I continue my service work at SME, in the same classroom helping Ms. Alonso in the engineering classroom. It is a separate classroom where kids come once a week to build something which gives them opportunities to participate some hands on experiences. Kids are brought to the engineering classrooms by their classroom teachers, however the classroom teacher does not stay for the engineering class. I assume it is either a break for the classroom teacher or they just work on to get ready. I have gone to SME 8 times since I turned in journal #1. On my first journal I have mentioned that signing in with the new computerized system was problematic. I got used to signing in at the office, however most of the times computer is not working for checking …show more content…
Alonso with the kindergarteners. On that day we have built very simple bridges made by blocks and papers. There was no gluing, decorating, or cutting involved. It was actually too simple so the kids were bored. We have used blocks on two sides and put paper on the blocks. To see if the bridges can carry some weight we use cube shapes blocks. After putting two blocks the bridge was destroyed. The logic behind was to show students that bridges should be made strong so it can carry people and cars. Ms. Alonso made kids watch a YouTube video to teach them different kind of bridges and the strategies to build strong bridges. I really like the idea kids having the opportunities to watch informational videos on the classroom subject because I believe seeing is the key to learn and it reinforces kids ability to learn. There was not that many adults in the classroom on that day. Beside me and Ms. Alonso there was only one more adult which worked out well because the project for the day was not difficult at all. About ten minutes before the class ends Ms. Alonso and the other person left the classroom, they did not let me know where they went so I was alone with kids not knowing what to do. They asked me where their teacher’s was and what there were going to do. I told them I did not know so we just waited for Ms. Alonso. During that ten minutes alone with the kids I tried keeping the students busy and felt like I was more in charge unlike any other day because I was the only adult in the
At the beginning of the semester, I did not know what the "Service Learning and Social work Practice" course mean. However, through the process, with the accompaniment of Professor Preeti Charania, I understood the course and noticed a lot of transformation in me through the semester. The following are some of the changes and growth I have seen in me from class readings, discussions, group works, and working with the Church World Service (CWS) agency.
According to social cognitive theory, people and their environments mutually influence each other (Ormrod, 2011). People learn from the environment they are in, people they interact with, and behaviors they watch. People can learn by observing others and as they become older they can set their goals based on the accomplishments and the results of that learning. The video of the 4th grade, Canoga Park is about learning by observing, listening, and discussing a subject among the class-mates (4th Grade, Canoga Park, n.d.). In the video teacher is trying to teach the students about the importance of printing press. The teacher asked the students to divide in the groups of two called “pair and share” to discuss the views between two students first and then he asks the students to answer in a bigger group setting to assess whether the students learned the subject or not. The purpose of...
Such as, if Brayden and another little boy are not listening during transition I could separate them rather than giving them multiple warnings. Also, if I know that Roslyn is having a hard time controlling her anger appropriately then I could give her an “angry ball” or something that she can squeeze or take her anger out on rather than her hurting others. While for Fiona, we could talk about feelings one day during circle time and possibly figure out why she is feeling the way she is feeling. Due to the fact that everyone learns differently teachers need to be aware that not all children learn the same way as them. Teachers could possibly change the way they do activities such as, doing some hands on, watching videos, reading books, or even asking one child a day how they would like to learn about the theme of the
Looking back over the course of the semester, I feel that I learned many new and interesting uses for technology within the classroom – both for classrooms that have a lot of technology and for classrooms that are limited with technology. For the majority of the class, we utilized William Kists’ book The Socially Networked Classroom: Teaching in the New Media Age (2010), which provided multiple modes of instruction that both utilized and/or created technology. One of the first things that I remember, and consequently that stuck with me through the course’s entirety, is that individuals must treat everything as a text. Even a garden is a text. The statement made me change the way that I traditionally viewed Language Arts both as a student and as a teacher, as I very narrowly saw literature and works of the like as texts only; however, by considering nearly anything as a text, one can analyze, study, and even expand his/her knowledge. Kist (2010) states that society is “experiencing a vast transformation of the way we “read” and “write,” and a broadening of the way we conceptualize “literacy” (p. 2). In order to begin to experience and learn with the modern classroom and technologically advanced students, individuals must begin to see new things as literature and analyze those things in a similar manner.
