Mandy Sanguigni
Field Experience
Journal #1
January 4, 2016
Observation:
Journal one of the Westminster College class EDU 562 Field Experience was related to observation and participation with a first grade classroom, on Monday, January 4, 2016. Upon arrival the class teacher provided instructions to assist in the set up of the classroom January calendar, make a graph of the lunch choices, and to pass out morning work for the students to complete as they arrived in the classroom. At 8:30 a.m. the teacher welcomed most of the students with excitement as they entered the room. She informed the students in detail and repeated the routine and morning arrival instructions. Once everyone arrived, the teacher rang a bell which symbolized it
…show more content…
The teacher passed around a microphone to each child, it symbolized who was speaking and this made everyone special. The students then had to write two sentences and draw a picture of what they remembered best about their holiday break. Eventually, they shared their two sentences with the teacher or me. Second, I noticed that once everyone read their journals, the teacher quickly called on students based on their bin color, which meant it was time for reading to begin. Each student had their own colored reading bin which included: three reading level books, a word list of the week, and a worksheet using the given word list. The colored bins symbolized what the student was to complete during reading time. For example; students with yellow bins read with the teacher at a table, students with green bins worked on the worksheet, students with blue bins read the three books quietly, and students with pink bins worked on writing on a small whiteboard the word list for the week. This strategy was beneficial because it developed independence. Thirdly, I noticed enthusiasm during the math lesson at the end of the day. The teacher had the students sit on the purple rug for a math lesson. The teacher used her laptop and the video clip to provide the students with visual instruction. Once the video clip was over, the teacher pulled up the worksheet to preview together with the class. Then the students went back to their desk to work on the worksheet
During the months of September and October this semester I spent time at two different schools in four different classrooms. Being able to observe different classes and teachers at Westside Junior High and South Live Oak Elementary was a very new and exciting experience for me since I can’t say I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. My experiences at these schools gave me a better insight into the differences between schools, classrooms, and teachers. The purpose of this field experience was to get 10 observation or tutoring hours in an elementary or junior high setting. I chose to observe a
My observation for the spring semester was placed at Pine Richland High School. I was able to watch over John Dolphin’s twelfth grade British literature course. John Dolphin has been teaching at Pine Richland for the past eighteen years. I went to observe his class three times. Two out of three of those visits I was able to be at the school all day long to really get the feel of the way it is like to be at the school all day and seeing the difference of his eight classes. Throughout my time there I learned different strategies on how to keep the students involved, the way that a school of this size is ran, and the difference of how John taught compared to my previous observation teacher.
At Arts-Based School I did my observation in Leni Fragakis’s third grade class. This was the first observation I had done since learning about instructional design. Since learning it, I now have a new way of observing, I pay more attention to the teacher; how she implemented the lessons, what strategies she uses, and the types of assessments she uses. This gives me a better experience because before I was just paying attention to what the students were doing and their part in the classroom and now I am paying attention to so much more. Even though it is important to watch the kids, I now also know how important it is to observe the teacher, too. I was also able to observe what I am learning in class be used in the classroom.
I observed the preschool classroom of Ms. K. Today was a smaller group, as several children are on vacation. This is a new facility and just the host teacher was in there at this time. I came into the classroom at 8:00 and left at 9:00. I spoke with the host teacher before and after the observation for feedback, which I felt was beneficial to both her and me. I observed the children during inside for 20 minutes. I observed the children during outside play for 40 minutes.
There were times during the day, where the children could read alone, and every day in the morning and afternoon the teachers did circle time with the kids and would read books. When there was down time during the day, the teachers would pull out puzzles for the kids to play with. The only change I would suggest is to allow more time for independent reading for the toddlers. Their own completed artwork was hung all through out the classroom. There was not one blank space on a wall. Every single week, they have a theme and do art work everyday that relates to that theme. For example, when I was there it was gardening week and they made a sun out of their own hand prints and that was also the week I did my garden sensory bin with
The participating students were observed for a period of two days. It took place during reading class. The observation had to be during the beginning of class until
My eighth grade classroom is set in a Jr-Sr. High school and is located in the Jr. High hallway, in the rear of the high school. I have thirty-two student desks situated in rows and two small tables at the front of my room used for paper pick up. My desk and computer are in the back corner of the room. The students all have their own Chromebooks and I have a desktop computer as well as a Samsung Tablet. Google Classroom is used daily as well as many other applications suited for 1:1 schools. I also have a projector hanging from the ceiling and two large white boards located on the front and side walls of my classroom. The class that I will be focusing on in this paper is made up of 26 students, 15 boys and 11 girls. One student with learning disabilities, another is an ELL student. This class meets for 55 minutes.
