This past week I was able to experience teaching in a completely new light. My host-teacher was unable to come in for the entire week due to illness, and the substitute that came in had just graduated college with her degree in physical education. She told me the first day that she was originally in elementary education but she decided that it would be way too much for her to handle on a daily basis. So, I told her that I would take over the classroom and ask for her to help with discipline, keeping the students focused and on track, and I would need her help with small group instruction during reading and math.
Although the substitute was a great help, in all honesty I feel that I was in charge and running the classroom from the moment the first student walked through the door in the morning until the last student walked out to go home on the bus. Now don't get me wrong, it was a very stressful week! But we also had no water to drink and could not wash our hands. So this was a whole new experience for the students. Also, there were several behavior issues that arose each day but as a whole class the students did a superb job. Due to this change in behavior, it made me realize that I am getting better with my classroom management skills. I know I still need to work on some areas of it, but so does every teacher, even if they have been teaching for 30+ years. Classroom management is something that is forever changing on a daily and yearly basis. It all depends on what kinds of students you have within your room.
This week, I also began to see myself grow as a teacher. I became more confident in my teaching and I felt as if the students began to see me as a teacher as well. At times it had felt as if the students saw me as an aid or a classroom helper, but now I feel that the students trust me and come to me for information and they look up to me as an educator. I also feel that I got to know the students even more this week. I graded their papers, interacted with them the entire day, and I feel as if the students began to open up and participate more because they too felt more comfortable with me instructing them.
So, all in all, despite the few stressful moments that I had endured this past week, it was by far one of the most eye opening and rewarding weeks I have had so far during my internship. It allowed me to see that when I do get a classroom of my own, I will survive! :) And that is a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders, because now I know that I can do it! And I will be able to make it on my own when that day arrives when I have my own students. Such a relief!! :)
Monday, October 11, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Week 5 Reflection
For me this week, my biggest eye-opener was parent-teacher conferences. In most of my education courses at the university, I have heard horror stories about parent-teacher conferences. However, my first experience was not that bad. Yes, there were a few parents that were not as approachable as others, but there were no horrifying experiences that occurred that would discourage me to speak up or fear telling the parent something that may be a shock, or worrisome to them about their child. Regarding conferences, I also learned that the preparation for parent-teacher conferences can take up a lot of your time. My host-teacher prepared a conference sheet for herself so that it would guide her in her conversation with the parents. This is definitely a technique I am going to try in my future teaching career because it is something that will allow me to remember everything that I need to say, and it will also help me concentrate on what is important for the parents to hear. It also helps serve as a form of parent communication which is important.
Overall, this week was not so bad. Yes, there were several behavior issues and some challenging moments, but I always take it with a grain of salt and continue to keep on teaching. My own personal patience is building every day, and I continue to try to learn how to connect to my first graders. However, I have discovered this year that I can connect more with the upper elementary students than I can with the younger ones. I absolutely love and adore all 19 of the students, but as far as content and teaching methods go, I have discovered that my comfort level and my own lesson planning abilities relate more to 3rd through 5th grade. It has been very difficult for me to think of how to teach a lesson or even go over a simple worksheet. Since most of my time at Mason-Dixon has been spent in the upper elementary classrooms, this part of teaching has been a very difficult transition to make, however it is slowly getting easier and I am learning to automatically think this way as I am instructing the students.
This Friday, I managed to start my action research with my students. I am conducting a study on using Touch Math with students who struggle with math. I was very pleased with how the first day went with my group of 7 students. They picked up on the method quite well, and they seemed to be excited about trying out something new. I am very anxious to see how this study goes over the course of the next 5-6 weeks. And I am even more anxious to see how this method of math affects the understanding of these students once addition and subtraction are introduced.
Overall, this week was not so bad. Yes, there were several behavior issues and some challenging moments, but I always take it with a grain of salt and continue to keep on teaching. My own personal patience is building every day, and I continue to try to learn how to connect to my first graders. However, I have discovered this year that I can connect more with the upper elementary students than I can with the younger ones. I absolutely love and adore all 19 of the students, but as far as content and teaching methods go, I have discovered that my comfort level and my own lesson planning abilities relate more to 3rd through 5th grade. It has been very difficult for me to think of how to teach a lesson or even go over a simple worksheet. Since most of my time at Mason-Dixon has been spent in the upper elementary classrooms, this part of teaching has been a very difficult transition to make, however it is slowly getting easier and I am learning to automatically think this way as I am instructing the students.
This Friday, I managed to start my action research with my students. I am conducting a study on using Touch Math with students who struggle with math. I was very pleased with how the first day went with my group of 7 students. They picked up on the method quite well, and they seemed to be excited about trying out something new. I am very anxious to see how this study goes over the course of the next 5-6 weeks. And I am even more anxious to see how this method of math affects the understanding of these students once addition and subtraction are introduced.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Action Research
Day 1
I successfully completed my first session of Touch Math with my group of 7 students. This group of students are among the lower leveled students in the subject area of math. However, there are a few students who are more than likely higher but they do not apply themselves. The first thing I did with the Touch Math method today was allowing the students to investigate their foam Touch numbers that I created for them. In each bag, I created the numbers 0 through 9 and I put whole punch size dots on each number where the Touch location is found. The 6 and the 9 look identical, therefore I knew this would be a difficult concept for the students to understand. So, in order to help alleviate the confusion, I made the 6 in every child's tool bag a different color than the remaining numbers. This was something that one of the students commented on right away.
