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.

March 10, 2011

Yesterday we went to the elementary school for the first time in a while. It was good to see all the students again and how excited they were to see me in return. My teacher gave me two students to take out in the hall and work with. The objective was along the lines of with color coded picture cards the students will identify matches and put the pieces together. The students did a good job at that and then were sent back inside where they had other obejectives. The class went through a series of tables they rotated between and had a different objective at each table. The teacher did not say the objective just how we have seen it done on paper, but she explained what the students were supposed to do and gave examples on how to accomplish what she wanted done at each table. Objectives can come in handy in a classroom, but when the classroom is a kindergarten class full of 6 year olds, the job of getting the objective across becomes a little harder.

February 17, 2011

Yesterday we went to the elementary school again and I helped the students in groups of three with their "beginning sounds" through a game.The student teacher for the class was back and now she is head teaching the class by herself. It was interesting to see the difference in how the two teachers taught the class and had authority over them. It took a while to get used to the shift in teacher and handle the students there after. I got to help the same kids I usally do but then also help some of the students that I don't usually get to help or see their progress. Again, it was interesting to see the differences in levels of knowledge.

February 11, 2011

1) My class has a procedure where if the teacher needs the kids attention she says "froggy" and they respond "pop pop pop", well during the Valentine's season she switches it to "valentine" and they respond "I love you." It was very cute and got the kids interacted and acknowledging the present holdiay season. I played a math game with the kids two at a time. It was interesting to see the differences in level of math knowledge they already have and just how far the children can be on opposite sides of the spectrum of knowing their numbers(1-10) .It must be hard for the teacher to teach all the different levels of the curriculum that the children are at or having trouble with.

2) The new tardy policy. From a teachers perspective this new policy can have many different sides and reactions. First, it can help students who are usually late and missing parts of class to come on time and be able to recieve the full lesson. Second, it helps the lessons flow more as the teacher will not have to stop whenever a student comes in late and catch them up or change their attendance. But on the other hand, if a student is late to class now, they will be taken into the cafeteria for the entire day. Making them miss the entire class period. As before they would have only missed some of the lesson maybe, if any, and would have been able to pick up the lesson when the arrived at class that day. This way they will not miss just part of class but the entire class period and not be able to make it up until the following day or after school. This can hender a teacher's learning environment and make it hard for lessons to conitinue as needed. If five kids are tardy to class, now the teacher will have to take time out of her schedule/lesson time of the next day to catch those five kids. This policy may get students to get to class on time, in fear of missing the whole day, but students who can't help but be late will suffer and have to make up classwork leading to the classes full potential not being as high as it can on a daily basis.

February 3, 2011

Last week we went back to the Elementary School. In the class I am with, the teacher has a difficult job of controlling an entire class of 6 year olds. In order to get their attention while at stations, if they are getting loud or not, in a normal level voice she says "Froggy" and the children respond "pop pop pop". Her classroom is the frog classroom, therefore everything is decorated with frogs. So she says "froggy" to get their attention, and they know as soon as she says that they must stop what they are doing, respond "pop pop pop" and stay quiet to listen for further instructions from her. She has been using this technique since the first week I was in her classroom and it has worked every single time. The children know this direction and know exactly what to do when they hear it. The children also know that when the teacher's phone makes a certain beeping sound it is time for her to take attendance. They all shout out "attendance!" and then quietly go back to their work, but sit in their seats to make it easier for the teacher. If they know someone is not there, they inform the teacher so she can know if she had not noticed already. It helps the attendance taking process go by more quickly and gives the students a chance to use responsibility in helping the teacher. Those are the two techniques I noticed my teacher using while in the Kindergarten class.

January 28, 2011

Yesterday we went to Westwood again. My class began working with laptops in the classroom. The laptops were at one of their stations they rotated through and had a game pulled up where they had to type the letter they saw coming down the screen. It was interesting to see the different actions the kids went through to find the right letter and type it in time. Some were pretty good at it, while others had a hard typer controlling the keyboard and how to find the letter. I got to help the kids start up the game and show them how to play. It was really cool to see them using technology that way in the classroom. I also helped a few of the students outside with their addition. We played a game where they spun two spin wheels that had the numbers 0-5 on it and then they had to use ladybug models to show each seperate number and then add up the numbers. I am leaning towards being a math teacher so it was cool to get to help these students with their math and see the tools they use to practice their addition.

Jan 21, 2011

1) When we had the fire drill on thursday we were all in the auditorium and had to go outside to be safe. Everyone rushed out of the seats and went outside. We all went out to the front of the school and across the parent drive. After listening to Mr. Fernandez on tuesday, I felt the need to tell everyone to get on the grass and out of the driveways to be safe. I also began to think about how everyone was going to be accounted for and how the teachers would know everyone was out of the building. I realized how much work and effort actually goes into making sure everyone is safe and out of the building. Especially when the entire senior class was not with certain teachers and role sheets to be checked off.
2) Stereotypes. As a senior in high school, I have seen many stereotyping and judging throughout the four years. Asians are seen as smart students who should exceed at everything and be at the top of the class, which does not always prove true. Cheerleaders are stereotypically snobby and preppy students, but actually they are all different and unique in a way that that stereotype does not fit them. Football players are judged as jocks who only worry about football and not grades or schoolwork. But in our grade, a good amount of the football team is in the top 10% of our class, some even in the top 5%. White kids are seen as nerdy quiet students, but actually they are smart, athletic, and lots of other things as well. Stereotypes can take over a school, but I think as the four years have gone by judgy actions have dwindled to a minimum and become less than that of a stereotypical school. In the lunchroom, people do not neccessarily sit with their sport group or race, everyone is mingled in with their own friends who are usually in a different group or are a different race than they are.

January 14, 2011

Yesterday we went back to Westwood Elementary to begin our second semester. I was assigned to the same class again. The children were all very excited to see me and glad that I came back. It was cool to see how they still remembered me. I got to take a few of the kids away at a time and work with them. We worked on certain letters that are tricky and difficult for these specific students. I could see that the children had grown and worked on their letters over the break. It was amazing to see the progress some of them had made since the last time I worked with them, they almost didn't need me anymore. Although they were succeeding in all their work, the students did not want me to leave and asked me to stay and work with them all day. That made me feel important in their learning environment.