Thursday, November 12, 2009
Classroom Management
As I prepared my PowerPoint presentation for EDTE, it became obvious to me that classroom management was the theme. Not only will my future classroom need to have 'no whining' and 'no tattling' rules, but I will need to be consistent with enforcing these rules. This leads me to the question of how to teach 3rd graders to manage conflict themselves without involving me. When do I step in; where is the line? Unfortunately, I don't have the answers right now. All I know is what I don't want for my classroom - whining, tattling - and what I do want for my classroom - peace! How to get that...well, I'm hoping they have a class for that before I finish college! =)
Monday, October 26, 2009
A new beginning...
I have decided to use this forum to note the things that I don't want to forget about my practicum experiences. This time in my education has become very, very full of random facts and tidbits that I know will be useful in the future. I'm excited to finally have a place to keep up with it all!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Day 2 in Elementary School
Friday, October 17, was my last observation at the elementary school. I arrived at 7:30 and left at 2:30... what a loonng day! I observed a third grade class at a different school all day in the spring semester and wondered where the time went when the day was done. Friday, however, was not that way. At 10:00 I could not believe that the day was not already 1/2 gone! :) Oh well. I have a theory about why I was exhausted on Friday, but I will not put that on here...ask me in class, if you care to know.
I got to see some new things today. During advanced math in my teacher's class, they went over two worksheets that had been assigned for homework. The sheets covered various things and it was covered in a very fast pace, but the students really seemed to respond well to this. Of course, they had done the assignment already, so most of them were quick and correct with answers. The fast pace - and the lack of criticism for wrong answers - seemed to embolden them to put their answers out there. When a wrong answer was given, the teacher quickly talked them through the process and the student ultimately saw their error. I was very impressed by the respect that was shown to the students during this process. Even though she was covering the lesson at a quick pace, she didn't just skip over someone who gave the wrong answer. As a student, that would have encouraged me to take a chance at being wrong. It was truly a win-win situation.
After that was completed, the students were able to hear from a German teacher that has been in the states for a little while speaking to different classes. Today, she brought in currency from Germany. Now I love a good show and tell as much as the next person, but this turned out to be more than that. While the German teacher was explaining the different coins and bills, the classroom teacher was able to use the Smartboard to display a much larger version of it. While the students were able to touch and feel most of the different denominations eventually as they moved around the room, they didn't have to wait for it to arrive at their desk to see what she was discussing. She also was able to line up the different denominations and help the students realize the association between one euro cent and one euro, etc. The Smartboard added a competely different dimension to the opportunity.
Before math ended for the day, the classroom teacher let them play a game (that practices one of the standards for third grade) on the Smartboard. She had set up coins at the bottom of the screen: Quarters, dimes, pennies, nickels, and Half Dollars - and was able to make them infinite. She then put an amount in the upper right hand corner. She went around the room and let the students go to the board. She gave them 30 seconds to give her the amount shown using the fewest amount of coins possible. The students were able drag coins from the bottom of the screen to the middle to collect the coins needed to come up with the correct amount. This seemed very effective. Some students would come up with the right amount but having used 8 coins instead of 7, for instance, they would be incorrect. She never told them specifically that they were incorrect, but challenged the next student in line to see if they could do it with fewer coins. The students LOVED this game.
My teacher also has a CD player in the room. She used it on both days that I observed, but this day was more 'significant'. Wednesday, she simply used it for background music (played VERY lightly) as they students worked on an assignment. On Friday though, she put a specific song on and I watched as the students silently gathered on the rug at the front of the room. They did a few things that seemed a little like a meditation of sorts, but it was geared toward getting them focused and working as a team. I know that this is not anything 'high tech' but I thought it was definitely worth noting because it was very effective and I would never have thought about introducing classical music as a peaceful background for my class.
My time spent observing has been very beneficial. It has been encouraging to see different things being used in the classroom. In light of the types of things that we are learning about in our class (EDU 201), I know that there are more things to be used. I believe that one main thing that limited what I was able to observe was the fact that I was not able to get into the classroom until this week. I am hoping to be able to spread out my time in the middle school a little bit more, just to have the opportunity to be there during different lessons and such.
I got to see some new things today. During advanced math in my teacher's class, they went over two worksheets that had been assigned for homework. The sheets covered various things and it was covered in a very fast pace, but the students really seemed to respond well to this. Of course, they had done the assignment already, so most of them were quick and correct with answers. The fast pace - and the lack of criticism for wrong answers - seemed to embolden them to put their answers out there. When a wrong answer was given, the teacher quickly talked them through the process and the student ultimately saw their error. I was very impressed by the respect that was shown to the students during this process. Even though she was covering the lesson at a quick pace, she didn't just skip over someone who gave the wrong answer. As a student, that would have encouraged me to take a chance at being wrong. It was truly a win-win situation.