The students were asked to observe the contents within their bag without opening it up and putting all of them on the table. By doing so, they discovered that the numbers had dots on them, and some of those dots had other dots (or paint as they called it) on others. So, I had them all think about this and tell me why they think the dots are on the numbers. To help them with the concept, I brought out the numbers in the correct order, smallest to largest, and the student counted the amount of dots on them. The numbers 1 through 5 have their exact amount of individual dots on them. However, 6 through 9 have dots with the painted dots on them as well. So together as a whole group, I discussed with them that if there is a paint dot on the foam dot, then they will need to touch that dot twice. I was slightly worried about how the students would understand this concept, but to my dismay the students picked up on the concept really well. Before I knew it, the students pulled out their foam numbers and they were lining them up in the correct number order. Then they were investigating the dots that were placed on them. While they were investigating, I decided to ask one student at a time to touch the dots/points on a few numbers. I used 5 and 7 for this part, and the students really understood what was going on. One student struggled with it, but he was touching the very first dot 7 times instead of moving, so at least I know that he understands the number concepts.
Overall, this first day experience was fantastic. I cannot wait to get started on the rest of my study. I truly feel that this method is going to help this students and allow to soar once they start addition and subtraction. So...let the study begin!
I successfully completed my first session of Touch Math with my group of 7 students. This group of students are among the lower leveled students in the subject area of math. However, there are a few students who are more than likely higher but they do not apply themselves. The first thing I did with the Touch Math method today was allowing the students to investigate their foam Touch numbers that I created for them. In each bag, I created the numbers 0 through 9 and I put whole punch size dots on each number where the Touch location is found. The 6 and the 9 look identical, therefore I knew this would be a difficult concept for the students to understand. So, in order to help alleviate the confusion, I made the 6 in every child's tool bag a different color than the remaining numbers. This was something that one of the students commented on right away.
The students were asked to observe the contents within their bag without opening it up and putting all of them on the table. By doing so, they discovered that the numbers had dots on them, and some of those dots had other dots (or paint as they called it) on others. So, I had them all think about this and tell me why they think the dots are on the numbers. To help them with the concept, I brought out the numbers in the correct order, smallest to largest, and the student counted the amount of dots on them. The numbers 1 through 5 have their exact amount of individual dots on them. However, 6 through 9 have dots with the painted dots on them as well. So together as a whole group, I discussed with them that if there is a paint dot on the foam dot, then they will need to touch that dot twice. I was slightly worried about how the students would understand this concept, but to my dismay the students picked up on the concept really well. Before I knew it, the students pulled out their foam numbers and they were lining them up in the correct number order. Then they were investigating the dots that were placed on them. While they were investigating, I decided to ask one student at a time to touch the dots/points on a few numbers. I used 5 and 7 for this part, and the students really understood what was going on. One student struggled with it, but he was touching the very first dot 7 times instead of moving, so at least I know that he understands the number concepts.
Overall, this first day experience was fantastic. I cannot wait to get started on the rest of my study. I truly feel that this method is going to help this students and allow to soar once they start addition and subtraction. So...let the study begin!
Week 2 Reflection
Today was day 1 of week 2 in my first grade classroom, and it is getting better! The students are beginning to realize that first grade is not the same as kindergarten. They are learning that there is no rest time, working diligently is a requirement, and there is little free play. However, there are still a select few students who continue to try our patience, lack motivation, and have no willpower to try to do their work. On a good note though, I have learned that just by being with these students for a mere 48 hours of instructional time, I have already discovered a great deal of information about them. I have learned about some of their strengths and weaknesses, I know who cannot stand in line with one another, and I have gotten to know their personalities. It is these discoveries that make me so passionate about teaching. You never know what child will walk through your classroom door on the first day of school, and that child may be the most inspiring child you will ever meet. Although I am teaching the students a lot of information, those students are teaching me countless information as well.
______
Today is Thursday, and the only thought in my head at the moment is….exhaustion! Those little ones sure can tucker a teacher out when they’re not used to it. However, despite the exhaustion, I have learned countless things this week. I have learned that discipline is something that you gradually have to implement into your classroom, although it is important to get to the true problem-children early on in the year. My host-teacher also gave me a great idea earlier this week regarding how to report poor behavior to parents. She said to me, “If a child is interrupting my time, then I will interrupt the parents’ time by calling them in the evening during family time.” This statement made so much sense, and I think it is a great strategy to think about using in my future teaching. Parents/guardians will be more apt to talking to the child right after that phone call, than if a phone call is made earlier in the day. Therefore, that statement is something I will definitely remember as I start my first year of teaching.
This week I also learned valuable lessons about myself as a teacher. I learned that no one is perfect, and as a teacher I will make mistakes. For instance, calling a student by their older siblings name more than three times in the same day, or miss-stating a line in a book and the students immediately catch it! The young minds in this classroom cease to amaze me. I learn something new every day from them all; whether it is information from the student interviews, or simply just having a brief conversation with them when they first get into the classroom. This has taught me that it is extremely important to get to know your students as quickly as possible. Already I can sense when one of the students is upset, or not feeling well, or if they seem to be having an off-day.
Another valuable lesson I learned this week is the fact that a teacher may try to plan ahead, but in some way, shape or form, something in those plans will be changed. For me, these plans have been involving my action research topic. I have had 3 different topic ideas, and there seems to be a bump in the road ahead causing me to have to turn around and go back to where I have started. However, it has taught me to assess the entire situation in a new light. I have learned that no matter what, I will choose something that will benefit these students in some way. Even if it does not work for all of them, I am bound to help a few of them in some way. Therefore, I will continue to ponder about my topic ideas and I know one day soon I will know exactly what to do for this project—the students may even give me the answer in their own way.
________
One other lesson I learned this week is…always wash your hands and use sanitizer frequently throughout the school day. Especially in the beginning of the year! This is true because the germs are flying all across the school in the beginning and teachers are bound to catch some type of bug! Also, a note to my own self for the future is to remember to take that vitamin C to build my immune system!
