What are the procedures the teacher uses to make everything run smoothly in the class?
After this last section and also the article I've read for the article response paper, it's interesting to me what teachers know and apparently don't know about running a classroom. What I noticed working in the classroom with Mrs. C was the way she handled her class. She had a couple of different techniques that the kids responded to that I was really impressed with and hopefully use some day in my class.
Mrs. C didn't have any behavior charts hanging in her class, she didn't send anyone to the principals office, instead her kids responded to her money system and silly chants. When the classroom started to become filled with loud talking or yelling while working on assignments she would chant a rhyme that the class would repeat back the second half (I really wish I could find my notes where I had written it down). I told her how much I liked that method and how well her kids would positively respond back and immediately settle down, she told me it took a whole month to constantly practice and not give up on it until the class adopted it. I thought it was interesting that earlier in this weeks lesson in one of the videos that the teacher stressed the need to keep practicing classroom procedure and the use of role play, it reminded me of the advice Mrs. C offered.
The other strategy Mrs. C used within her classroom to promote productivity was her money system. Each student had a sheet of paper taped to their desk, their "wallet", where depending on good behavior, getting assignments in on time, having good scores on assignments and projects, she would use currency stamps ($.05, $.10, $.25) that she would stamp in the students "wallet". There were times where a student would act out, not work on assignments, etc. where she would warn with a heads down on the desk, but never once did she take away money from their wallet. The last day of school she held a "classroom store" where students could use the money they earned throughout the year to buy different treats, toys, classroom decor, the story time puppets and even school supplies. The way the kids responded to their wallets was really amazing to me, how much they valued their money and the things they would accomplish to get a dime stamped on their paper.
I've enjoyed this section, I think classroom management is important and also the way teachers reward and discipline behavior, and how kids respond interests me.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Blog Post #6
What strategies does the teacher use to actively engage the students? How effective are these?
I think that it's a teacher's mission to make sure the student gets the most out of learning, I think it's why someone goes into teaching (unless, it's for summers off, ha!). In the classroom it is important to keep students engaged and that includes engaging students in activities to let them expand their minds by experiencing what they are learning hands on, or incorporating the real world, and opening up communication.
The thing I loved about Mrs. C's class was how she engaged story time. Instead, of having the class sit in a circle as she read and passed around pictures, her class had made giant puppets earlier in the year and when it was "story time" she had a group of students come control the puppets as she told the story. The students would make the puppets react, have voices and even use other props to create the story. The other students in the class would give suggestions and also pass props the puppets could use. I loved this, it gave the students a chance to create and use their imagination with the story line instead of just listening and ultimately getting bored sitting on the floor.
I thought this method to be super effective, not once did I see a student lose interest in the story, or actions. I think in a traditional setting of "story time" students sitting on the floor as the teacher sits in the front reading, leads to boredom, which can easily lead to distractions, and touching and rough housing. I think Mrs. C did a great job making sure things were always lively and interesting in her classroom.
I think that it's a teacher's mission to make sure the student gets the most out of learning, I think it's why someone goes into teaching (unless, it's for summers off, ha!). In the classroom it is important to keep students engaged and that includes engaging students in activities to let them expand their minds by experiencing what they are learning hands on, or incorporating the real world, and opening up communication.
The thing I loved about Mrs. C's class was how she engaged story time. Instead, of having the class sit in a circle as she read and passed around pictures, her class had made giant puppets earlier in the year and when it was "story time" she had a group of students come control the puppets as she told the story. The students would make the puppets react, have voices and even use other props to create the story. The other students in the class would give suggestions and also pass props the puppets could use. I loved this, it gave the students a chance to create and use their imagination with the story line instead of just listening and ultimately getting bored sitting on the floor.
I thought this method to be super effective, not once did I see a student lose interest in the story, or actions. I think in a traditional setting of "story time" students sitting on the floor as the teacher sits in the front reading, leads to boredom, which can easily lead to distractions, and touching and rough housing. I think Mrs. C did a great job making sure things were always lively and interesting in her classroom.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Blog Post #5
What do you think is the most important role a teacher plays? Why?
There are many roles that teachers play in the lives of their students, all of which are important and to some students some are more important than others, but the one I find most important is personal cheerleader and mentor.
During a student's childhood years their self worth is everything, this is the moment that their personalities really get to shine through being away from home and let's face it, not all kids are kind at school. What we really don't know is that not all parents are kind either, so school is a great place to really let a child grow and express themselves. A teacher's role as a personal cheerleader is so important, to help the student not give up, to see their potential and to mentor them on that path.
I know not all children are going to be a teacher's favorite, there will be times of frustration and where patience is very very thin, but to try and see the potential of that child will not only help the child, but also the teacher. We as teachers won't know what is going on at home, a child could be abused verbally (or physically) which will only drop their self esteem or make it difficult to see their worth, but also more often is the abuse of being neglected, behind work loads, other siblings, or even TV and computers, children aren't being praised, or given the attention they need to grow into confident individuals, and this will reflect in their learning and grades.