... other students. This proved rather challenging within our learning circle group as neither the Social Work Students or the Primary Education students had any idea. It had been said by one of the three social work students that they thought it was all about ‘arts and crafts’ and that we had no real involvement with social work or education departments. The whole learning circle was challenging, there was very little or no input from some group members. Opinions and ideas were requested and nothing was offered back in to the group.
I have learned several valuable things from this project experience. First, it’s okay to not know how to do something right away. Ask, observe and experiment. Doing so will greatly enhance my ability to do it correctly and continue to learn. Second, I learned that this can be an experience in frustration if I always try to not make waves. Sometimes waves need to be made to better the project. And third, watch for similar frustrations with my students and intervene before it gets too serious.
The class I visited is comprised of 24 five and six year old children, a lead teacher and a ‘Para-Pro” who assists the teacher and provides support and guidance for the children. Within the classroom itself, there are 6 tables organized in the center of the room in a grid formation. Children have their own workspace at a shared table. Around the perimeter of the room are ‘centers’ where each day, the children work on tasks such as listening, story development, gross and fine motor skills, math, reading and other important skills that are needed to develop socially and academically. In several places on the walls, there are displays or ‘brag boards’ where children can post their work that they feel best represents their efforts. The walls are brightly decorated and are filled with pictures, letters, numbers and other basic elementary school information. It is energizing and interesting without being chaotic or overstimulating.
We spoke about the children in the classroom who have personalities and learning styles that are unique to them. Building a relationship with each child, gives her the opportunity to gain the necessary knowledge to create lesson plans that are relatable to their personalities and learning styles. Her association with the children impacts their feelings of safety and security which relates to their ability to interact and learn in the classroom. Another advantage my cooperating teacher spoke about is the fact she has known many of the children since they were babies. She has witnessed them grow, develop personalities, and learning
them the tools that they already have and show them how they can use them. Building that
Getting children to work together on projects which require problem solving is a great way for them to interact with each other and learn mathematical concepts on the way. It will also help them to boost their communication skills. Teachers can also facilitate learning by scaffolding the children’s learning and offering guidance when needed. Getting children to talk about what they are doing and what their plans are actually helps them to learn. Through their projects, children will learn to describe the mathematical concepts that they present using different materials. For example, drawing a house for art class, they learn the names of the different kinds of shapes that make up a
...rks. In a word, the MA experience was considered to be a bridge that combines the student learning with working skills, it would be of great help for my future career.
The procedures of the lesson were quite clear and logical for the most part, the lesson went mostly according to plan, although some nerves on my part may have caused some minor changes. The children responded positively and enthusiastically to the lesson as well as participated actively during the sorting activity, answering questions throughout the lesson. I think that the activity was age appropriate as it was not too easy neither was it too difficult for the children to complete the tasks. The children seemed to be engaged in the activity and eager to participate, using the colourful handmade materials, as the activity was rather like a fun and interactive game. According to (Guha, 2002), play and language form the basis for learning about math in natural ways, and one great way to integrate math involves hands-on activities and problem-solving situations that pique your children's curiosity. There were also few interruptions throughout the lesson which helped ensure a smooth lesson flow. I also managed to keep the children disciplined and keep their volume down throughout the lesson, since it was conducted at nap time. However, there is definitely some room for improvement. During the storytelling session, some children seemed slightly disengaged, which was probably due to the length of story. I also made a mistake of asking the children a wrong quest...
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
In this course I experienced an important change in my beliefs about teaching; I came to understand that there are many different theories and methods that can be tailored to suit the teacher and the needs of the student. The readings, especially those from Lyons, G., Ford, M., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2011), Groundwater-Smith, S., Ewing, R., & Le Cornu, R. (2007), and Whitton, D., Barker, K., Nosworthy, M., Sinclair, C., Nanlohy, P. (2010), have helped me to understand this in particular. In composing my essay about teaching methods and other themes, my learning was solidified, my knowledge deepened by my research and my writing skills honed.
Before I registered for Teaching Technology in The Classroom, I had the idea that technology was a simple skill to integrate in the classrooms. I just thought that teaching technology would be simple and fun for the students. I used to think that student already know a lot of technology, therefore it would be as simple subject to integrate in the classrooms. In fact,