After observing two consecutive days in Mrs. Flinn’s fourth grade classroom at Boone Central Elementary, it was interesting to compare and contrast the two different checklists. The checklists were very similar. On both days, descriptive praise was given, positive engagement was occurring, schedules and routines were posted/reviewed, transition strategies were utilized, and class rules were posted/reviewed. There were three categories that differed a little bit overall: predicable routines, teaching positive peer-related social skills, and transition warnings.
Predictable Routines: On Wednesday, the activities I observed weren’t very predictable. Because students were just given a big chunk of time to work on their projects, the beginning,
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Flinn didn’t spend any time teaching positive peer-related social skills. The students were just given time to work, and there weren’t any situations that arose where these specific skills needed to be addressed. On Thursday, Mrs. Flinn took a few minutes to talk with the students about how to separate themselves from classmates who they seem to get into more trouble with and how to have an appropriate conversation in that situation. I feel that the differences from Wednesday to Thursday here can be described by the specific activities taking place and the change in student behaviors. I thought Mrs. Flinn very appropriately added this social skill lesson into the school day on Thursday with the AR party occurring in the afternoon. I could tell that the student behavior since Wednesday had escalated because of their excitement. I think that lessons on social skills are more meaningful and much better received at specific “teachable” moments like these, because students are able to take what they learn and apply it to their lives right at that moment. Because of this, I feel that teaching positive peer-related social skills may be sprinkled into the curriculum when it fits best; it may not happen every single
It was 8:45am on Tuesday, October 20th, 2015: The toddler classroom environment is open and well organized. The room has three sections. When first entering the room the first area near the door is open. A tan carpeted floor covers the area. To the right of the door, was a metal trashcan with a lid. The room leads into an open back room where the changing table is. To the right of the changing table is a small bathroom with off-white painted walls. The walls have a few pink and purple flowers painted on. The changing table has a bottom shelf underneath to hold the various sized diapers. Next to the changing table is a wooden shelf that held other supplies such as baby wipes, cleaning wipes, more packages of diapers, and some extra soft
Both students were close to repeating the third grade and have serious behavior problem displayed in the classroom and at home. A PBS plan was created as an intervention to get these students back on track in the classroom. The goals were to prevent aggressive and distracting behaviors in the classroom that was impeding their education. The methods used in their PBS plan were self-monitoring, teacher and peer mediated support, and positive reinforcement (Lynnette, Young, & Marchant, 2004). The positive reinforcement used most often was praise for appropriate behaviors and a token economy system administrated by teachers and paraprofessionals that interacted with the students (Lynnette, Young, & Marchant, 2004). The result of the plan was an immediate improvement in their socially appropriate classroom behavior. This was measured by comparing their behavior in a sample of same-aged student evaluated by their teachers (Lynnette, Young, & Marchant, 2004). All in all, the researcher found a major difference in the two student’s behavior in the classroom that lead to them improving
For this field assignment, I chose to observe a seventh grade self-contained math class at William A Morris I.S 61 on Staten Island. I am currently a substitute teacher at the school and has worked at this school for approximately two years. For the purpose of this observations, I worked with Mr. Karl Knutsen, a 6th and 7th grade math, special education and technology supervisor at the school. Mr. Knutsen has been a teacher for seven years and has worked in I.S 61 for five. He currently teaches all self-contained math classes and is the "tech guy" for the building, meaning he is the go-to guy for all SmartBoard or computer based questions and emergencies. I am currently observing and working with Mr. Knutsens first and second period 7th grade class, 717. This class has 12 students, 11 boys and 1 girl, ranging in ages 13-14. Each student has an IEP for varying
I observed at St. Eve’s Learning Center location in their preschool room. The center has a naturalistic feel to the environment and all of the staff is friendly and welcoming. The classroom displayed best practices, modern theories and research, and followed expected standards set by their accreditations.
When it comes to the planning and preparation at Carson- Valley the teachers would come to together while the children would watch a movie on Friday because Friday was the children’s movie day. I would see teachers writing lessons plans and cutting out activities for their arts and crafts. I saw teachers printing worksheets that they were going to do. When I was a Carson Valley they gave me a template of a lesson plan but never an actual lesson. I observed two different lessons in the classroom one was with the letter “T” and the another one was the children learning their names. I found the lesson on the letter T interesting because the teacher made the class so involved with the lesson. Instead of the teacher giving the children different
My placement at Reese Elementary is going extremely well. I am enjoying my time spent observing and interacting with the students in Mrs. Church’s second-grade classroom. I love that Mrs. Church always has something new for me to do so that I can get as much experience as possible. Some of the new activities I have done includes giving a spelling test to the whole class, helping students with their math problems, and reading an accelerated reader test to students that have a hard time comprehending what they read. I always look forward to the time I spend in Mrs. Church’s class and look forward to the task she has ready for me so that I can get a better experience. Also, the students in my host teacher’s classroom are amazing, and they brighten up my day as soon as I step into the classroom.