After that was completed, the students were able to hear from a German teacher that has been in the states for a little while speaking to different classes. Today, she brought in currency from Germany. Now I love a good show and tell as much as the next person, but this turned out to be more than that. While the German teacher was explaining the different coins and bills, the classroom teacher was able to use the Smartboard to display a much larger version of it. While the students were able to touch and feel most of the different denominations eventually as they moved around the room, they didn't have to wait for it to arrive at their desk to see what she was discussing. She also was able to line up the different denominations and help the students realize the association between one euro cent and one euro, etc. The Smartboard added a competely different dimension to the opportunity.
Before math ended for the day, the classroom teacher let them play a game (that practices one of the standards for third grade) on the Smartboard. She had set up coins at the bottom of the screen: Quarters, dimes, pennies, nickels, and Half Dollars - and was able to make them infinite. She then put an amount in the upper right hand corner. She went around the room and let the students go to the board. She gave them 30 seconds to give her the amount shown using the fewest amount of coins possible. The students were able drag coins from the bottom of the screen to the middle to collect the coins needed to come up with the correct amount. This seemed very effective. Some students would come up with the right amount but having used 8 coins instead of 7, for instance, they would be incorrect. She never told them specifically that they were incorrect, but challenged the next student in line to see if they could do it with fewer coins. The students LOVED this game.
My teacher also has a CD player in the room. She used it on both days that I observed, but this day was more 'significant'. Wednesday, she simply used it for background music (played VERY lightly) as they students worked on an assignment. On Friday though, she put a specific song on and I watched as the students silently gathered on the rug at the front of the room. They did a few things that seemed a little like a meditation of sorts, but it was geared toward getting them focused and working as a team. I know that this is not anything 'high tech' but I thought it was definitely worth noting because it was very effective and I would never have thought about introducing classical music as a peaceful background for my class.
My time spent observing has been very beneficial. It has been encouraging to see different things being used in the classroom. In light of the types of things that we are learning about in our class (EDU 201), I know that there are more things to be used. I believe that one main thing that limited what I was able to observe was the fact that I was not able to get into the classroom until this week. I am hoping to be able to spread out my time in the middle school a little bit more, just to have the opportunity to be there during different lessons and such.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
First Day of Observation
I got the opportunity to observe Wednesday in the elementary school. The class I am observing is 3rd grade. I was there from 12:30 to 2:30. They were just wrapping up their unit on Charlotte's Web, so I walked into a very chaotic room. My teacher's first words after I introduced myself were, "You're here on an awful day." (I had emailed her with the dates and times that I would be there - and she had approved them) I asked her where I should position myself in the room to avoid being in the way. Her response, "We are using it all, so just find a place." Needless to say, this was a slightly intimidating beginning to my observation. However, she found me a spot to sit and things got significantly better from there.
The first order of business for me was to identify the different, obvious signs of technology in the classroom. There is a Smartboard at the front of the room. It is mounted over the top of an existing whiteboard that runs most of the length of the room. The teacher makes use of the 1 1/2 ft of exposed whiteboard on the left by posting the homework for the day there. There are two computer stations in the room with two computers at each station. The projector and computer (laptop) for the Smartboard are located on a table that is butted up against a grouping of student desks.
The setup of things (location of projector and laptop) are not necessarily ideal, but I don't see any other options. This placement seemed beneficial at first (minus the fact that the equipment is in such a precarious location), because it puts the teacher in the middle of the students. However, as the afternoon progressed, I realized that the teacher's back was facing half the class and those students did not appear to be nearly as focused on the lesson as their counterparts that the teacher was able to see.
As the teacher was working with the class, she was able to have three students who had been absent working on a brochure that the class had just turned in that afternoon. I thought this was very helpful, because she was able to insure that they were indeed progressing on their project at the same time that she was moving forward with the remainder of the students. She displayed on the Smartboard a document that she wanted the students to work on after her explanation. She was able to walk them through the different sections and make a modifications to her expectations as she used the Smartboard to make sure all were following her directions. Then she sent the modified document to the laser printer in the room and, in less than two minutes, the class was busy at work. I observed my teacher patiently working with a couple of the students at the computers. It was obvious that one of them did not have much experience working with inserting and editing pictures in a document. I was impressed with the way that she instructed him from time to time, while moving about the room answering questions that the others had regarding the assignment they were doing.
After the class finished and discussed their assignment (character descriptions), she moved on to handwriting. As you may remember, third grade is the wonderful time in education when we all learn how to write in cursive. The teacher was able to use the Smartboard for this activity. She pulled up a document that had three letters: lowercase 'c', lowercase 'a', and lowercase 'd'. Across the top of the board these letters and the lines that they were to be traced on were very large. The letters looked like a dot-to-dot project. Most of us have seen this kind of thing on a much smaller scale (and much more low tech). In my opinion, the size of these initial teaching tools made things much easier for the teacher to demonstrate and for the students to visual the different steps necessary in the formation of these letters. She had handed out handwriting paper for each of them to practice at their desk. On the Smartboard, there were additional handwriting lines (about 1/2 the size of the dot-to-dot version) for the teacher to "practice" as well. She wrote a half dozen of examples and then went back and showed the students the ones that she thought were her best. This encouraged them to do the same. As I walked around the room, I noticed that the majority of the students had circled at least one of their attempts and deemed it their best.