Week 3 Reflection
During my third week of full-time teaching, I have learned a great deal about myself as a teacher. It still amazes me how much those little first graders teach me on a daily basis. One thing is for sure as well, in the teaching profession, there is not one day that goes by that at least one child within your classroom makes you smile. Lately school, work, and planning a wedding have been stressing me out. I feel as if I do not get enough sleep, my mind is just drained, and there are some mornings that it is a struggle to get myself in my car for that 60 minute drive. However, once I walk into Mason-Dixon and see the welcoming faculty members and that first student walks into the classroom, all of those worries, anxieties, and stressors just seem to vanish. I do not know if this is because I know that the students need me to be at my best in order to learn the most, or if it is just the fact that I love teaching so much it makes life a little bit better, but all in all that feeling is priceless!
Throughout this week, I began to feel even more comfortable with the students and I continue to learn more and more about them every day. Each child fascinates me with how their little mind thinks! Some of the sentences they come up with during our “word of the day” discussions truly amaze me. Some of those sentences are even beyond anything that I could think up of in a given amount of time. I am really looking forward to reading some of their writing stories based on the sentences we hear on a daily basis.
I have also learned a valuable lesson within the classroom regarding perseverance. Although there will be some students within the classroom that struggle on a daily basis, it is my job as an educator to not give up on these students. I also learned that when these students begin to pick up on the lesson/concept you have been trying to teach for a few days or weeks, it is the most amazing feeling once they accomplish it. You feel so proud of that child for accomplishing the task that you just smile from ear to ear! It is these kinds of teaching moments that I live for!
Not that this particular thought has to do with my first grade classroom or my internship per se this semester, but one other event that occurred this week that was eye-opening, was involving our tutor orientation. There are 5 upcoming tutors for Mason-Dixon and we had two separate orientations for the group. Both days, as I sat in on the meeting portion of the orientation, I could not believe how much more confidence and knowledge I have gained in regards to education. I could see the nervous, scared and uncertain look within the eyes of those tutors. Instead of myself being a part of the “listening” group, now I was in the seat in which I was the “professional.” The tutors were asking me for my insight and thoughts, and it finally hit me that I am at my final step before I become a teacher and have my own classroom. And for the first time since I have been at Mason-Dixon, that thought did not scare me. I know that I have the abilities, the knowledge, and the experience to have my own classroom. This made me feel so much better about myself in terms of teaching, and it also made me see how far I have become since I myself was sitting in that chair at tutor orientation. What a great feeling that was!
Throughout this week, I began to feel even more comfortable with the students and I continue to learn more and more about them every day. Each child fascinates me with how their little mind thinks! Some of the sentences they come up with during our “word of the day” discussions truly amaze me. Some of those sentences are even beyond anything that I could think up of in a given amount of time. I am really looking forward to reading some of their writing stories based on the sentences we hear on a daily basis.
I have also learned a valuable lesson within the classroom regarding perseverance. Although there will be some students within the classroom that struggle on a daily basis, it is my job as an educator to not give up on these students. I also learned that when these students begin to pick up on the lesson/concept you have been trying to teach for a few days or weeks, it is the most amazing feeling once they accomplish it. You feel so proud of that child for accomplishing the task that you just smile from ear to ear! It is these kinds of teaching moments that I live for!
Not that this particular thought has to do with my first grade classroom or my internship per se this semester, but one other event that occurred this week that was eye-opening, was involving our tutor orientation. There are 5 upcoming tutors for Mason-Dixon and we had two separate orientations for the group. Both days, as I sat in on the meeting portion of the orientation, I could not believe how much more confidence and knowledge I have gained in regards to education. I could see the nervous, scared and uncertain look within the eyes of those tutors. Instead of myself being a part of the “listening” group, now I was in the seat in which I was the “professional.” The tutors were asking me for my insight and thoughts, and it finally hit me that I am at my final step before I become a teacher and have my own classroom. And for the first time since I have been at Mason-Dixon, that thought did not scare me. I know that I have the abilities, the knowledge, and the experience to have my own classroom. This made me feel so much better about myself in terms of teaching, and it also made me see how far I have become since I myself was sitting in that chair at tutor orientation. What a great feeling that was!
Week 4 Reflection
This week I must admit, things went a little more smoothly than the past few weeks. Now, don't get me wrong, there were definitely some behavioral issues and some trying moments during my instruction, but the students really seem to be understanding and comprehending the materials that we are teaching! This is such a great feeling!
I did have one new challenge this week though...I taught my first real social studies unit. Last semester I taught two consecutive lessons on the census, but this week I was asked to write the lessons for the first unit within the first grade social studies text. I taught the students about schools, school workers, rules in our school and the world, schools around the world, schools from today and years past, and lastly the students learned about our president and the Constitution for Constitution Day. Since I had not seen a social studies lesson ever taught before, this was a challenge for me, especially in a young, first grade classroom. However, I was quite pleased with how it all turned out.
After each lesson, I used the interactive whiteboard to write down the students' thoughts, ideas, and to gauge whether or not they were understanding the materials. The first day I created a set of classroom rules along with the students on the interactive whiteboard. Then the students had a quiet, imagination activity that I thought of at the spur of the moment. I had the students imagine what school would be like if there were no rules at all. I was really surprised with some of the responses I got when I asked the students to tell me what they saw in their heads. I was afraid that the students would think that having no rules would be an awesome thing, but every student said that it was a scary place and no one was learning anything. So, after this occurred, I was really impressed with how well the students caught on to the lesson itself, and I was also impressed with how the lesson went as a whole.
The next lesson I introduced a Venn diagram to the students. Many of them had never seen one before, so we worked on it as a whole group. However, by the end of the lesson, most of the children were able to tell me what a Venn diagram was, and they were able to put the thoughts in the correct category. So, now I know that the students will more than likely be able to handle this type of activity in the future, which will be very useful in my upcoming reading groups.
