had to walk each of them individually through the classroom procedures for when they arrived in the morning, and the rest of the day was spent familiarizing them with the general calendar. It was encouraging to see how many of them already knew things such as days of the week, months, money and coinage, and colors.
Day Two seemed to be a bit more demanding, at least from my perspective. The students were slowly getting used to the school and the classroom, which meant not only were they more comfortable in opening up to us as teachers but they also wanted to test their limits and see exactly what they could get away with. In an effort to perfect a new school-wide positive approach to discipline, my host teacher would award a clip (which counts for five minutes of recess/free time) to an individual student any time she witnessed an exceptionally good behavior (as opposed to the first day’s strategy of awarding them to the entire class for group good behavior).
This individual strategy proved difficult, as some kids who were not behaving badly did not earn many clips simply because they were not the first to be noticed. It seemed by the end of the day, my host teacher, her aide, and I had determined that some kind of middle ground needed to be reached, and we will likely spend the next week or so continuing to test strategies until we find an effective one.
Week 3 Reflection
After having the students for only two days in week two, this past week was really the first "full week" where they came to school. I hesitate to even call it a full week since we had Labor Day off, but the rumor floating around was that if they made it on Tuesday without crying, we'd probably be doing pretty well. We still had some tears through the week as students still got used to their routine, but I think they're all adjusting quite well to the classroom and are beginning to recognize the faces of their teachers and students.
I was rather surprised at how quickly they picked up on some of the classroom routines, such as unpacking their bookbags in the morning as well as putting their homework folder in the proper filing slot. Perhaps their success in accomplishing these things so early can be attributed to my host teacher's strategy of showing each of them individually how to do these things rather than just reviewing it as a group.
During Week Three, I began baseline assessments for my action research. I will go into more detail about my findings in my Action Research section of the blog, but I did seem to find a wide range of student knowledge when it came to upper and lower case letters as well as numbers 1-20. When I look at the information I collected and then recall the environments I encountered in the home visits, the results tend to make a fair amount of sense.
I was rather surprised at how quickly they picked up on some of the classroom routines, such as unpacking their bookbags in the morning as well as putting their homework folder in the proper filing slot. Perhaps their success in accomplishing these things so early can be attributed to my host teacher's strategy of showing each of them individually how to do these things rather than just reviewing it as a group.
During Week Three, I began baseline assessments for my action research. I will go into more detail about my findings in my Action Research section of the blog, but I did seem to find a wide range of student knowledge when it came to upper and lower case letters as well as numbers 1-20. When I look at the information I collected and then recall the environments I encountered in the home visits, the results tend to make a fair amount of sense.
Week 4 Reflection
It seems this week we’ve had some real behavioral concerns with some of the students in our classroom. Initially we were instructed that the school would be switching to a positive reinforcement to discipline, and I think in moderation that is a necessity for students to be recognized when they’re doing a good job. But additionally I feel students need to be told whenever they’re not following the rules and need a system in place where a misbehavior results in a negative consequence, and our initial tests of the new system did not provide that. Thus, we had some students who simply did not grasp what was and was not acceptable in the classroom.
Even now that we’ve instituted a balance discipline policy, there are students in the classroom that will be told not to engage in a behavior, and then seconds later will be doing it once more. The home visits for some of these students did not reveal an environment where such defiance is tolerated, and thus far the parents seem to be willing to help regarding this problem. While I certainly did not expect perfect behavior from all of the students in this classroom, I have to admit I am rather surprised by some of those consistently making outbursts, even when they experience the consequences of those outbursts.
Even now that we’ve instituted a balance discipline policy, there are students in the classroom that will be told not to engage in a behavior, and then seconds later will be doing it once more. The home visits for some of these students did not reveal an environment where such defiance is tolerated, and thus far the parents seem to be willing to help regarding this problem. While I certainly did not expect perfect behavior from all of the students in this classroom, I have to admit I am rather surprised by some of those consistently making outbursts, even when they experience the consequences of those outbursts.
