Blog Entry 8

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

The most important thing I learned was that I really do want to be a teacher. I took a risk switching from a Computer Engineering major to an Elementary Education major. I knew that I really wanted to change majors, and I was thinking all summer about what I want to be when I grow up. I've changed a lot as a person in the last year and a half, and I kept realizing more and more how much I don't like computer engineering. It was making me miserable. I was thinking about changing my major to either Physics or Math. I really like those subjects, but I really don't want to become a physicist or a mathematician.  

About a month and a half before school started, my best friend threw out the idea that maybe I should become an elementary school teacher. That had never occurred to me. I thought about it for a long time, and it seemed like teaching would be something I really would love doing. I talked to my family about it and I was surprised about how supportive they were. They thought it was a good choice for me and that I would make a good teacher too. Still not completely sure, I went to the Elementary Education adviser and changed my major just a few weeks before school started. 

I loved going to the elementary school every week. I also am taking the Exceptional Students class where I have to do 10 hours of field work in the resource room, so most weeks I went to the school twice a week. Those were always my favorite parts of the week. I love being around kids and I get along with them really well. I always thought about putting myself in the teacher's shoes. I can't think of anything I'd like to do more than be a teacher. Without the fieldwork, I probably still wouldn't be sure if I chose the right major. Because of the fieldwork, I learned what I want to be for the rest of my life.

Blog 7 11/8/2012

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

When I come into the class every Thursday morning, things generally go the same way. The teacher gives the students a quiz on math. The kid's know the procedure. Work silently on your own work in pencil, and when it comes time to grade your own paper, you put your pencil away and take out a red pen. After the teacher walks through the quiz questions on the overhead and the students put the quiz away, the teacher teaches some new math or continues to review things the students have already learned. They then always have a worksheet or two to do on their own that I grade during recess. If the kids finish their work early, they always have something else to work on or read. The procedure is the same every Thursday that I come in. The procedure is simple and effective and everyone knows what is going on so there isn't any confusion.

After recess, the subject is always English, usually the students work on writing a story or work on a graphic organizer to brainstorm a story (today they were working on autobiographies). The procedures are all known then too. When a student has a rough draft done, the know to ask the class if anyone is willing to do a peer review. If a student is ready, they can write their name on the board in the back to get on the list of students waiting for a teacher review. It might be a little less structured because every student is in a different place in their writing and reviews, but it works. Everyone knows the procedures and stay on task.

Blog Entry 6

What Strategies does the Teacher use to Actively Engage Students? How Effective are These?

Sometimes the teacher I observe plays simple games. One game was where students sat on their desks and each student said the next number in a skip counting sequence. If a student said the wrong number, he or she had to sit down. The person who won the game got a prize of $10 in classroom dollars that can be traded in for prizes. I think that's a helpful way to encourage students to memorize skip counting sequences, and skip counting is a good way of solving multiplication problems.

The teacher also has the class sing skip counting songs. For example, counting by fours goes along with the tune from Row, Row, Row your Boat. 

I've seen the teacher do small group activities where the students have to come up with story problems as a group. Creating story problems instead of just solving them helps reinforce mathematical concepts. It also takes creativity to come up with good story problems.