Reflection: My Special Education Field Experience

Introduction

My field experience for EDUC 2130 was done at Rabun County Elementary STEM camp. The camp and its instructors had the goal of increasing the student’s awareness, knowledge, and interest in STEM. The student age groups I worked with went from kindergarten to 5th grade which gave me a wide range of behavioral, moral, and developmental stages to observe. The teachers running the program used many of the techniques we have discussed such as whole class discussions, small groups, and observational learning.

Field Experience Site: Rabun County Elementary School STEM camp

Rabun County Elementary is located in north Georgia along the border of South Carolina and North Carolina. According to the U.S. Department of Education (2015) the

The Pre-K and Kindergarten class studied habitats of various animals and insects. They were given examples and tough how the animals made their homes. The students built a bird house as their project and as something to take home to remind them of what they learned. Finally they went on a field trip to Legoland where they explored and built “habitats” for their families and the Lego people. The first and second grade class learned about marine life and the ocean. They built shoe box dioramas of coral reefs and created art projects depicting sea life as well as learning new facts about the ocean. The students got to go to the Aquarium for their field trip. Finally the third and fourth graders studied the rain forests and their ecosystems. The students built rainforest models and terrariums along with small group discussions on different ideas human intervention and conservation. They finished their week at the zoo where they studied different rainforest inhabitants in

As we went through each chapter of our book it would remind me of situations I already observed or would see that week. The more I learned about the educational theories I was able to see certain situations in a new light and it highlighted the differences I saw in the ages groups and different classes. The use of different motivation methods that were utilized by the teachers was great; most of them I didn’t realize were motivators until later and the one motivator I thought I understood was a reinforcer. I did see how the teacher’s preconceived ideas about students because of the type of community they are affected the students most of the time not positively. Some students were quickly disciplined and others were allowed to get away with similar offences with no comment all because of the relationship the teachers had with the families involved or the town gossip about them. I could see that this was negatively reinforcing the bad behaviors in both students. This made me aware of checking my own preconceived ideas and trying to judge the children based on what I have learned about how students learn. Overall I do believe the goals of the STEM camp were met and this has taught me to use multiple approaches to keep students engaged and