Week 5 Reflection
This week was the first in which I took responsibility for teaching the Circle Time portion of the day, which in my opinion is one of the most important aspects of kindergarten primarily because of the number of topics and concepts one has to cover.
When you stop and think about it, it can really be quite overwhelming. They're learning about days of the week, the month they're in, all the months of the year, place value, money, weather... there really is a lot for their minds to absorb, which is one of the reasons why I think repetition in a routine throughout the year is so important here. Eventually all of this becomes second nature to them, and they've learned so much without really knowing it.
One of my biggest fears for circle time was the idea that I might forget to cover something during the routine. In order to try and combat this, I created a small cheat sheet of circle time topics to hit, which I placed on the back of my Benedum intern name tag. It was pretty funny at first to have to peak at the back of my name tag every now and then, but I was just so nervous about forgetting something that I wanted to be sure I covered the most important things. In the end though, especially because of the additional work we're supposed to do from our new reading series, there will be days when you simply cannot cover it all.
When you stop and think about it, it can really be quite overwhelming. They're learning about days of the week, the month they're in, all the months of the year, place value, money, weather... there really is a lot for their minds to absorb, which is one of the reasons why I think repetition in a routine throughout the year is so important here. Eventually all of this becomes second nature to them, and they've learned so much without really knowing it.
One of my biggest fears for circle time was the idea that I might forget to cover something during the routine. In order to try and combat this, I created a small cheat sheet of circle time topics to hit, which I placed on the back of my Benedum intern name tag. It was pretty funny at first to have to peak at the back of my name tag every now and then, but I was just so nervous about forgetting something that I wanted to be sure I covered the most important things. In the end though, especially because of the additional work we're supposed to do from our new reading series, there will be days when you simply cannot cover it all.
Week 6 Reflection
This week's new addition to my teaching was math time, which I was looking forward to. This was the week where we began apple week, and we had a special apple activity that my host teacher told me the students always seemed to enjoy.
We read the story Ten Apples Up On Top and then used pictures we'd taken of the students earlier in the week to have them stack apples on top of their heads. They would glue their heads to a large piece of construction paper and then stack paper apples (all with numerals on them) on top of their heads. I think the students really got a kick out of this activity, as I think they enjoy something that's a little more hands on but also more personal. Being able to use their picture in this math project seemed to be something they enjoyed and were motivated by, and that's something I can remember for later lessons when thinking about student motivation.
Additionally we also had an apple taste test this week, and for elementary grades I love the idea of reinforcing the concept of graphs and grouping by attributes with a taste test. It's enjoyable for the students because they get an extra little treat, but it also shows them about sorting objects and creating graphs to represent data. This is really such a fun math activity, and whenever it can fit in with the theme of the classroom, it's certainly worth incorporating!
We read the story Ten Apples Up On Top and then used pictures we'd taken of the students earlier in the week to have them stack apples on top of their heads. They would glue their heads to a large piece of construction paper and then stack paper apples (all with numerals on them) on top of their heads. I think the students really got a kick out of this activity, as I think they enjoy something that's a little more hands on but also more personal. Being able to use their picture in this math project seemed to be something they enjoyed and were motivated by, and that's something I can remember for later lessons when thinking about student motivation.
Additionally we also had an apple taste test this week, and for elementary grades I love the idea of reinforcing the concept of graphs and grouping by attributes with a taste test. It's enjoyable for the students because they get an extra little treat, but it also shows them about sorting objects and creating graphs to represent data. This is really such a fun math activity, and whenever it can fit in with the theme of the classroom, it's certainly worth incorporating!
Week 7 Reflection
My PDS school recently adopted a reading series to incorporate into the classroom, and this is something else that I as a preservice teacher have had to get familiar with. Week Seven of my internship was the first week in which I was to teach from the reading series. Our daily routine is fairly similar for the activities. We begin by looking at a large chart with pictures for new vocabulary words for the week. Then we sing a song that contains all of these vocabulary words. After that, we look at the big book for the week as a whole group. Finally, we practice comprehension strategies such as retelling, answering sequence questions, defining characters and settings.
