My Middle School Observation

        My observation of the middle school was very informative and interesting. Although it did not change my mind about teaching elementary school, I still learned a lot from this experience. I was assigned a sixth grade science class, and their lesson for the day was on energy.
        One of the major methods the teacher I observed demonstrated was complete awareness of individual student needs. In order to teach the class about energy, the teacher assigned an article for the students to read, and questions to answer based on the reading. As the students worked individually, the teacher went to every student and assisted in different ways in order to provide guided practice for her students. As I listened to the responses this teacher gave each child, I realized she answered every student differently. Some students were given additional examples, assistance, and encouragement, whereas other students were simply prompted to answer the questions in their own way. This teacher obviously knew which students were insufficient in this area of learning, and which students were well beyond sufficient. I think being aware of the learning style, ability, and level of each student is extremely important for a teacher to grasp in his or her classroom. I hope to make this extremely prevalent when I teach in the future, and pay very close attention to each student in order to learn their individual needs. This directly connects with the NCTCS, specifically standard one, "teachers demonstrate leadership." Element 1a under standard one states that "Teachers demonstrate leadership by taking responsibility for the progress of all students..." Teachers can show students that they are capable of learning and growing when they lead in a way that helps all students progress in education. The awareness of individual student needs also directly relates to standard four, "Teachers facilitate learning for their students." Specifically element 4a, which says "Teachers know the ways in which learning takes place, and they know the appropriate levels of intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development of their students." In order for any teacher to successfully help all students learn, they have to be aware of the way each child learns best and the level of assistance they require.
      Another major thing I noticed in this classroom was the distracted behavior of the students. The article that the students were given about energy was intended to give the students a relevant, real life example of what they were learning in order to engage them and give them something to connect to. I believe this backfired slightly in this classroom. The students were not focused, and I noticed many of them becoming extremely distracted very easily. This helped me to realize the importance of over planning for my future classroom. The lesson that a teacher plans may not always be engaging and beneficial in the way it is intended to be. I believe if the students are not engaged, they are not learning and need to move on to something else. I hope to be able to enforce this in my future classroom in order to create the best possible learning environment for my students.

My First School Observation

     Today for Education 250 we went to a local elementary school to observe. I was assigned a kindergarten class, which also happens to be the grade I want to teach! I was very excited to get to see a teacher in action in the exact setting that I hope to one day be in. I thought the teacher I observed did very well facilitating her class, and I learned a lot while watching her teach.
     One of the major qualities I noticed about the teacher I observed is her patience and her ability to multitask to an extreme level. She was able to continue to focus on what she was teaching the children and what her task was, even as the students constantly called to her to show her their progress and to ask her questions. She was also very patient with the children that continued to misbehave. She never raised her voice to any students, and always politely asked them to stop. This teacher also had a different method of "time out" that I really liked. Instead of calling the place misbehaving students were placed in "time out," she called it "refocus." In this station, the child worked independently in order to refocus their attention before coming back with the rest of the group. This was very effective and I plan to keep this tactic in mind for my future classroom. I think it is important when disciplining students to stay positive and not make the child feel embarrassed or punished if possible, but help them simply shift their energy and attention and help them to realize they have to focus on the task at hand. "Students who are regularly the object of punishment may over time show a drop in positive attitudes toward school (resulting in poor attendance and work performance), have a more negative perception of teachers, and adopt a more punitive manner in interacting with peers and adults" (link at bottom). This teacher did an amazing job of always being uplifting and positive, and never making a child feel unwanted or "bad". This directly connects to the NCTCS, specifically standard two. This standard says, "Teachers establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of students," which I believe is what this teacher aimed for when disciplining students in her classroom.  I would like to facilitate my classroom with the same kind of positive energy in the future.
     I also really admired the way the teacher handled the classroom in a "controlled chaos" type system while doing centers. To anyone else walking in the room, it seemed as if the children were everywhere and that there was no order to it, yet the teacher had everything completely under control. The teacher provided help at one of the centers that the children were doing, but she was very aware of whether the children at other stations were being productive or not. She was very well prepared in order to provide the outcome from the centers that she desired.
    I realized during this observation that I have a very long way to go before I am the teacher in a classroom full of kindergartners. There are many behind the scenes skills that teachers have to work towards, such as patience, multitasking, being overly prepared for every situation, etc. There is so much more to teaching than many people realize, and I will definitely need to work on some of these skills before I reach the classroom.