Beyond social studies this week, I was pleased with how well the week turned out. The students improved their math scores on the test this Friday, and their spelling tests seemed to be better as well. This shows that they are finally getting used to the routines and they understand that school is a serious matter; it's not always fun and games. It is amazing how much they mature in that light just in a few weeks, in comparison to their kindergarten days. I have seen so much growth in the students over the course of 4 weeks and it gives you such a great feeling knowing that you had a little part of that achievement. Even just seeing a student write their 5's correctly, or seeing them self-correct their b's and d's after you have told them countless times that they have reversed them is a rewarding feeling. This feeling alone excites me because I can only imagine how much these students will learn and grow by the time December comes when my internship comes to a close. I cannot wait to see the students' progress! I am enjoying every minute so far, and I honestly cannot wait to start my own teaching career soon...hopefully next year!
I did have one new challenge this week though...I taught my first real social studies unit. Last semester I taught two consecutive lessons on the census, but this week I was asked to write the lessons for the first unit within the first grade social studies text. I taught the students about schools, school workers, rules in our school and the world, schools around the world, schools from today and years past, and lastly the students learned about our president and the Constitution for Constitution Day. Since I had not seen a social studies lesson ever taught before, this was a challenge for me, especially in a young, first grade classroom. However, I was quite pleased with how it all turned out.
After each lesson, I used the interactive whiteboard to write down the students' thoughts, ideas, and to gauge whether or not they were understanding the materials. The first day I created a set of classroom rules along with the students on the interactive whiteboard. Then the students had a quiet, imagination activity that I thought of at the spur of the moment. I had the students imagine what school would be like if there were no rules at all. I was really surprised with some of the responses I got when I asked the students to tell me what they saw in their heads. I was afraid that the students would think that having no rules would be an awesome thing, but every student said that it was a scary place and no one was learning anything. So, after this occurred, I was really impressed with how well the students caught on to the lesson itself, and I was also impressed with how the lesson went as a whole.
The next lesson I introduced a Venn diagram to the students. Many of them had never seen one before, so we worked on it as a whole group. However, by the end of the lesson, most of the children were able to tell me what a Venn diagram was, and they were able to put the thoughts in the correct category. So, now I know that the students will more than likely be able to handle this type of activity in the future, which will be very useful in my upcoming reading groups.
Beyond social studies this week, I was pleased with how well the week turned out. The students improved their math scores on the test this Friday, and their spelling tests seemed to be better as well. This shows that they are finally getting used to the routines and they understand that school is a serious matter; it's not always fun and games. It is amazing how much they mature in that light just in a few weeks, in comparison to their kindergarten days. I have seen so much growth in the students over the course of 4 weeks and it gives you such a great feeling knowing that you had a little part of that achievement. Even just seeing a student write their 5's correctly, or seeing them self-correct their b's and d's after you have told them countless times that they have reversed them is a rewarding feeling. This feeling alone excites me because I can only imagine how much these students will learn and grow by the time December comes when my internship comes to a close. I cannot wait to see the students' progress! I am enjoying every minute so far, and I honestly cannot wait to start my own teaching career soon...hopefully next year!
Week 6 Reflection
This week, the most eventful moments stuck out in my mind was involving my Touch Math group for my action research project. It is this small group of students within this classroom that continually inspire me and remind me of why I want to be a teacher. I have seen so much growth in those 7 students that it just amazes me! To think that from the first day when those students did not even know how to add 1+0 and now they can add much higher numbers such as 8+3 without even thinking about it is awesome! I have been giving the students 16 problems to work on each day during the 30 minute session we have. At first the students were a little overwhelmed, but now they seem to enjoy this "fun" break from the day. In fact, I have heard several students in my group say that they now love math. And as a teacher, those are words we LOVE to hear! So, all in all, this group has truly shown me how powerful it can be to be a teacher. Sometimes you do not know how you really were able to teach them what you have, but at some point it just clicks. It's a wonderful thing to know you were a part of, that is for sure!
This week I also discussed my action plan with my host-teacher for the upcoming weeks within my placement. I know that one of my weakest points of my teaching is my behavior management and transitioning. So, in order to help strengthen these areas, I am going to try different ways to engage the students between lessons and I am also going to try new methods for behavior. I may try writing RECESS on the board in the morning and as the day progresses; I will erase one letter if the class is not listening to my instructions or if they are misbehaving. Once all of the letters have been erased, then that means the students lose 5-10 minutes of their recess as a whole class. (This is the part I am not sure about yet...especially if it is our week to have recess duty.) I am also going to try and think of other ways to reduce the amount of behavioral issues within our classroom because they are becoming a true distraction within our lessons and they are causing students to lose time for learning. So this is definitely something that I need to work on.
This week, we also started guided reading groups. I was a little nervous at first because I have never really run a guided reading group all on my own. However, it has been a blast and the students are great to work with. It amazes me how well they can read at this age, and they are such great writers as well! I am still getting used to the amount of work a 1st grader can handle, so that is something I need to continually think about when I write their weekly agenda for reading groups! I have to turn my mind away from my usual 5th grade level and switch it over to 1st grade mode! This is very hard at times, but I am slowly learning. It just takes a few times for me to gauge their abilities and understand what amount of homework they can accomplish and handle each evening.
For next week, I am going to try my hardest to work on behavior, transitions and concentrate on my action research since I am entering my third week. The next week I will give the group their first assessment before we start taking away the touch points from the math problems themselves. I am getting anxious to see the results! Although, as of right now, I truly feel that if I teach first grade in the future, I am going to try to use this method to teach students addition and subtraction. It was helped my group of 7 students immensely!
