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My cooperating teacher has been employed in the field of education for 19 plus years. She has been in her current position as a Pre-Kindergarten teacher at the Lighthouse Learning Center for 12 years. Observing a teacher who has so many years of experience in the classroom is very beneficial. She shared with me this week her teaching philosophy that has evolved from her many years in the classroom. The components of her philosophy include a focus on people, strategies, and tools. We spoke about the important people in the classroom which includes the child’s family, the child, and the teacher. The family is not physically present in the classroom each day. However, the children are products of their home environment, and the relationships …show more content…
We spoke about the children in the classroom who have personalities and learning styles that are unique to them. Building a relationship with each child, gives her the opportunity to gain the necessary knowledge to create lesson plans that are relatable to their personalities and learning styles. Her association with the children impacts their feelings of safety and security which relates to their ability to interact and learn in the classroom. Another advantage my cooperating teacher spoke about is the fact she has known many of the children since they were babies. She has witnessed them grow, develop personalities, and learning …show more content…
First, understanding that children may have a preferred learning style, she incorporates into her lesson plans the strategies which address visual learners, kinesthetic learners, and audio learners. Most children do not have just one learning style, therefore, they benefit through different learning centers. Learning centers include the science center, the math center, the art center, the library, the writing center, and the dramatic play center. Next, she uses teacher centered strategies to lead many of her lesson plans so that she can guide and coach the children through the activities. Since the children are very young, she feels modeling and coaching the children are the most productive techniques. She does try to create lesson plans that vary in complexity and challenge the children based on their own ability
This approach drives teachers to really understand and get to know their students, and to build upon a strong teacher-student relationship. In their key improvement strategies, Larburnum (2017) identifies that a learning environment is optimised through quality teaching practices which recognise the importance of the student-teacher relationship. They also place high emphasis on person-centred and family sensitive practice, and partnerships with families and communities. Engaging with families and understanding a child’s attained knowledge outside of school is one of the top priorities, as they recognise the positive effects this approach has on learning and teaching. In a study discussed in Moll’s Funds of Knowledge (2006, p.82-84), a teacher visited one of her students in order to gain greater insight into his life. She discovered that he sold candy in his local neighbourhood, and brainstormed ways she could implement it into her learning module for the upcoming week. The teacher opened up a discussion on candy with her students and worked with them to provide a definition. They were able to practice analytical skills, and grammar knowledge (ACARA,
The interaction between children is just as crucial as interactions children have with adults or teachers. It is important for students in their own mind, to build a solid understanding of all content areas (Berk, 2013). Therefore, by supporting collaborative activities in my classroom, I will enhance the learning environment by having planned group activities with children at different levels who can help and learn from each other. As I teach through cooperative learning, I will be touching upon Vygotsky’s concept of the ZPD.
The hypothetical school, Ocean Elementary School, services students in kindergarten through grade six. The school is relatively small with a total student population of 256 students. There is a diverse mix of students with the two largest ethnicities being Asian and Pacific Islander at 43% and Caucasian at 32%. There is a mixture of socioeconomic statuses with most students being in a mid to low range socioeconomic status. There are varying ability levels within the school. The school’s mission statement is to provide a safe and nurturing environment where high quality and relevant instruction will prepare all students for their future as a global citizen.
For this project I had to attend a board meeting and interview a member from the agency. I choose to go to a school board meeting at the Corcoran Unified School District. I specifically choose this agency because I grew up in Corcoran and I’m already familiar with the agency. I also choose this specific agency because I wanted to see what the school boards actually did for the schools and the community. I wanted to see how it was all incorporated to help students and their education. Since I had never attended a board meeting I was very curious to see and experience what goes on during the meetings and what ideas they come up with to make our education better.
Elementary students come from many diverse home lives. Some may come from a stable, loving family while others may only come from a home where there is only one single parent who works full time. Either way, it is clear that life at home can affect a student’s academic ability while at school depending on situations that may be going on at home such as, how much television a child is allowed to watch, how many hours are spent on homework, or if the child has two parents or just one. In John Greer, Bonnie Greer, and Jeffrey M. Hawkins article, Building a Sense of Family in the Classroom, there are many ways provided to give teachers ideas to create a comfortable, stable environment for the students. In a classroom, the feeling of importance and comfortability can be provided through individual students or pairs, large groups or the whole class, and by the classroom environment.