Though my time on this day seemed very short, it felt very fruitful. I can see myself using the handwriting activity in my own classroom. I wondered if it would be good to have the students come to the Smartboard to attempt their letters, but I came to the conclusion that that would probably not be beneficial when they are just learning the technique. Writing on a flat surface and writing on a vertical surface feel very different and it might actually be confusing for a beginner. Overall, I realize that the Smartboard can be used for many more things than I observed today, but it was exciting to see it in action nonetheless!
The first order of business for me was to identify the different, obvious signs of technology in the classroom. There is a Smartboard at the front of the room. It is mounted over the top of an existing whiteboard that runs most of the length of the room. The teacher makes use of the 1 1/2 ft of exposed whiteboard on the left by posting the homework for the day there. There are two computer stations in the room with two computers at each station. The projector and computer (laptop) for the Smartboard are located on a table that is butted up against a grouping of student desks.
The setup of things (location of projector and laptop) are not necessarily ideal, but I don't see any other options. This placement seemed beneficial at first (minus the fact that the equipment is in such a precarious location), because it puts the teacher in the middle of the students. However, as the afternoon progressed, I realized that the teacher's back was facing half the class and those students did not appear to be nearly as focused on the lesson as their counterparts that the teacher was able to see.
As the teacher was working with the class, she was able to have three students who had been absent working on a brochure that the class had just turned in that afternoon. I thought this was very helpful, because she was able to insure that they were indeed progressing on their project at the same time that she was moving forward with the remainder of the students. She displayed on the Smartboard a document that she wanted the students to work on after her explanation. She was able to walk them through the different sections and make a modifications to her expectations as she used the Smartboard to make sure all were following her directions. Then she sent the modified document to the laser printer in the room and, in less than two minutes, the class was busy at work. I observed my teacher patiently working with a couple of the students at the computers. It was obvious that one of them did not have much experience working with inserting and editing pictures in a document. I was impressed with the way that she instructed him from time to time, while moving about the room answering questions that the others had regarding the assignment they were doing.
After the class finished and discussed their assignment (character descriptions), she moved on to handwriting. As you may remember, third grade is the wonderful time in education when we all learn how to write in cursive. The teacher was able to use the Smartboard for this activity. She pulled up a document that had three letters: lowercase 'c', lowercase 'a', and lowercase 'd'. Across the top of the board these letters and the lines that they were to be traced on were very large. The letters looked like a dot-to-dot project. Most of us have seen this kind of thing on a much smaller scale (and much more low tech). In my opinion, the size of these initial teaching tools made things much easier for the teacher to demonstrate and for the students to visual the different steps necessary in the formation of these letters. She had handed out handwriting paper for each of them to practice at their desk. On the Smartboard, there were additional handwriting lines (about 1/2 the size of the dot-to-dot version) for the teacher to "practice" as well. She wrote a half dozen of examples and then went back and showed the students the ones that she thought were her best. This encouraged them to do the same. As I walked around the room, I noticed that the majority of the students had circled at least one of their attempts and deemed it their best.
Though my time on this day seemed very short, it felt very fruitful. I can see myself using the handwriting activity in my own classroom. I wondered if it would be good to have the students come to the Smartboard to attempt their letters, but I came to the conclusion that that would probably not be beneficial when they are just learning the technique. Writing on a flat surface and writing on a vertical surface feel very different and it might actually be confusing for a beginner. Overall, I realize that the Smartboard can be used for many more things than I observed today, but it was exciting to see it in action nonetheless!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
First Impressions
I loved the tour of the school. Every time I have the opportunity to walk into an elementary school, I know that my decision to teach is the right one. I am filled with such an excitement and energy that it is almost overwhelming! I joke with people that I wanted to wait until I turn 40 to begin my career, but that wasn't really the plan. I have spent too many years (since my son graduated from high school) wondering what I am supposed to do with my time...what is my purpose. Once I got over the idea that I shouldn't go back to school at 37 years old, I haven't looked back. Teaching is truly my calling.
When we were walking the halls of the elementary school on Thursday, I was impressed with the order and calm in the building. The size of the student body being so small in comparison to other schools probably helps with that, but it was impressive nonetheless. They really seem to be doing things right!
I can't wait to start observing. Technology is exciting to me and I hope to learn a lot about the way teacher's are using it.
When we were walking the halls of the elementary school on Thursday, I was impressed with the order and calm in the building. The size of the student body being so small in comparison to other schools probably helps with that, but it was impressive nonetheless. They really seem to be doing things right!
I can't wait to start observing. Technology is exciting to me and I hope to learn a lot about the way teacher's are using it.
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