I had been looking forward to this observation all semester I was finally going to experience, a 2nd grade class, the grade I hope to teach one day. As I walked into Erin Arias’ classroom the students were finishing breakfast, a little girl who informed me that she was the “Snack Helper” was walking around with a trash can collecting the leftovers. It seemed every child had their own job for the year, which was shown by a piece of fabric on the wall with a pocket for every job, and depending on the magnitude of the job, had one or two tongue depressor with a student’s name in them. Which seemed to be the driving force behind the class, it kept them busy and under-control, most of the time. The class was broken into three tables of six labeled Earth, Sun and Jupiter. …show more content…
I found this to be an effective way to make something rather repetitive entertaining for the students. The three classes I observed were all very different, from PE to 5th grade and finally to 2nd grade I was able to see a good range of teaching styles and student obedience. In PE it is more important that the class continues, then that every student in listening. Whereas in 5th grade where most of my observation was spent going over math tests it is more important that every student understands then the class run uninterrupted. Because of this, a person’s teaching style must be very different, which I believe is important in any teaching situation. To change your teaching style to fit your
...simply reuses the same approach and methodology each year, his class is likely to become boring and ineffective. In order to properly educate students, a teacher must always be looking for ways to improve his course—methods of making the knowledge seem more interesting and relevant to students. Originality and innovation not only maintain students’ attention, but also help keep teachers interested. Any subject matter will seem boring if an instructor teaches it the same way for twenty years. In order to maximize the effectiveness of their teaching, educators constantly must be in search of new methods of presenting content. Complacency, after all, is the first step on the road to ineffective instruction. Teachers, like their students, must always remain motivated by the desire to improve. Without this desire, the process of education becomes stagnant and empty.
Some of the personal stories that Mooney recounted made me very sad, and it was hard to believe that there were and continue to be some teachers that are just so ignorant, impatient, and unaware of what is going on with their student(s). Some great teaching strategies that can be implemented in the classroom to help students be more successful are developing a reward system for good behavior, organizing breaks between major tasks, and using auditory and visual signals. Reward systems is an excellent strategy to implement in the classroom to help students remain on task, participate in class, and behave appropriately. Breaks between major tasks help students to take mental breaks and refocus for the next big assignment. Auditory and visual signals are a great classroom strategy to help students recognize when it is time to move from one activity to the
For this field assignment, I chose to observe a seventh grade self-contained math class at William A Morris I.S 61 on Staten Island. I am currently a substitute teacher at the school and has worked at this school for approximately two years. For the purpose of this observations, I worked with Mr. Karl Knutsen, a 6th and 7th grade math, special education and technology supervisor at the school. Mr. Knutsen has been a teacher for seven years and has worked in I.S 61 for five. He currently teaches all self-contained math classes and is the "tech guy" for the building, meaning he is the go-to guy for all SmartBoard or computer based questions and emergencies. I am currently observing and working with Mr. Knutsens first and second period 7th grade class, 717. This class has 12 students, 11 boys and 1 girl, ranging in ages 13-14. Each student has an IEP for varying
I think the concept of Kobod’s box was a good idea, but adjustments would have to be made in order to make sure everyone could participate. I think doing random acts of kindness helps students learn about subjects that can tie into school, as well as real life situations. I liked that Torey used cooking as a way to teach the students about reading and math, as many recipes feature both. I also think cooking activities can be more fun for students as they are hands on. I also liked Torey’s use of imagination to transport the children to oceans or the wilderness. I believe this activity sparks creativity in children and would be a good technique to teach them about adjectives and imagery. My favorite of Hayden’s techniques and the one I would implement is the of traffic lights to signal a student’s behavior for the day. I have seen this technique used in many classrooms I have observed and it is a good visual way to keep student’s behavior in
After observing two consecutive days in Mrs. Flinn’s fourth grade classroom at Boone Central Elementary, it was interesting to compare and contrast the two different checklists. The checklists were very similar. On both days, descriptive praise was given, positive engagement was occurring, schedules and routines were posted/reviewed, transition strategies were utilized, and class rules were posted/reviewed. There were three categories that differed a little bit overall: predicable routines, teaching positive peer-related social skills, and transition warnings.
I went to McKinley Junior High on Tuesday! I didn’t really know what to expect from the school, or what it would be like because I’ve never been inside a public junior high. My school was K-8, so it was big, but it also had more grades than just 6-8th. When I got to McKinley, I was shocked at how big it actually was. I was nervous walking in because it was really big, and I was scared I wasn’t going to be able to find the office. Sure enough it took me a little while to find the office, I was very confused. Once I got into the office, I told the lady at the front test that I was from Coe and she handed me a slip of paper that said 321 and that was it. So, I wondered the halls a little bit looking for the classroom.
