For the purpose of the assignment I observed Mrs. Matte, an 8th grade English teacher at Linglestown Middle School in the Central Dauphin School District. Mrs. Matte has been a teacher for many years now and has learned over the years some tricks for how she sets up her classrooms. She has taken notes on past years about what has worked and what hasn’t this way she can set up a classroom that best fits the needs of her students. Throughout my time observing her I took many notes and asked question about her mindset behind her classroom. Upon walking in the first thing that jumped out to me was the way the desks were set up, in pairs. After a conversation about the method behind this I learned that she set up her desk this way to promote active …show more content…
In Mrs. Matte’s classroom she uses two different boards. The first board is labeled, “LMS NEWS”. This bulletin board is located at the very front of the classroom right by the door. This bulletin board contains a calendar, a daily bell schedule, and different passes such as an office pass, guidance pass, lavatory pass, nurse pass, and a water pass. The calendar located on this bulletin board is big enough to allow for everyone to see no matter where they are located in the classroom. The calendar includes what is going on around school as well as important dates the students need to be aware of. The bulletin board also includes a section labeled “Absent”. In this section students who have missed class can pick up items that had been distributed during the class they missed. This allows for a quick pick up without taking time out of the teacher’s day to hand out missed work. Mrs. Matte suggested having a bulletin board like this one to allow for a quick reference to both the students and yourself. The second bulletin board present was “Star Student”. Each week Mrs. Matte picks a different student to be the “Star Student”. In order to become the student one needs to show an ample work ethic, signs of achievement and being a responsible individual. Mrs. Matte stated that in her classroom the use of a “Star Student”, promotes for active learning as well as having the student take responsibility for their own work and to strive to be the best student they can be. “Star Student” could be seen as an extrinsic reward
What were your reactions? The teacher cares about the emotional well-being of her students. Several students have learning disabilities and she makes accommodations for them. For example, students that are diagnosed with ADHD have preferential seating. Students that have sensory needs are situated in the periphery of the room so that they
The atmosphere of Mrs. Cobaugh’s classroom environment makes an informative impression upon one as they enter her classroom. Decorations upon the walls consist of mottos of encouragement of a job well done, hard work, and a bulletin board from the book Screw Tape Letters as an example of what she expects in the assignment. While the classroom is dimly light, the students are arranged in the traditional format with the teacher’s desk positioned in the back of the room and students facing the whiteboard.
For the lead teacher interview assignment, I had the opportunity to sit down with and interview my son’s EC teacher from last year, Mrs. Hamm. Since my son started at the school last year, Mrs. Hamm has helped him in so many different ways. Mrs. Hamm has been teaching for over 20 years from her home state of Pennsylvania and more currently at Mount Energy Elementary School in Creedmoor, NC. Mrs. Hamm has been teaching at Mount Energy Elementary School in Creedmoor, NC for the last 12 years and recently awarded “Teacher of the Year”. Mrs. Hamm, up until this school year, was the main EC teacher for all grades Kindergarten through fifth grade at Mount Energy Elementary School. As of the present school year, the school district made the determination that she was over the acceptable number of students. As a result, they decided to hire an additional EC teacher and assistant to teach grades 3-5th and Mrs. Hamm would teach grades K-2. Mrs. Hamm was the teacher of 18 students until this decision was made, now with grades K-2, she has 9 students in her class.
In the movie The Breakfast Club, five seemingly different adolescents are assigned Saturday detention where they learn that although they each fit a particular stereotype, they all have the same characteristics, but they are expressed differently because they have different experiences, strengths and weaknesses that makes them who they are. In the movie, Bender is the “criminal”, Brian is the “brain” and Allison is the “psychopath.” Each of their situations, strengths and weakness are similar to students that are in our classrooms currently or we may have in our classrooms in the future. For each student it is important to understand their learning differences and as a teacher, how I can use their strengths to help them become successful students.
Summary of Experience Mrs. Gerard has a wonderful and bright kindergarten class. The students are all unique and diverse in their own ways. A few students were of different races and ethnic identities. There were several different lessons taught throughout the field experience, as well as many different ways of evaluation.
The teacher gradueted both parents and children as well as said goodbye to them at the time of departure. Her classroom was very organized and arranged with all things accessible.
Ms. Davide was absent for the second day of the observation. However, the student teacher, as well as the substitute teacher worked well together. In the morning, the students walked inside the classroom with their fingers on their lips, placed their bags, jackets and lunch boxes away and went straight to the meeting area for their read-aloud. This was impressive for the third-graders to do. Because they did not need prompt or a reminder to go to the meeting area for their read-aloud.