The after school program at Oakland International High School also offers resources to its students. Throughout one of my after school visits, I observed the other resources the school offers. For starters, during after school hours, it is hard to tell whether school has ended, since most student stay for a variety of activities. Many join afterschool programs and others just stayed and use the computers to finish their class assignment or practice their English. On November 31, the day I stayed after school, was when 4 year college applications were due. That day, the counselor stayed after hours to continue helping the students with their applications. The counselor had been helping student for the past few weeks, therefore, not many students
Kindergarten general education classroom with 17 students, 2 are English Language Learners and 3 have Individualized Education Plans. The students sit at tables with groups of 4 for independent work and sit on a large alphabet rug for class discussions at the SmartBoard or by the easel. There is a lot of positive reinforcement throughout the class and day. If they do something the teacher will say, “You’re a rock star!” or “You did an awesome job!”. Teacher has a pleasant demeanor and is always looking for ways to praise the students.
When I arrived into this school building, I signed in the front office. Teacher-2 received to show her classroom for observation. While I was walking and since it is Christmas season I noticed many decorations on the walls, roofs and on the bulletin boards. The whole school is looking just like a decorated Christmas tree. I was amazed and tried to look some of the bulletin boards ideas. These bulletin boards dragged my attention and I was almost stuck looking them. I was taken to a classroom where I noticed the teacher is waiting for her students who are in the library. After a while the teacher stood up and walked near to her door to receive her students. I pulled a chair into the corner of the class, to make sure not to distract the students (as I am stranger to these kids). I noticed students who
...ve a sense of flexibility in their lesson planning to try to relate to all students in one way or another. This will increase attention and motivation to succeed.
In today’s society, whether you pursue an education or not may determine your future in many different ways. We all come from different backgrounds, which will either give us the inspiration to achieve our goals or stop us from even attempting our goals. People tend to not understand what a real education is and what it actually means to be educated. Well James Miller, editor of Acting Out Culture, instills that “The goal of education is to make students into critical thinkers, to foster a familiarity with diverse range of viewpoints, and to instill an appreciation for how varied and complex the world around us truly is” (315). My own perception of an education is that gives us the opportunity to achieve a successful and beneficial way of our goals. It also can show us a different way of living and how we perceive life.
My philosophical position as a pre service teacher is as follows, I believe that social learning and freedom are critical in teaching and learning. Social learning is learning and educating students at a wider scale than individual learning, social learning can be adapted in a class room through social interaction between peers. Social learning has a very important impact in our everyday lives, our world is a social place as individuals we spend most of our time as members of social groups, we normally do this unintentionally, an individual’s social success is based upon the quality of their social interactions. Freedom is the power to act or speak implying this in classrooms allows students to be able to make their own choices in our education and allows them to freely express themselves. The act of freedom is important within a classroom because it allows students to be able to express themselves and allows their peers to learn and understand knowledge from a different perspective.
Through my O&P experience I learned how much a classroom setting can vary. I saw that classrooms vary through how the teachers approach differences among students and that if it is not handled well it can create inter-classroom feuding. However I also saw that in a well-structured class where there is little room to mess around and create these feuds there is respect between the students and the teacher and also respect from student to student. I found out that although this information should not affect the way we treat the students it is important for the teacher to know what percent of his classroom is in poverty, and it can also be helpful for the teacher to see what the demographics are like. Seeing if your class struggles with poverty
Getting to hear Ms. Beckley speak about teaching was a really great experience for me as a future teacher. Because she is an experienced elementary educator, I can learn a great deal from her experiences and stories to help me develop these skills when I an a full time educator in the classroom. A few of the ideas that Ms. Beckley talked about that were very helpful and interesting to me were, the ides about how to deliver bad news to parents, as well as not to forget about all the good students within your classroom. I also learned about how to make students responsible for cleaning their learning space. Ms. Beckley also talked about how to work with a team in my future school. Through all of these ideas, making me incredibly excited
I attended the District 135 School Board meeting on April 13, 2015. The meeting was held at seven, but I also attended a finance meeting at six. The meeting was held at the Administration center located on 15100 S 94th Avenue in Orland Park. I had a great experience at the meeting because it helped me see, from a first hand experience, how much really goes into running the schools especially the financial aspect. I was astonished to see how many members of the community actively participate and are present at the meetings. Education has always been a priority in my life, and it seems like a vast majority of members in the community share that priority as well.
What is your vision of democracy in the classroom? To what degree should students be permitted to decide what they will study, when they will study, and how they will study? Why?