...ideas and how each one of them will impact our classroom not only as an individual member of our room. Every one had an opportunity to contribute and express their thinking without making fun. By doing this activity the students mastered the activity without conflict and/or put-downs. According to T. Tamara “Teachers who apply psychosocial development in the classrooms create an environment where each child feels appreciated and is comfortable with learning new things and building relationships with peers without fear” (Tamara, 2010).
My personal philosophy of classroom management focuses on creating an environment where children feel safe and where they feel like they belong. I will create this environment for my fourth grade class through making my expectations of the students clear while developing an engaging lesson plan and personable interactions with my students. I developed my philosophy from studying different theorists and based my philosophy on the theories of Glasser and Kounin. Glasser believed that the teacher’s roll in the classroom is that of a leader rather than a boss. He believed that students should be given power in the classroom and that the teacher should share it with the students. I will use his ‘7 caring habits’ specifically supporting and respecting to help my classroom feel safe and welcoming to my students. Meeting the individual needs of my students will be the focus of my classroom management routine. I will meet individual needs by promoting self management and self efficacy in my students by creating an environment that that has predictable and consistent daily routines while focusing on my student’s successes (Shindler, 2010). Having a predictable routine will encourage a success oriented environment and will reduce anxiety and help towards creating positive self efficacy in each of my students (Shindler, 2010). In Glasser’s Choice Theory he talks about focusing on the present and not bringing up the past (Glasser, 2010). Therefore, I will focus my classroom on being goal driven and will help each student obtain their goals. Thus, helping my students have positive self efficacy. I will apply Kounin’s technique of Momentum (Pressman, 2011). This involves the teacher keeping exercises short and moving around the room a lot so...
“I organize my classroom in ways that motivate my students to learn. I use positive reinforcement. I have positive posters. I have them siting in groups to help them develop socially.”
It is crucial for us to understand the fundamentals of the development of a child as there are countless ways to conduct a lessons and to understand why children would react differently at this timing to another timing when they are completing a certain task. Furthermore, children develop uniquely and their development milestones differs from one another. Thus, a teacher must be cognizant of each child’s progression before conducting the class. This will help the teacher to plan and organize the lesson materials and the lesson time appropriately. There are two theories I would like to share in regards to child development in peer social interaction and cognitive development.
With social and emotional skills, a high-quality learning environment that has high-quality classroom structure and rules, commitment to the academic success of all students and high performance expectations, student learning is optimized. Attitudes towards learning, behaviour in and out of the classroom and academic performance have shown improvement with development from quality social and emotional learning that is supported through parent involvement and integrated throughout the entire curriculum.
Students are social by nature and given the right instructional strategies and good classroom management teachers can promote a positive learning environment. The use of instructional strategies will be different from class to class due the diversity within the student population. It is important to use strategies that actively engage students and modify them to meet the needs of the students. Social learning or group work can be g...
In electing to observe a kindergarten class, I was hoping to see ‘real world’ examples of the social development, personality types and cognitive variation found within the beginning stages of “Middle Childhood” as discussed within our text.
Of all the variables in a comprehensive literature review classroom management had the largest effect on student achievement. Therefore, teachers need to provide clear purpose and strong guidance regarding both academics and student behavior. Teachers and students need to collaborate as a team sharing concerns about the needs and opinions of others. Teachers should be aware of high-needs students and have a plethora of specific techniques for meeting some of their needs. Positive support from the parents, administration, support personnel and the community to bring about positive changes in student behavior is also necessary. Teachers can make a modification; they can construct a community that nurtures and develops social and emotional skills as well as academic
The teachers were giving the students positive reinforcement throughout the day. In class we talked about how positive reinforcement helps the students to succeed in their classes. Another ah-ha moment was the environment of the classroom. The classroom had no windows at all. In class we talked about what kinds of things are distracting to students with ASD in classrooms and one of those things are the windows in classrooms. The third ah-ha moment was the parent sheets that the teacher and the school provide for the parents. In class we talked about how parent involvement is very important for the students with disabilities. The teacher fills out the parent involvement paper that lets the parents know how the child did in school this week and what their child needs to improve on. The students must give their paper to their parents to look at when they get home. The things that I had learned during my observation experience that I will use in the future for my classroom will be including student learning objectives in the classroom, using positive reinforcement, and get the parents more involved in their child’s education. I will go over with the students what the student learning objectives are in the beginning of class so the students will know what they will be doing and what they will be learning throughout the day. I also will use positive