All in all, I'm undecided in regards to how I feel about the reading series. The teacher's manual suggests more that we could be doing for the full series, however it would require us to replace our own circle time and doing so would mean the students would miss out on addressing a number of the state CSOs for the grade level. We've done our best to incorporate aspects into the day, adding the language arts materials onto the end of circle, but even then we find ourselves running behind because the material covered in the trade books is quite large. I think the series focuses on a number of very good skills that students need to begin developing, so in that regard I enjoy it. However, some of the vocabulary words being introduced seem to be on more of a first grade level, and I feel that there's a conflict between the letters we introduce in the reading series time and the letters we introduce during circle since they largely do not match up.
All in all, I'm undecided in regards to how I feel about the reading series. The teacher's manual suggests more that we could be doing for the full series, however it would require us to replace our own circle time and doing so would mean the students would miss out on addressing a number of the state CSOs for the grade level. We've done our best to incorporate aspects into the day, adding the language arts materials onto the end of circle, but even then we find ourselves running behind because the material covered in the trade books is quite large. I think the series focuses on a number of very good skills that students need to begin developing, so in that regard I enjoy it. However, some of the vocabulary words being introduced seem to be on more of a first grade level, and I feel that there's a conflict between the letters we introduce in the reading series time and the letters we introduce during circle since they largely do not match up.
Week 8 Reflection
During this week of my PDS placement, we ended the week with an ISE day where students who had tested on the low side of the initial Dibbles tests were encouraged to come in for a few hours and receive some additional instructional support in language arts. The interns were responsible for teaching this short session, though we did so with materials supplied by the Title One teacher at our school.
One of the students in my kindergarten class attended, which was great to see because my host teacher and I were not sure whether or not he would be able to make it though we both knew he would really benefit from any additional instruction. During this session, we were able to gain experience with word families and rhyming words and also worked on letter recognition by playing games such as Alphabet Bingo.
Ultimately I was pleased with what we were able to accomplish in this short session. I feel that the students present truly benefited from the more individual attention they received during this day’s events, and I think it would be positive for these students in the future if they had more opportunities to receive instructional support in this manner. Our PDS does have an after-school program geared towards improving academic achievement, but I’m unsure of how many students identified in the lower academic levels are really able to take advantage of this opportunity due to various reasons (family situation, logistics, etc). I think this was an excellent experience for the interns to take part in, and I would encourage other pre-service teachers at our PDS to explore similar activities they can take part in of this nature.
Week 9 Reflection
This was an exciting week in my PDS. We’re beginning our fire safety unit in anticipation of our field trip to the fire station in Bridgeport. The students are excited about their first field trip of the year and I’m impressed by the amount of fire safety tips they already are aware of.
In preparation for our visit to the fire house, we wanted to make sure that the class had covered a number of things. First and foremost, we needed to be sure that they knew the proper procedures for their family in case there was a fire in their house. This included knowing the 9-1-1 emergency number as well as where their family planned to meet once they had all evacuated the house. Information cards were sent home with each child so they could fill in this information and practice it.
We also constructed books about fire safety, each page including important tips for the students to remember. The books outlined what kinds of objects shouldn’t be touched because they were hot and also talked about how to move around the house in the event of a fire. One page showed a classroom practicing their fire drill at school, and on the day we reviewed that section of the book, we made sure that we practiced a number of important emergency procedures that could take place at school.
But perhaps my favorite activity during Fire Safety Week was Thursday, when the students were able to practice how to stop, drop, and roll, as well as having to practice crawling under a sheet (which they pretended was smoke in the room) to demonstrate how to move safely through a room when a fire is present. I think I enjoyed this activity the most simply because it allowed the students to stand up and move around while also learning and practicing fire safety techniques. Any time I’m able to plan an activity that is not a traditional paper/pencil activity, one where the students can move about or engage in some kind of hands on manipulation, I try to take advantage of that window. If one thing has been made clear during my placement in kindergarten, it’s that some of these students really have a lot of energy, and asking them to sit around in a chair or on a carpet all day is not the most effective way to get through to these learners. Incorporating a number of different strategies – including physical activities or hands on explorations – will be a more effective way of reaching some of these young learners.