This week I also discussed my action plan with my host-teacher for the upcoming weeks within my placement. I know that one of my weakest points of my teaching is my behavior management and transitioning. So, in order to help strengthen these areas, I am going to try different ways to engage the students between lessons and I am also going to try new methods for behavior. I may try writing RECESS on the board in the morning and as the day progresses; I will erase one letter if the class is not listening to my instructions or if they are misbehaving. Once all of the letters have been erased, then that means the students lose 5-10 minutes of their recess as a whole class. (This is the part I am not sure about yet...especially if it is our week to have recess duty.) I am also going to try and think of other ways to reduce the amount of behavioral issues within our classroom because they are becoming a true distraction within our lessons and they are causing students to lose time for learning. So this is definitely something that I need to work on.
This week, we also started guided reading groups. I was a little nervous at first because I have never really run a guided reading group all on my own. However, it has been a blast and the students are great to work with. It amazes me how well they can read at this age, and they are such great writers as well! I am still getting used to the amount of work a 1st grader can handle, so that is something I need to continually think about when I write their weekly agenda for reading groups! I have to turn my mind away from my usual 5th grade level and switch it over to 1st grade mode! This is very hard at times, but I am slowly learning. It just takes a few times for me to gauge their abilities and understand what amount of homework they can accomplish and handle each evening.
For next week, I am going to try my hardest to work on behavior, transitions and concentrate on my action research since I am entering my third week. The next week I will give the group their first assessment before we start taking away the touch points from the math problems themselves. I am getting anxious to see the results! Although, as of right now, I truly feel that if I teach first grade in the future, I am going to try to use this method to teach students addition and subtraction. It was helped my group of 7 students immensely!
Week 8 Reflection
It is hard to believe that I have completed two months worth of my internship already. Sometimes I do not know how time flies by so quickly. It seems like just yesterday the students walked into the classroom for the first time, I was unsure of their names, personalities, etc. And now I have been with them for 8 weeks and their first 9 week period is almost upon us.
There is one thing that I have realized though throughout the past 8 weeks of teaching, this is truly the profession I want to be a part of for years to come. I have not had one single day go by that I have felt as if I have not made a difference in someone's life. Grant it, I know every day that goes by I will not make leaps and bounds of differences in children's lives, but I can see how much the students have learned, how much they are enjoying their school days, and I can also see how far they have come since the first day of school.
I must admit that I can also see how much I have grown as an educator since the beginning of the year. I now know what is required of a teacher on a daily basis, and I know how stressful it can be at times. I have to say I never realized how much hard work and time goes into report cards. It was definitely an interesting experience, and I also discovered how difficult it can be to grade a child on an Outstanding, Satisfactory, and Unsatisfactory scale. This was a new experience, and it made me see how much easier it is to calculate a grade based on a percentage scale. However, this was a great experience to have and I am glad that I was able to be a part of it.
There is one thing that I have realized though throughout the past 8 weeks of teaching, this is truly the profession I want to be a part of for years to come. I have not had one single day go by that I have felt as if I have not made a difference in someone's life. Grant it, I know every day that goes by I will not make leaps and bounds of differences in children's lives, but I can see how much the students have learned, how much they are enjoying their school days, and I can also see how far they have come since the first day of school.
I must admit that I can also see how much I have grown as an educator since the beginning of the year. I now know what is required of a teacher on a daily basis, and I know how stressful it can be at times. I have to say I never realized how much hard work and time goes into report cards. It was definitely an interesting experience, and I also discovered how difficult it can be to grade a child on an Outstanding, Satisfactory, and Unsatisfactory scale. This was a new experience, and it made me see how much easier it is to calculate a grade based on a percentage scale. However, this was a great experience to have and I am glad that I was able to be a part of it.
Week 9 Reflection
This week has been quite the experience for me! My host-teacher has left for 2 to 3 weeks due to surgery. Although I do have a substitute teacher who is a retired school teacher, it is still an eye-opening experience for me. I am the one in the classroom who knows the routines, is responsible for keeping the students on track, and I am also the only true "regular" figure in the classroom that the students are used to. So far everything has gone well, and the other first grade teachers have been a blessing with keeping me on track, and making sure everything is going smoothly.
Since I am completing my full-time teaching hours, I have been getting papers graded, teaching all of the lessons, and keeping the students on track for the entire day. It has been such a great experience and I cannot wait to have my own classroom in the near future. The students in my internship classroom right now have been a true challenge for me with behavior, but I do feel as if I could handle anything in the future. I also have learned ways of how to deal with those behavior problems without them effecting the other students' instruction time.
I have noticed some students have a very difficult time staying on track during whole group instruction. I believe this could be because they are in groups within their tables. It has been a while since we changed the seating chart, so I am thinking that something needs to be done with this. Since there are so few students in this classroom and we have the area to work with, I am thinking about trying out a classroom arrangement in an "L" shape to see if this helps the students focus any more than what they do. I just feel that there are many students in this classroom that have attention problems, and I think they might benefit from a different classroom setup. However, it may not be effective, so I would like to try it out just to see.
Other than that, everything else is going well. I am beginning to realize that the weeks are dwindling down and I honestly do not know how I am going to be able to say goodbye to those 19 students. They have all touched my heart and I will miss them dearly! Thank goodness I can go back and visit in the spring! I cannot wait to see how much they grow and mature from this semester to the end of the next!
Since I am completing my full-time teaching hours, I have been getting papers graded, teaching all of the lessons, and keeping the students on track for the entire day. It has been such a great experience and I cannot wait to have my own classroom in the near future. The students in my internship classroom right now have been a true challenge for me with behavior, but I do feel as if I could handle anything in the future. I also have learned ways of how to deal with those behavior problems without them effecting the other students' instruction time.