Teachers observe how the peer leaders grab the attention of the students and how they connect, so they can do a better job on enhancing the learning of the students. As the author, Fiske, says,“‘First, teachers should be encouraged to move beyond describing what they see and experience and to analyzing what is happening in their classrooms. Second, teachers should be encouraged to think about problems from an alternative perspective, particularly their student’.” For example, Mrs. James has students in her classroom that struggle with her Grammar assignments. Mrs. James continues to try and find different and unique ways for her students to actually get her lessons. She encourages her highest grade student to re-teach her lesson on Grammar. As the student, Marissa is re teaching the class this information, Mrs. James goes around the class with the role and her notebook. She’s taking notes of how each student is taking their own notes over the lesson, and she puts them all into categories. The categories are based on what kind of learner the students are: Auditory, Kinesthetic, or Visual learners. Mrs. James creates a whole new plan on how she can get reach her students on a different level for their understanding. Teachers have to learn how to deal with specific students in their classroom. Reading a curriculum and instructions aren’t going to
For my second observation I was assigned Mrs. Megan McKee’s 1st grade class. Her class was very warm and welcoming. She is an amazing teacher that shows her kids that she truly cares for them and their education. She shows this love through her student-teacher interactions. An example of these interactions are when a student had a question about their math work she immediately stopped what she was doing and helped explain the work step by step although she has already done this multiple times. Another example I noticed was when a student accidently tripped over another student’s chair leg she easily calmed her down and took care of her. One method of teaching Mrs. McKee used was interaction stations. The students had 6 different stations that they would have a set amount of time at and then they would rotate when their time was through. The stations included coloring, shapes, math, online learning, tablet learning, and word work.
A week before I started my lesson, I found out that I am teaching students in Mrs. L’s reading class. There were seventeen students in the class. Among them, I knew only four students who I see every day. This was challenging because all of my lessons that I prepared through observation would not work. As I was getting to know each student and building relationship, I learned so much about their family, background and life. However, I had to teach students from another class whom I barely know. I did not know their names and their background. I was worried that students would not listen to
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.
I write this to you with an ambition that I may convince you into giving me ten extra points on my semester grade average. Mrs. Stigger I know you like to support students when it comes to passing; therefore, you should help me pass. I always pay attention and do my work. I push myself to do my best to achieve my accolades in education. I’ve never caused any problems in the class, and between you and me I know I’m your favorite student. I hope you don’t want to see your favorite student fail do you? So please give me a chance. In district rules you must give out extra credit work, so you give me ten extra points to my semester grade average. Although I am waiting at the last minute to ask you this, but I’ll prove to you that I deserve that
For my practicum I was in the Glyndon Felton Elementary school working with Mrs. Lauer in her 5th grade classroom. She teaches the subjects of Math and Science. Mrs. Lauer has a homeroom group of students as well as a second group of students that comes into her room for a few hours each afternoon for their Math and Science lessons. Her homeroom students are across the hall learning English and Social Studies with a second 5th grade teacher during this time.
As I walked into what was unmistakably the office of a former elementary school teacher, Ms. Caruthers greeted me with a warning. “I just came back from a Methods of Teaching Social Studies class and I may need a moment to shake myself out of that mindset,” she shared with a smile. Since I enjoy social studies, I assured her that was no problem. I looked around the room, filled with books, old educational posters proclaiming ideas such as “Every Civilization has GRAPES: 6 Factors to Analyze World Civilizations and Cultures” and “Take APPARTS Primary Sources,” a slew of shiny awards from the Student Oklahoma Education Association, and various pictures of loved ones and found it as interesting and inviting as she is. During our time together, Ms. Caruthers not only shared milestones in her impressive career, she also defined the characteristics of a great teacher and provided personal insight on how to improve education today. At the end of the interview, the recurring theme was clear: June Caruthers exemplifies a teacher who is devoted to her students and to the intricate process of learning.
An effective teacher is one who will never rely on one method to instruct their students, but will use a variety of methods to complement each other for a solid understanding of the lesson. This past semester I had the pleasure of observing a third-grade classroom up close and personal. I was invited to watch on as the teacher instructed her students with the Georgia Third Grade Standards. During my observation hours, the teacher faced some adversities, triumphs, some social working moments all while portraying her own pedagogy for display. I have acquired information to help me with my own classroom, and the hands-on experience was extremely informational. The environment the teacher set in the classroom was also displayed throughout the entire