Week 10 Reflection
This week's theme was spiders, and when I began looking at spider material to share with the class, I have to admit I was rather overwhelmed by the depth at which the arachnid is covered. Certainly I thought we would be talking about such things like how many legs a spider has and how they lay eggs in an egg sack, but I quickly discovered both through the materials my teacher supplied and that which I was able to find online that there was plenty of specific details that could be introduced to kindergarteners.
We talked about spiders having two body parts (abdomen & thorax) as well as the silk spinning glands called spinnerets. We also talked about how spiders will roll an old web up into a ball and eat it, which I didn’t even know and found quite fascinating. Ultimately though I was simply surprised at how much information we actually covered this week about spiders, as from a content standpoint I simply did not expect to get so specific and so scientific with kids of such a young age.
Week 11 Reflection
The week of Halloween was one I had been looking forward to all semester. I’d spent weeks getting to know this class, and I was quite anxious to see what they chose to dress up as for our class Halloween parade and party. In the end, I was not disappointed. We had an assortment of Power Rangers – nearly an entire team – as well as some wrestlers, ninjas, and even a storm trooper. The girls were a bit more predictable, most choosing to go the route of the princess.
Though we were still preparing for Thanksgiving and also studying planets this week, I was surprised that the students stayed as focused as they did, specifically on Wednesday. We tried to incorporate a lot of Halloween themed activities so that we could play off of their excitement and keep them learning. I began by reading some of my favorite Halloween books (“Hallo-weiner” for instance) and then for math we made patterns out of Halloween candies and graphed which ones were our favorite. I really think these activities went well, because rather than try to fight the students’ excitement about the day, we were able to use it to our advantage by incorporating Halloween into the activities.
Though we were still preparing for Thanksgiving and also studying planets this week, I was surprised that the students stayed as focused as they did, specifically on Wednesday. We tried to incorporate a lot of Halloween themed activities so that we could play off of their excitement and keep them learning. I began by reading some of my favorite Halloween books (“Hallo-weiner” for instance) and then for math we made patterns out of Halloween candies and graphed which ones were our favorite. I really think these activities went well, because rather than try to fight the students’ excitement about the day, we were able to use it to our advantage by incorporating Halloween into the activities.
Week 12 Reflection
Though over the last week or two the class had begun working on Thanksgiving artwork, this was the first week where we really began to hit the topic of Thanksgiving hard from an academic standpoint. I devoted time during the morning circle routine toward reading some Thanksgiving books to the students, and we also incorporated Thanksgiving projects into every day’s art session.
The students made a number of small Thanksgiving-themed books to read and keep, and we were sure to have one on both the Pilgrims and the Indians. Students would color the pages of a book, four of which were split on one sheet of paper, and would then cut out the pages and staple them together. The class would go over the book as a whole group after the books had been colored, cut, and compiled.
I think the students liked this approach to the topic, because they were adding something to their library of things to read. Furthermore, this gave the visual learners in the classroom something tangible they could hold on to and look at when thinking about the holiday. There was a sense of accomplishment upon finishing up their My Little Thank-You book, as they had to brainstorm things they were thankful for and spell them out in their book. So not only did they color their book, but they were also responsible for the content within it.
The students made a number of small Thanksgiving-themed books to read and keep, and we were sure to have one on both the Pilgrims and the Indians. Students would color the pages of a book, four of which were split on one sheet of paper, and would then cut out the pages and staple them together. The class would go over the book as a whole group after the books had been colored, cut, and compiled.
I think the students liked this approach to the topic, because they were adding something to their library of things to read. Furthermore, this gave the visual learners in the classroom something tangible they could hold on to and look at when thinking about the holiday. There was a sense of accomplishment upon finishing up their My Little Thank-You book, as they had to brainstorm things they were thankful for and spell them out in their book. So not only did they color their book, but they were also responsible for the content within it.