I have noticed some students have a very difficult time staying on track during whole group instruction. I believe this could be because they are in groups within their tables. It has been a while since we changed the seating chart, so I am thinking that something needs to be done with this. Since there are so few students in this classroom and we have the area to work with, I am thinking about trying out a classroom arrangement in an "L" shape to see if this helps the students focus any more than what they do. I just feel that there are many students in this classroom that have attention problems, and I think they might benefit from a different classroom setup. However, it may not be effective, so I would like to try it out just to see.
Other than that, everything else is going well. I am beginning to realize that the weeks are dwindling down and I honestly do not know how I am going to be able to say goodbye to those 19 students. They have all touched my heart and I will miss them dearly! Thank goodness I can go back and visit in the spring! I cannot wait to see how much they grow and mature from this semester to the end of the next!
Week 10 Reflection
Well, the desks have been moved and I have to admit the turnout was quite surprising. The students struggled with the new set up at first, especially those students who were set out on their own little islands. Actually, two students came in immediately and found their desk, saw they were alone and moved it where they wanted it to go. After telling them they needed to leave it where it was, I have to admit I was chuckling inside! I did tell those students that if they proved they could handle working by themselves, they would slowly get to move back next to a buddy in the classroom.
I think the best part about moving the desks had to deal with the way the first whole group instructional lesson turned out. We had to work on a lesson involving frames and arrows. My host teacher warned me about this lesson and said that the students over the years either get it, or they don't it's plain and simple. So, I really concentrated on this lesson and I wanted to do the best possible job with it to help my students learn this new concept. While I was teaching this lesson I noticed that all of the students' eyes were in fact on me, they were engaged and they seemed to understand the new information. Some of the students even seemed to be having fun, which really helped the other students pay attention.
Although this was just one lesson, I do believe that this classroom set up is going to be effective for the time being. Eventually the students' desks will need to be changed again because they will get too comfortable with their neighbors, but I was very impressed with the behaviors during the lessons throughout the first week of the desk placements. This has taught me a valuable lesson...try everything! You never know what may work!
I think the best part about moving the desks had to deal with the way the first whole group instructional lesson turned out. We had to work on a lesson involving frames and arrows. My host teacher warned me about this lesson and said that the students over the years either get it, or they don't it's plain and simple. So, I really concentrated on this lesson and I wanted to do the best possible job with it to help my students learn this new concept. While I was teaching this lesson I noticed that all of the students' eyes were in fact on me, they were engaged and they seemed to understand the new information. Some of the students even seemed to be having fun, which really helped the other students pay attention.
Although this was just one lesson, I do believe that this classroom set up is going to be effective for the time being. Eventually the students' desks will need to be changed again because they will get too comfortable with their neighbors, but I was very impressed with the behaviors during the lessons throughout the first week of the desk placements. This has taught me a valuable lesson...try everything! You never know what may work!
Week 11 Reflection
This week I was able to experience one of my most proud teaching moments. My action research study was completed this week, and one of my students said something that will forever melt my heart. This particular student has gone through a lot in his 6 years of life. When he was younger, he had a severe brain injury which caused trauma to his brain. His mother informed us earlier in the year that he went to the doctor this summer and they told her he had memory issues. Now this little guy is a true puzzle because he is behaviorally a challenge, he has speech issues involving grammar, and he struggles with almost every subject. In all honesty, this little guy is one of my favorites in the classroom because he is such a mystery. He has such a strong want to learn, but since he struggles as much as he does, he comes across as a little guy who doesn't want to do anything.
Throughout the year so far I have tried to work more with this student. He was one of the main reasons I decided to try the TouchMath method. And he was actually one of the students who seemed to pick up on the method more than the other 5 students in my group. The very first time he completed his addition pre-test he scored a 3.33% on it. He scored 1 out of 30 questions correctly. However, on the last day of my study, this child did his absolute best and he handed me his paper. He asked me politely if I could check to see how many he got right. So, I started grading it! The entire time I going from problem to problem this little boy's eyes are glued to the paper looking for that wretched "x" going across his problems. However, to his dismay and disbelief my pen never made that mark on his page. This child scored a 100% on his post-test! I have never had a more proud moment than that very day.
After I told him his score, he left my table and went back to his seat with the biggest smile on his face. A few minutes went by and then he came back over to my table as I was grading some other post-tests. Then he looked at me and said, "Ms. Parks, are you proud of me?" At this very moment the tears began to build up in my eyes and I had a huge lump form in my throat. I could barely get the words to come out, but I managed to look him right in the eyes and say, "I could never be more proud of you!" He then left my desk again and ran over to his friends and said, "Ms. Parks is proud of me! Ms. Parks is proud of me! I got a 100!!"
Out of my entire 11 week experience so far, this very moment I described above has topped all experiences. I was able to see what a true "teaching moment" felt like and it has forever changed my life! It is moments like this one that I cannot wait for in my future teaching years. This very day made me love my future job even more!
Throughout the year so far I have tried to work more with this student. He was one of the main reasons I decided to try the TouchMath method. And he was actually one of the students who seemed to pick up on the method more than the other 5 students in my group. The very first time he completed his addition pre-test he scored a 3.33% on it. He scored 1 out of 30 questions correctly. However, on the last day of my study, this child did his absolute best and he handed me his paper. He asked me politely if I could check to see how many he got right. So, I started grading it! The entire time I going from problem to problem this little boy's eyes are glued to the paper looking for that wretched "x" going across his problems. However, to his dismay and disbelief my pen never made that mark on his page. This child scored a 100% on his post-test! I have never had a more proud moment than that very day.
After I told him his score, he left my table and went back to his seat with the biggest smile on his face. A few minutes went by and then he came back over to my table as I was grading some other post-tests. Then he looked at me and said, "Ms. Parks, are you proud of me?" At this very moment the tears began to build up in my eyes and I had a huge lump form in my throat. I could barely get the words to come out, but I managed to look him right in the eyes and say, "I could never be more proud of you!" He then left my desk again and ran over to his friends and said, "Ms. Parks is proud of me! Ms. Parks is proud of me! I got a 100!!"
