Last Blog

After this year in IPET and going to the elementary school I have realized I deffinetly want to be a teacher when I get older. This year has taught me a lot about classroom management and time management in the classroom. I have learned a lot from the teacher in my field class and the way the class functions with or without her. The way she taught the class and taught them manners and how to functionally work in the classroom was amazing. By the end of the year, the students were able to do all their normal procedures without the teacher even there and they were able to do their work fully and well the first time. The students worked side-by-side with the teacher in the learning process throughout the year. The class had a nice flow that was seen throughout their work and academic achievements as the weeks went by. The students I worked with outside every week had improved immensely and it was evident that my working with them had influenced their learning habits and academics. On my last day, those students just wanted to work with me outside again so they could further their learning. They were so excited to learn with me and do the activities with me, and it was really cool! I will miss that class of kids and that teacher, as they all taught me about teaching and the classroom and how my future will look with people like them in it.

May 6, 2011

Yesterday I took the English AP test in the morning. It was three hours long and was intense the whole way through. If I was a teacher I would hope I had taught my students well enough that they felt prepared for this test. We would have reviewed and practiced AP material all semester if not all year. So the students would atleast have a warning of what the test would be like and what they would have to do. The AP test is a hard test that has two parts, one being 55 multiple choice questions and the other being 3 essays over the given prompts. You are given an hour for part one and two hours for part two, totalling to 3 hours. From a teachers stand point the test is an assessment of how well the students grasped concepts from the year anb the knowledge they obtained. And if they do well enough they get college credit. Which can come in handy to further their education.

April 21, 2011

Last week we went back to the elementary school and the kids were working on Easter projects since it was the last day they would be at school before the holiday break. They made bunny puppets out of paper bags and paper cut outs of a bunny head. They colored the heads and then glued them onto the bag and put a cotton ball on the back of the bag to be the bunny's tail. They had a lot of fun with this activity and were excited to show me how colorful they could make the bunny and how original theirs was. Each kids bunny was completely different and expressed that kid indivually. You could tell who made each bunny by the time and care they put into making the bunnies.
Alternative Assessment: In the classroom at Westwood, the teacher uses many different varieties to test the children and assess how much they have learned about certain objectives and lessons. One example was when the teacher has the students get a dry erase board and sit with her at the table. She then reads a book to them and word by word they have to write out the words or phonic sounds they hear, depending on the lesson. She works with each student individually like this to assess how they are grasping the lesson or words of this subject.

April 15, 2011

Yesterday I worked with a smaller amount of students outside and played a few different games. One of my regular students I work with is usually sleepy and basically unresponsive when working in class. He barely gets his work done and comes in late to class. The teacher told me yesterday that recently he has been wide awake and ready to learn, especially when I come to help. Yesterday he wanted to do everything by himself and show me just how well he could do. And he did, he has learned alot and did amazing at all the games we did. We did one on one activities yesterday so that I could more easily see each student's progress and help them learn better. It was awesome to see how each student has progressed.

Assessment-There are many kinds of assessments. Like tests, evaluations, or activities to watch the students demonstrate the skills and lesson that has been taught. Tests are an easy way to write down exactly what you want to tests the students over and make sure they know. Evaluations can help assess the students knowledge one on one or in groups on hwo much of the concepts they have grasped. Activities can help in groups or individual assignments to see how the students grasp the lesson and then demonstrate the topic or show it thereafter.

April 8, 2011

In my Kindergartdan classroom the teacher does a lot of student led activities so they can learn leadership and do hands-on stuff. It is cool to see them lead the lesson thing because they get excited about learning and want to help. She also does a demonstration quickly, like a run through of the activity they are going to do next, so they can see what they are expected to do and how to do it. While they are doing their work and activties she keeps back a little bit so the students can help each other if they have problems or any questions and so they only come to her if no one at the table understands what is going on. It makes the classroom less hectic with students not having to call over the teacher every 5 seconds and making her stretch her abilities over the classroom.

March 31, 2011

Yesterday I worked with two students at a time on the ten frame. They worked on a pan that had taped 10 different sections, 5 on each of two rows. This is what they know as a ten frame. I showed them one number on a card at a time and had them show me that number on the ten frame. It was interesting to see them make patterns with the objects while they counted on the ten frame. And again, the students were all over the place on how well they knew where to start on the ten frame and how to count the numbers. I worked with students from all levels in the classroom, from the normal students I work with that are behind to the gifted students. All of them basically grasped the concept, just in different ways and at different times.

In high school, I have noticed in some of my classes the teacher varietes the lesson for a student. The student has special needs but is put into regular classes so that they can learn with normal students. The way I've seen it done in my classes is not noticable unless you pay attention or look for that. The teacher has always done a good job at not outcasting the student or making it blantantly obvious that the student needs extra help. If I was a teacher with a special needs student in my class, I would do some of the same things my teachers have done. I would make them a different variation of the lesson that will best suit their needs but pass it out with the other lessons so that no extra un-needed attention would be brought to the student. I would accomdate to wherever the student needed to sit or have access to in the classroom. I would do what they needed to be able to learn appropriatly in my classroom, and work with their parents and the office on how to handle each step of the students learning.

March 25, 2011

This week we learned more about teaching methods in the classroom to help the students achieve more success. Yesterday we went back to the elementary school and I helped with a few students outside at a time. We worked on numbers 1-9 and how to write the numbers and recognize them when shown in a sequence or when written on a card. It was interesting to see the changes the children have in their learning abilities and how quickly they learn the numbers. One student hasn't been there a lot lately and it was evident when I was trying to help him. I tried to help him along the way and not just lump him in with a group, it seemed to work and he began to want to learn even more and catch up to the other students as time went by. After watching this weeks video of Harry Wong and his advice on teaching and effective classrooms I tried to watch my class at the elementary school and see if my teacher was doing any of the things Harry Wong says to do. It seems she has great control of the class and the students are all taught to their bes advantage and not just tested for the grades but to see if they are actually learning. It is cool to see a classroom flow so nicely.