Week 13 Reflection
The week of November 12-16 was not only the final week before Thanksgiving recess, but it was also the week of our Thanksgiving Celebration. For the last two weeks, the class has been practicing a Thanksgiving play and a few Thanksgiving songs to perform in front of their parents. Students drew parts out of a hat, including pilgrims, Indians, and one turkey.
As the date of the performance grew closer, I began to have some apprehension about how the students would do. Clearly there were those students who had taken the time to practice their part with their mother or father and knew what to do. But I could tell that a number of students had not done so and some were simply absent and did not get the chance to practice with the rest of the class. Since rehearsing the play was in large part my responsibility at this point, I tried to make it a point to incorporate a lot of practice time in the lessons for this week – practically all of our 45 minute art block was spent rehearsing our lines, movements, and songs.
Everything seemed to come together on Thursday, the day of our performance. The students required a bit of coaching during the final production but did an excellent job. I was very impressed by the number of parents and family members who showed up for the celebration as well – every student had at least one family member, some had two.
Now that the play has past and I have a chance to reflect on it, I think it was an incredibly worthwhile experience. I couldn’t help but laugh at a couple of the students who were glad that they’d never have to practice their lines again, but I think in doing so, the students were able to get a better idea of what Pilgrim or Indian life may have been at the time. Also, I think it’s incredibly valuable to have the parents come into the classroom and see what you’ve been doing with the students. Having the parents show up and be a member of the school community with an active interest in the activities their child is doing is a great step towards extending the classroom learning into the home.
As the date of the performance grew closer, I began to have some apprehension about how the students would do. Clearly there were those students who had taken the time to practice their part with their mother or father and knew what to do. But I could tell that a number of students had not done so and some were simply absent and did not get the chance to practice with the rest of the class. Since rehearsing the play was in large part my responsibility at this point, I tried to make it a point to incorporate a lot of practice time in the lessons for this week – practically all of our 45 minute art block was spent rehearsing our lines, movements, and songs.
Everything seemed to come together on Thursday, the day of our performance. The students required a bit of coaching during the final production but did an excellent job. I was very impressed by the number of parents and family members who showed up for the celebration as well – every student had at least one family member, some had two.
Now that the play has past and I have a chance to reflect on it, I think it was an incredibly worthwhile experience. I couldn’t help but laugh at a couple of the students who were glad that they’d never have to practice their lines again, but I think in doing so, the students were able to get a better idea of what Pilgrim or Indian life may have been at the time. Also, I think it’s incredibly valuable to have the parents come into the classroom and see what you’ve been doing with the students. Having the parents show up and be a member of the school community with an active interest in the activities their child is doing is a great step towards extending the classroom learning into the home.
Week 14 Reflection
Our first theme after returning from Thanksgiving break was the concept of the five senses. I introduced the students to the five senses on Monday, and then on Tuesday we had my favorite lesson of the unit.
I decided to take the students on a field trip around the school so that they could point out things they would interact with using their five senses. Originally I had intended to take them outside to do this field trip, but the weather was a factor and rain caused us to stay indoors. But we managed to find a number of great things to explore with our senses.
We started off by going to the cafeteria, and I asked students what senses they might be able to use in this room. The first answer was definitely taste, though there wasn’t anything to actually taste at this time. Smell and hearing also came into play. They also identified that they could touch the smooth tables. We then went to the office where we could see people working and hear the intercom. One of the fifth grade teachers told us there was something to smell by her room, and we soon found out it was peppermints in the hallway. We went to the gym to hear and see other classes playing basketball and also touched rough brick that lined the hallway leading to the gym. When we returned to our class, my host teacher and our aide had laid out candy for the students to taste, so by the end of the activity they’d engaged all of their five senses with things in the school.
I think an interactive activity like this that allows the students to get up and move out of the classroom is really something they’re interested in and motivated to take part in. They’re not simply sitting at a table doing work or coloring and cutting out an art project. Those things can be fun, but this was something new and special for them to do while they learned about their senses. They all had a blast being a part of this activity, and it’s definitely something I’ll remember to include in future teachings of early elementary grades.