Out of my entire 11 week experience so far, this very moment I described above has topped all experiences. I was able to see what a true "teaching moment" felt like and it has forever changed my life! It is moments like this one that I cannot wait for in my future teaching years. This very day made me love my future job even more!
Week 12 Reflection
During the course of my 12th week in my first grade classroom, I had a moment where I began to realize my internship is coming to an end. After teaching these students for the past 12 weeks, it really makes my heart sink. I have become so attached to these students and I am not looking forward to the moment when I have to leave the classroom door for the last time this semester. I get tears in my eyes now just thinking about it.
Last year I would talk to the interns at our monthly gatherings and they would always tell us that we would learn so much and not want to leave our internship placement, but back in those days it just seemed "impossible" to think that way. However, with only 4 weeks remaining, I can truly understand where they were coming from when they would say those things. However, on the other hand, this entire experience has shown me that I can handle anything and I will be able to have my own classroom without a doubt. I always have some new experience each week, and it just proves to me that although I may teach the same grade for several years, there will never be a day that is just like another! Kids always have surprises up their sleeves, and you always have to keep on your toes because you just never know what might happen next!
I am extremely thankful for every second I spend within the classroom because it just amazes me how much I learn on a daily basis. I have also begun to realize that teaching is exactly what I want to do for the next 30+ years! For the past 2.5 years I have worked part-time at Pier 1 Imports while going to college and lately as I work on the weekends I think to myself, "Thank goodness I won't be doing THIS forever!" Each time I am at work I find myself waiting for the excitement to happen, except it never does. This helps reassure me that I have made the right decision by entering the education field...especially since at one time I had thought about entering the business realm. But now after teaching for 3 months, I know I have made the right decision by sticking with elementary education! I cannot wait to get my own classroom someday soon!
Last year I would talk to the interns at our monthly gatherings and they would always tell us that we would learn so much and not want to leave our internship placement, but back in those days it just seemed "impossible" to think that way. However, with only 4 weeks remaining, I can truly understand where they were coming from when they would say those things. However, on the other hand, this entire experience has shown me that I can handle anything and I will be able to have my own classroom without a doubt. I always have some new experience each week, and it just proves to me that although I may teach the same grade for several years, there will never be a day that is just like another! Kids always have surprises up their sleeves, and you always have to keep on your toes because you just never know what might happen next!
I am extremely thankful for every second I spend within the classroom because it just amazes me how much I learn on a daily basis. I have also begun to realize that teaching is exactly what I want to do for the next 30+ years! For the past 2.5 years I have worked part-time at Pier 1 Imports while going to college and lately as I work on the weekends I think to myself, "Thank goodness I won't be doing THIS forever!" Each time I am at work I find myself waiting for the excitement to happen, except it never does. This helps reassure me that I have made the right decision by entering the education field...especially since at one time I had thought about entering the business realm. But now after teaching for 3 months, I know I have made the right decision by sticking with elementary education! I cannot wait to get my own classroom someday soon!
Week 13 Reflection
This week I was able to co-teach a lesson with the other intern at my PDS. Although co-teaching can be very beneficial for students, I do not think our co-teach went as well as it previously has in other grade levels. Last year we co-taught together in 5th grade and the lesson went beautifully. However, this year we decided to try it again in 1st grade.
Since we co-teach on a daily basis within the classroom, we thought it would be a piece of cake co-teaching an entire lesson involving a fun math review game. However, the students had never played a game as a whole class and we did not think about ALL of the possible things that could go wrong with this set up. The noise level continued to rise, and the students continued to become rambunctious! The students did a fabulous job with the math review questions though and this made me very happy!
After completing the co-teach lesson, I will now have a different approach towards co-teaching in the future. With this lesson, my fellow intern took the lead role, however I feel it would have gone a little differently if I had taken the lead role because I know the students better because I am around them more. However, every experience is a new one and I am glad we were able to try out this teaching technique. I feel that it would have gone a little more smoothly if we were instructing a whole group lesson instead of a whole group math game though. The mindset of the students would have been different and that can make or break a lesson! It would be interesting to see if a co-teach would go a little smoother if it was whole group instruction instead...maybe we can test it out again sometime soon!
Since we co-teach on a daily basis within the classroom, we thought it would be a piece of cake co-teaching an entire lesson involving a fun math review game. However, the students had never played a game as a whole class and we did not think about ALL of the possible things that could go wrong with this set up. The noise level continued to rise, and the students continued to become rambunctious! The students did a fabulous job with the math review questions though and this made me very happy!
After completing the co-teach lesson, I will now have a different approach towards co-teaching in the future. With this lesson, my fellow intern took the lead role, however I feel it would have gone a little differently if I had taken the lead role because I know the students better because I am around them more. However, every experience is a new one and I am glad we were able to try out this teaching technique. I feel that it would have gone a little more smoothly if we were instructing a whole group lesson instead of a whole group math game though. The mindset of the students would have been different and that can make or break a lesson! It would be interesting to see if a co-teach would go a little smoother if it was whole group instruction instead...maybe we can test it out again sometime soon!
Week 14 Reflection
It is hard to believe that I am already finished with my 14th week of student teaching. Actually, this is my final week of full-time teaching within my classroom and although I am excited that it gets me one step closer to graduating from college, I am extremely saddened by the thought that I will have to leave my first graders soon. Not only do I feel that I have taught my students a lot of new information, but I honestly believe that my students have possibly taught me even more.
I remember be nervous to start my internship semester because I feared that I would not enjoy teaching as much as I had anticipated. However, I soon learned that teaching is exactly what I want to do with my life. When I am standing in front of my students, I have this feeling that is indescribable. As I stand in front of my students, they look at me with excitement. They are always eager to see what I am about to teach them next. Just the thought of knowing that I am the only thing that stands between the students and their ability to learn is also very frightening because sometimes I worry about if I am teaching them correctly. However, I know that once I see my students at work, and go over their assessments, I am doing just fine!
