Field Experiences

Three weeks ago I was a little nervous to step foot in Mount Mahogany Elementary. Now, I miss all those cute little fourth graders. The students quickly found a place in my heart. It was amazing how quickly I got to know each childs nature and temperament. George (not real name) from the beginning was very warm and friendly towards my partner and I. I could tell he had a soft heart. In fact he had such a tender heart his feelings got hurt easily many times. The teacher and George had an understanding that when George got upset he would be able to leave the room with no questions asked so George could pull himself together. There were students who were very sad to see us go and there were students who didn't seem to care either way.

Now I will be able to take what I have learned from my experience at Mount Mahogany along with the things I have learned from all my classes at UVU. These next few weeks of school I will be able to pull from real life experience and a sort of simulation from what I learned from UVU. It will all come together to help me be the best teacher I can be for my future students. I can see why UVU has the best education dept around with some book work but mostly assignments that I can take with me as I move on to the next phase of learning.

In my future I will take the things I learned that there isn't always the technology available to the teacher from the classroom but not to panic because the school often has other technology the teacher can check out and use in their classroom. I will know there are many different personalities and as a teacher I have to teach in a way to reach all learners. I will be workable and excited to share my new ideas but not so excited that the veterans on my team look at me as a know it all. I know being a teacher won't be easy but great things usually aren't achieved easily. I look forward to continue my quest for being a teacher.

Field Experience Week 3

This past week in field my partner and I taught our five social studies lessons. We spent many hours putting the lessons together using all the things we have learned so far this year in all of our classes. One day we used direct instruction and showed the students how to make a Navajo rug. We also used the cooperative learning insert using the jigsaw method. Finally we used the effect the pioneers had on the Utah Native Americans. We used technology a couple times. We got to use a cool tool called the Elmo. It is a high tech version of the overhead projector. We also used a video from youtube which showed the students how important the land is to Native Americans.

We were ready and excited to teach. We weren't sure how it was going to go because the teacher in the class gives the students seat work and worksheet packets. We wondered if the kids would be receptive to group work. The first day we taught a song. We put the students in groups of five. THe instructions were to make up actions to their part of the song. Just as we thought the students had a hard time working together. Some of them wouldn't participate because they were just too far out of their comfort zone. We had a hard time with class management because the students aren't used to group work. The next day the students made navajo rugs in their seats. The lesson went very well. The next day we were really expecting another crazy lesson because we were playing a trading game in groups. This time we were pleasantly surprised. We were expecting the worst but the kids really got into the game and it went a lot better than expected.

From this experience I learned that when kids aren't used to doing things a certain way it can make them unsettled. I think this is where I can use what I have learned from classroom management. In my future class at the beginning of the year I will go over the expectations with my students and remind them throughout the year. The first time we do group work we will do it over and over and over if we have to until the students can do it without all the noise. I think it is worth the effort to work in groups. Many students have expressed their sadness that we aren't teaching any more lessons. This reaction leads us to believe that the students enjoyed our activities. I am even more excited to have my own classroom!

Field Experience Week 2

This week I have been working like crazy to get my lesson plans complete. In order to do this you need a great partner, a good subject and a reliable computer. I am lucky because I have all three. One of our assignments for field is making 5 lesson plans preferably social studies. Incorporated in the lesson plans are a technology lesson and 3 different models of lesson plans. My partner and I chose to use the cause and effect model for one of our lessons. It is hard to write a lesson plan when you don't know the subject. I spent hours and hours looking up the effect of the pioneers on the Utah Native American's.

I went to the library after not finding all I wanted to on the internet about the pioneers and native americans. I found some information that was very controversial. One scenario made the pioneers look like friendly neighbors who worked along side their native brothers. Another scenario made the pioneers look like anything but innocent. I wondered how you know what information is correct. I hope as a teacher I have information maybe from a textbook. I am assuming if it is in a textbook it is gospel.

It will be important for me as a teacher to know fact from fiction. Rumors and opinions work in some areas but not history. Elementary students take what teachers say to heart. For example today in class I helped a few students with math thinking I knew what I was doing. The students had the right answer and I told them it was wrong. I wanted to climb under the desk and disappear because they trusted me and I led them astray. It's a good thing kids are forgiving. It is important when I have my own class that I know my subject area. I love learning. I can see it will continue throughout my teaching career.

Field Experience #1 /Patience and Flexiblility

It is so fun to go to Mount Mahagony Elementary school each day. After only three days I have already grown to care about every fourth grader in the class. I am amazed how quickly the students warmed up to me and my partner. In a few short days I can pick out most the personalities, the soft hearted, the tough, the independent, the ones that need extra help. Because of their individuality I was able to learn their names in a short time even though I struggle with names. It is exciting as the kids ask the teacher, "When do they get to teach?" and exclaim to my partner and I, "We want you to stay all day!" We asked our cooperative teacher if he enjoys teaching? He said that it is hard work but each day has a reward. We can see why he loves teaching.

Each day I learn something new about the day and life of a teacher. One day the students were doing math. One boy got out of his seat and abruptly told the student sitting next to him to move so he could get through. The teacher noticed and stopped right in the middle of math to teach a kindness lesson and how to be polite. I was impressed that he would take the time out of math to teach character education. It is hard for teachers to see everything. One day while the teacher was reading there was a whole drama going on in the back of the room unnoticed. It would be nice if teachers could have multiple eyes like spiders, two to read the story, and two to look around the room while reading.

There are many things I already want to take with me to my future classroom that I have learned from my field experience. I want to remember to be flexible. My cooperative teacher said that being flexible is very important. He was being flexible when he saw a problem in the classroom and stopped in the middle of math to take care of it. I want to take that attribute with me. I have seen him flexible with his scheduling. He even moved Social Studies to the morning so we could teach our lessons. Patience is also an attribute I want to take with me. One day one of the kids told the teacher that his hair was sticking up. I wondered what the teacher was going to say. He handled it very well asking the student if it was bothering him and maybe at recess he could fix it. Wow, what patience! I look forward to the coming weeks to see what other lessons I can take with me.