I decided to take the students on a field trip around the school so that they could point out things they would interact with using their five senses. Originally I had intended to take them outside to do this field trip, but the weather was a factor and rain caused us to stay indoors. But we managed to find a number of great things to explore with our senses.
We started off by going to the cafeteria, and I asked students what senses they might be able to use in this room. The first answer was definitely taste, though there wasn’t anything to actually taste at this time. Smell and hearing also came into play. They also identified that they could touch the smooth tables. We then went to the office where we could see people working and hear the intercom. One of the fifth grade teachers told us there was something to smell by her room, and we soon found out it was peppermints in the hallway. We went to the gym to hear and see other classes playing basketball and also touched rough brick that lined the hallway leading to the gym. When we returned to our class, my host teacher and our aide had laid out candy for the students to taste, so by the end of the activity they’d engaged all of their five senses with things in the school.
I think an interactive activity like this that allows the students to get up and move out of the classroom is really something they’re interested in and motivated to take part in. They’re not simply sitting at a table doing work or coloring and cutting out an art project. Those things can be fun, but this was something new and special for them to do while they learned about their senses. They all had a blast being a part of this activity, and it’s definitely something I’ll remember to include in future teachings of early elementary grades.
Week 15 Reflection
It's hard to believe that a full semester of teaching has come to a close. It does not seem that long ago that I was visiting new students at their homes and seeing them walk through the classroom door for the first day. I feel this class has come a long way since that first week of school, and I've watched my students grow from sometimes shy and uncertain new students into confident classroom participators.
As a teacher, I feel this experience has been an incredible one. In previous semesters at my PDS, the most I've been at the school during a week was two full days and a half a day. The full days allowed you to accomplish quite a bit, but often times I felt as if I was only there for the introduction or conclusion of a new concept, rarely for the full duration of teaching. This experience has allowed me to be a truly active participant in student learning - I was there the first day they walked into the door and every day after. For the kindergarten age group, it's incredibly comforting for them to have a teacher who is able to be in their lives every day as a familiar face.
Preparing to teach every day during my internship was the closest experience I'll get to actually having a full class of my own. It allowed me to experience the preparations that go on prior to the students arriving as well as the end of the day chores that needed to be accomplished before we could leave. More importantly, being responsible for each week's lessons gave me valuable experience in mapping out curriculum over a number of weeks, and the additional time in the classroom gave me a better understanding about the ways in which my students enjoyed to learn. That helped me better shape my lessons and choose more engaging lesson ideas as the semester progressed. I was also able to gain more experience identifying and helping students with special needs. Since I was there every day, I could see may examples of the challenges students faced in the classroom. When I attended a SAT meeting to discuss this student's behavior and skills, I was much better prepared to speak confidently on what I observed.
Ultimately I not only enjoyed but benefited the most from the full internship year at my PDS.
As a teacher, I feel this experience has been an incredible one. In previous semesters at my PDS, the most I've been at the school during a week was two full days and a half a day. The full days allowed you to accomplish quite a bit, but often times I felt as if I was only there for the introduction or conclusion of a new concept, rarely for the full duration of teaching. This experience has allowed me to be a truly active participant in student learning - I was there the first day they walked into the door and every day after. For the kindergarten age group, it's incredibly comforting for them to have a teacher who is able to be in their lives every day as a familiar face.
Preparing to teach every day during my internship was the closest experience I'll get to actually having a full class of my own. It allowed me to experience the preparations that go on prior to the students arriving as well as the end of the day chores that needed to be accomplished before we could leave. More importantly, being responsible for each week's lessons gave me valuable experience in mapping out curriculum over a number of weeks, and the additional time in the classroom gave me a better understanding about the ways in which my students enjoyed to learn. That helped me better shape my lessons and choose more engaging lesson ideas as the semester progressed. I was also able to gain more experience identifying and helping students with special needs. Since I was there every day, I could see may examples of the challenges students faced in the classroom. When I attended a SAT meeting to discuss this student's behavior and skills, I was much better prepared to speak confidently on what I observed.
Ultimately I not only enjoyed but benefited the most from the full internship year at my PDS.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)