One of the most valuable lessons I have learned so far this semester is that I am not going to have the "perfect" class. In my classroom, it is normal for there to be only a few strong A students, several B students, and a few students who struggle. This is a natural occurrence and I now understand that. In the beginning of my teaching, I had the mindset that I would be the teacher who effectively taught every student every day. Although this would be absolutely fabulous, and it is every teacher's ultimate goal, I know that there is going to be one student in my classroom who will need additional help more than likely. And this is okay! I am not a miracle worker! All I need to do is try my best, set high expectations, and let my students know that I believe in them.
I really do look forward to having my own classroom someday soon. And I cannot thank my first graders enough for showing me how much I love and enjoy the teaching experience. I will forever be grateful for those 19 little ones!
I remember be nervous to start my internship semester because I feared that I would not enjoy teaching as much as I had anticipated. However, I soon learned that teaching is exactly what I want to do with my life. When I am standing in front of my students, I have this feeling that is indescribable. As I stand in front of my students, they look at me with excitement. They are always eager to see what I am about to teach them next. Just the thought of knowing that I am the only thing that stands between the students and their ability to learn is also very frightening because sometimes I worry about if I am teaching them correctly. However, I know that once I see my students at work, and go over their assessments, I am doing just fine!
One of the most valuable lessons I have learned so far this semester is that I am not going to have the "perfect" class. In my classroom, it is normal for there to be only a few strong A students, several B students, and a few students who struggle. This is a natural occurrence and I now understand that. In the beginning of my teaching, I had the mindset that I would be the teacher who effectively taught every student every day. Although this would be absolutely fabulous, and it is every teacher's ultimate goal, I know that there is going to be one student in my classroom who will need additional help more than likely. And this is okay! I am not a miracle worker! All I need to do is try my best, set high expectations, and let my students know that I believe in them.
I really do look forward to having my own classroom someday soon. And I cannot thank my first graders enough for showing me how much I love and enjoy the teaching experience. I will forever be grateful for those 19 little ones!
Week 15 Reflection
Wow! 15 weeks...complete. I cannot believe how quickly that time flew by me in my internship. Although it is exciting that I have completed this part of my final year, I am extremely sad to go.
Today, my class gave me a surprise going away party. I was given the most precious gift, and it was a handmade quilt with all of their names, personal drawings, and photographs of every student. I was absolutely speechless when I saw it. The valuable lesson I learned today is that you know you have reached the lives of your students when they hate to say goodbye. And I myself know that I have chosen the right career path, because it was one of the hardest moments in my life to say goodbye to my students as they left the classroom door to go onto their buses.
Now I want to take a look back on my entire experience. Day 1 I was unsure of what children would be walking through the door, unsure of how my host-teacher was going to expect her classroom to run, and I was unsure of what my semester withheld. Now, it is the last day, and my last day is officially completed. Words cannot even begin to describe how much I have learned over the course of the past 15 weeks. I also cannot begin to explain how much I have seen myself grow as time progressed throughout my experience.
Over the course of my 15 weeks with my students I was able to experience difficult moments, proud moments, hilarious moments, sad moments, and unexpected moments. Every day was a different experience and that is one of the main reasons why teaching is such an amazing career. I was able to see my students grow (literally!) and figuratively meaning through their learning. I was able to see students blossom with confidence, see friendships form, and also see personalities come to life. When I say that my experience leaves my speechless, I do not mean this in a bad way. I know that I will forever be touched by my experiences I have gone through. If I were to write them all down, this blog would turn into a novel. So, I guess what I am trying to say is that my internship provided me with a strong foundation for my future career. I feel as if I was able to experience, in some way or another, many possibilities of what could occur for years to come. And I will never be able to say thank you enough to all of the faculty members and students who have helped me along this journey.
And I am proud to say, I am one step closer to becoming an educator with her own classroom and her own students and I have never felt more prepared and eager to begin!
Today, my class gave me a surprise going away party. I was given the most precious gift, and it was a handmade quilt with all of their names, personal drawings, and photographs of every student. I was absolutely speechless when I saw it. The valuable lesson I learned today is that you know you have reached the lives of your students when they hate to say goodbye. And I myself know that I have chosen the right career path, because it was one of the hardest moments in my life to say goodbye to my students as they left the classroom door to go onto their buses.
Now I want to take a look back on my entire experience. Day 1 I was unsure of what children would be walking through the door, unsure of how my host-teacher was going to expect her classroom to run, and I was unsure of what my semester withheld. Now, it is the last day, and my last day is officially completed. Words cannot even begin to describe how much I have learned over the course of the past 15 weeks. I also cannot begin to explain how much I have seen myself grow as time progressed throughout my experience.
Over the course of my 15 weeks with my students I was able to experience difficult moments, proud moments, hilarious moments, sad moments, and unexpected moments. Every day was a different experience and that is one of the main reasons why teaching is such an amazing career. I was able to see my students grow (literally!) and figuratively meaning through their learning. I was able to see students blossom with confidence, see friendships form, and also see personalities come to life. When I say that my experience leaves my speechless, I do not mean this in a bad way. I know that I will forever be touched by my experiences I have gone through. If I were to write them all down, this blog would turn into a novel. So, I guess what I am trying to say is that my internship provided me with a strong foundation for my future career. I feel as if I was able to experience, in some way or another, many possibilities of what could occur for years to come. And I will never be able to say thank you enough to all of the faculty members and students who have helped me along this journey.
And I am proud to say, I am one step closer to becoming an educator with her own classroom and her own students and I have never felt more prepared and eager to begin!
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