So, I think it's important for a teacher to nurture the positive and really help shape the student's esteem and help them to succeed. There was a time in Mrs. C's classroom where I saw a child who had just lost his mother a week prior struggle, not wanting to do anything because as they said "what was the use", his mother wasn't there anymore to see them do well and his father was too busy crying. Mrs. C took that child aside and told them how important it was for him to do well, because of how important he was to his family and his mother. Just being there and motivating the student to do well is enough to push any student forward and try their very best. That is why I believe being a personal cheerleader to each student is the most important.
There are many roles that teachers play in the lives of their students, all of which are important and to some students some are more important than others, but the one I find most important is personal cheerleader and mentor.
During a student's childhood years their self worth is everything, this is the moment that their personalities really get to shine through being away from home and let's face it, not all kids are kind at school. What we really don't know is that not all parents are kind either, so school is a great place to really let a child grow and express themselves. A teacher's role as a personal cheerleader is so important, to help the student not give up, to see their potential and to mentor them on that path.
I know not all children are going to be a teacher's favorite, there will be times of frustration and where patience is very very thin, but to try and see the potential of that child will not only help the child, but also the teacher. We as teachers won't know what is going on at home, a child could be abused verbally (or physically) which will only drop their self esteem or make it difficult to see their worth, but also more often is the abuse of being neglected, behind work loads, other siblings, or even TV and computers, children aren't being praised, or given the attention they need to grow into confident individuals, and this will reflect in their learning and grades.
So, I think it's important for a teacher to nurture the positive and really help shape the student's esteem and help them to succeed. There was a time in Mrs. C's classroom where I saw a child who had just lost his mother a week prior struggle, not wanting to do anything because as they said "what was the use", his mother wasn't there anymore to see them do well and his father was too busy crying. Mrs. C took that child aside and told them how important it was for him to do well, because of how important he was to his family and his mother. Just being there and motivating the student to do well is enough to push any student forward and try their very best. That is why I believe being a personal cheerleader to each student is the most important.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Blog Post #4
How does this teacher manage assessment?
Working in the classroom towards the end of the school year I was able to witness a few times Mrs. C assess her students.
There was one day she assessed her class in math, where she was testing them on shapes and also counting by 5's and 10's. The way she assessed her class with math is she had four math stations set up in the room, one was computers set up to play math games, one had a worksheet involving counting by 5's and 10's front and back using pictures and words, the third station she had students working on a fun addition worksheet and then the last work station was a table with her and no more than 3 students. At this station Mrs. C built blocks of 5's and 10's having each student give her an answer as to how many blocks where there individually by counting off. She also used small baskets with small fuzz balls some with 5, some with 10 in them. This activity she would have the students count off baskets and individual balls to give her an amount. Having the group in such a small number she was able to see more of a personal response and also how the students worked with each other closely to achieve the answers.
Another chance I saw her assess her students was one on one reading. She had the class in the computer lab for this assessment working on reading and language art games. She would call each student up individually where she had a set of two books. She would have the student read one book, I saw her marking on a sheet of paper, I did notice though that if the student finished that book with ease the student was released back to their computer, if the student struggled too much with the first book, they were asked to read a second book which was an "easier" read, again marking a sheet of paper with comments and what looked like possible times the student stumbled on the book.
I liked that she took the time with each student to hear them read, she never sat and corrected them, but let the child read on his or her own. She would later talk to the child about their reading after they had finished with encouraging words. I liked that. I liked seeing every child walking away happy and not walking away feeling defeated.
Working in the classroom towards the end of the school year I was able to witness a few times Mrs. C assess her students.
There was one day she assessed her class in math, where she was testing them on shapes and also counting by 5's and 10's. The way she assessed her class with math is she had four math stations set up in the room, one was computers set up to play math games, one had a worksheet involving counting by 5's and 10's front and back using pictures and words, the third station she had students working on a fun addition worksheet and then the last work station was a table with her and no more than 3 students. At this station Mrs. C built blocks of 5's and 10's having each student give her an answer as to how many blocks where there individually by counting off. She also used small baskets with small fuzz balls some with 5, some with 10 in them. This activity she would have the students count off baskets and individual balls to give her an amount. Having the group in such a small number she was able to see more of a personal response and also how the students worked with each other closely to achieve the answers.
Another chance I saw her assess her students was one on one reading. She had the class in the computer lab for this assessment working on reading and language art games. She would call each student up individually where she had a set of two books. She would have the student read one book, I saw her marking on a sheet of paper, I did notice though that if the student finished that book with ease the student was released back to their computer, if the student struggled too much with the first book, they were asked to read a second book which was an "easier" read, again marking a sheet of paper with comments and what looked like possible times the student stumbled on the book.
I liked that she took the time with each student to hear them read, she never sat and corrected them, but let the child read on his or her own. She would later talk to the child about their reading after they had finished with encouraging words. I liked that. I liked seeing every child walking away happy and not walking away feeling defeated.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)