Northwestern High School is where I observed a co-ed English class. There were two teachers working together within the classroom. The teacher’s educational goals for their classes were to improve students reading and writing. Both teaching methods were effective as they both stood up in front of the class and lectured while also having class discussion. Instructional technology was big in the classroom and helping with the lesson. I always want to incorporate technology because it makes learning fun. Each student had his or her own laptop that they were assigned to and held responsible to keep up with. They completed their work on the laptop. Students also had handouts they were to follow along with the teacher while going over the material.
These authentic learning activities are more engaging for the students and allow for a wide range of learning styles. It is imperative that all teachers attempt to integrate these experiences into their classroom as often as possible. These activities usually take more time and energy to plan and implement, but the benefit to the students make the extra work worthwhile.
In my practicum assignment I was able to observe at the Alamo Elementary School in Alamo, Tennessee, which was in a rural setting. I observed Mrs. Anna Pope’s fifth grade class for eight of my practicum hours. Mrs. Pope would teach her homeroom class reading and social studies, then they would switch halfway through the day and she would teach the same lessons to Mrs. Lilly’s class. Mrs. Pope’s first group of students had sixteen girls and eight boys, and her second group of students had fourteen girls, and ten boys. Through observing Mrs. Anna’s fifth grade classes I was able to see overt routines to gain or sustain students’ attention, teacher modeling or explicit step by step directions, classroom climate regarding risk or challenge, and
Evaluation apprehension is a term used to describe the felt anxiety by a person performing a task to others. This anxiety rises due to the thought of being rated negatively or failure to receive a positive feedback. It occurs mostly where participants are rated or researchers observing them (Akers, 2013).
My learning experience throughout grade school was cast in the Traditional method, employing rote, reward-and-punishment, and repetition, repetition, repetition. It was a one-size-fits-all approach, intended to instill good behavior as much as to instruct in the rudiments of reading, writing and arithmetic. We were not encouraged to participate in the process, unless, of course, we raised our hands, and were called upon to do so, and we were not to talk out of turn. We were to be passive and receptive. This was the “right” way to learn. It is a testimony to the great, unstoppable capacity of the brain to grow that many of us learned anything at all under those circumstances.
Today I used a variety of instructional delivery methods to ensure that my students were able to accomplish the learning targets. Having different modes of instruction (direct instruction, individual writing, pair-share, small group discussion, large group discussion, etc.) allows students to demonstrate learning in a variety of ways. If students do not master a key skill, it also provides students to relearn, rework, and rethink key concepts. This type of instructional design also encourages engagement as it appeals to multiple learning styles and builds in time for me to interact with students in multiple ways (including one-on-one) (IE: Chloe can be quieter. I was able to touch base her to make sure that she understood the abstract vs. concrete exercise). Using multiple instructional delivery methods also provides me with opportunities to personally motivate students to be active in their learning (IE: Emily is very creative and likes small group work. IE: Taylor likes politics and would grasp the global climate change example IE: Big Mike works best when he has time to think individually before responding to a group. A notes handout helps him process key ideas before feeling pressured to apply them. IE: Several students enjoy speaking in large groups. Asking for examples and group participation appeals to the sense of camaraderie in the class).
We need to continuously assess and evaluate our students so we can set appropriate goals for each student and individual instructions. Each child learns different, so as a teacher we need to have different styles of teaching for positive reinforcement.
For my observation experience I went to Southern High School in Harwood, MD. Southern High School has a special education department for the students with disabilities. The teacher that I met with for this classroom observation was Ms. West. In the classroom there were at least four assistant teachers that helped Ms. West throughout the school day. The assistant teachers helped Ms. West co- teach the class and were there to help the students if they needed extra help. The school also has a couple of student aides that come in to help the teachers and the students in the classroom. There were at least twelve students in the classroom. The students in the class had many different exceptionalities such as learning disabilities, Down syndrome,
During observations, I saw a lot of different methods to teach, control, and mold children. Most of the things I observed I liked, only in one class did I see something that made me uncomfortable but even then I was not too unsettled. The classes I observed all showed me applications of ideas that were discussed in class but they added their own twist on to it or they merged multiple ideas to suit their needs and make for a better learning environment.