Link:http://www.interventioncentral.org/behavioral-interventions/challenging-students/what-every-teacher-should-know-about%E2%80%A6punishment-techni
   

The Importance of Elementary School

     One of the major things that impacted me this week is the realization of how important elementary school is for children. I already knew any level of school was critical for a child, but I did not understand the significant role elementary school teachers have. Dr. Clark and Dr. Parker informed us on Monday that one bad teacher sets a student back three years in their academic learning. Once students reach middle school, if they do not understand the basic ideas of reading, writing, and simple mathematics, they will most likely never catch up. This makes the elementary school years crucial for building a good foundation.

     "The fundamental finding is that good teachers have an extraordinarily powerful impact on the future lives of their students"(link at bottom). The role that a teacher has in a child's life is incredibly powerful. Having a good and caring teacher could change a student for the better, especially when children do not have the care and attention they desire from their home. Children need a teacher to encourage them and use the best possible methods for them to learn in order to build their self esteem and make them feel as if they are capable of learning. The difference you are able to make, the chance to make a child feel smart, encouraged, and even loved, this is the reason I want to teach. I want to build a learning foundation for the children in my future kindergarten class that they will build on for the rest of their lives, while also showing compassion to these children as they go through life. Teaching is a profession where you make an impact, no matter what. The problem is, each teacher has to decide what kind of impact they want to make. "Symmetrically, research shows the lasting damage that poor teachers have on the lives of their students" (link at bottom). As a teacher, you cannot choose whether you want to make an impact or not, this is inevitable. "Do the effects of good teachers (or bad teachers) quickly fade away? the answer is no. Even as these students leave school and enter into adult careers in their late 20s, the significant trace of their early schooling is quite discernible" (link at bottom). You can choose to make a positive difference in the lives of children, and that will be the goal of my teaching when I have a classroom of my own. 

     Standard one of the NCTCS says that "teachers demonstrate leadership." I think this is a huge part of teaching and making a positive difference for children. Elementary age students are with their teacher longer than they are with their parents on a day to day basis. This means that the children will gain some of their characteristics from watching their teachers. Every move a teacher makes matters. Whether this is a positive or negative attribute in teaching, that is a decision every teacher makes themselves. 

Links: http://hanushek.stanford.edu/publications/low-performing-teachers-have-high-costs

The Walking Classroom

       One of the activities we did in class this past week in education 250 was the walking classroom. This is a way of learning where students listen to a podcast while walking around outside, and then after the podcast is over, students meet back in the classroom to review what they have learned. I think this is a very good idea to use in order to promote student learning. The walking classroom's official website states that "In addition to the obvious health benefits of walking, there is much research confirming the link between exercise and cognitive function. Students return to the classroom in better moods, more focused, and more likely to engage in post-walk discussions. Teachers regularly report that after implementing The Walking Classroom, students retain the information better, demonstrate better behavior and engagement in the classroom, and perform better on standardized exams" (Link at bottom). 

       The walking classroom will help teachers demonstrate the North Carolina Teaching Curriculum Standards (NCTCS) in many different ways. For example, the fourth standard of the NCTCS states that teachers should "facilitate learning for their students." Teachers should use strategies and tools that help the students learn best, and I think the walking classroom is a great way to help all different types of learners. Audio learners will be able to gain the most knowledge from the listening aspect of the walking classroom, kinesthetic learners will have the movement of walking outside as an advantage, and visual learners will have the option of taking notes as they learn. This activity applies to the majority, if not all different types of student learning and is a very beneficial tool in education today.

       I would most certainly take advantage of the walking classroom when I am a teacher in the future. I think, kindergarten in mind, that the idea may have to be tweaked slightly for the age I hope to have, but it would still be very useful. I think in order to make the walking classroom most effective in my future kindergarten class, I would have the class walk together while listening to a podcast that is slightly shorter than a normal walking classroom may be. This tool that I plan to use in the future will be a great way to get students involved and excited about their learning as well as give students a chance to escape the norm of sitting in a classroom for a few minutes. I can't wait to apply this activity in the future. 

Links: http://www.thewalkingclassroom.org/our-program/