In the following report we will examine all of the elements of a Kindergarten classroom that I observed in Miss. Phillips classroom. I will cover over the school, the student’s participation, and the teacher’s overall. I will also include a Building report card. I will discuss how much the experience had an impact on me.
After the morning exercise, the leader led the students in their morning activities (American Flag Salute, Oklahoma Flag Salute, moment of silence, identified shapes and colors, calendar activities, number count, weather, and birthdays for the week) while being assisted by the teacher. The rest of the students were helpers when the leader didn’t know the answer.
Conducting classroom observations are very important to the prospective teacher. Observing helps show how experienced teachers manage their classroom. For this observation it was important to notice how the classroom was arranged, how the teacher interacted with the students, the teacher’s management style, and interview the teacher.
Participating – Today Dr. McHenry came to the school to observe my gifted 8th-grade class. After class Dr. McHenry and I had a brief discussion about any areas that I may improve upon. She suggested the next time a use a reading worksheet to have the students take turns reading each paragraph instead of the whole page, this will enable more students to participate during group work. She also suggested have the students work in
During the observation time I was placed in a first grade classroom. Walking into the class I began to look around and smile, there was so much color all over the classroom I could not help but feel happier. The teacher immediately stopped the class and told us what they were doing that morning and had each student introduce themselves to us. They went around and stated their name and then went back to their math workbook. When they were finished with their math worksheets they were then able to pick something to do around the room. That included reading on their own, getting to use the iPad, working on the computer, etc. Some students were together while others chose to work on things independently.
My first day of observations had finally arrived. Filled with excitement, I opened the doors to Pleasant Ridge Elementary School, and walked into the front office to sign in as a guest for the day. I made my way to the second grade wing to do my first observation for my field experience report. The second grade instructor greeted me as I entered her classroom, with a big bright smile I found made her classroom warm and inviting.
The following data was gathered while fulfilling duties as a principal intern at Theresa Bunker Elementary School. The data was observed during five to seven minutes of classroom observation as part of a walk-through in the spring of the current school year. My cooperating supervisor for my internship was able to go on these walk-throughs with me in order to have a productive reflection meeting afterwards. This elementary school has two of each grade level from Kindergarten to sixth grade. Since it was more feasible in this small school setting, I actually was able to do a walkthrough in eight classes. Here I will report my observations from five of those walk-throughs. As I went in to each room I was looking for four
The first cycle began with the teachers, Mrs. Michelle and Mrs. Melissa, facilitating a breakfast routine, although it was apparent that this meal was coming close to an end. Some children were still eating, while others were engaged in center play. Next, the teachers initiated a clean-up routine in which the children confidently participated by throwing their trash away and placing items back on the shelves. Upon the completion of the clean-up routine, the children were gathered on the rug for morning announcements and activities, including a music and movement activity, the pledge, morning announcements, the letter “F,” and a discussion about feelings. Both teachers asked questions which kept the children engaged in the activities, however at times the questions were rote; nonetheless, the children enthusiastically participated and the purpose of the lesson was clear. Most of the questions asked by the teachers during this time were closed-ended and focused heavily on checking for knowledge, maintaining engagement, and often only required one-word-answers. The teachers and children generally appeared to enjoy the learning activities together and this was especially evident through the children’s enthusiasm; however, at times the teachers remained distant as they instructed from a standing position. The classroom flowed effortlessly from one activity to the next, the teachers were prepared for all activities, and the children seemed to know what was expected of them