Blog Entry #9 That's a Wrap!

Well,

The semester is ending and it all feels like it happened too fast. Service learning was such an awesome opportunity. I absolutely loved working with Mrs. Porter and her class. She showed me with her years of experience what it really takes. She also humanized educators for me in a sense. She showed me that it is quite the task managing that many kids and helping them learn. However, she showed me the wonder of it as well. There's is truly nothing more exciting than seeing a child learn.

 I have decided that teaching is the right career path for me. My time in service learning has not changed my mind about teaching, rather it has reinforced it and inspired me as well. I am so excited for the day I can step into a classroom and make it my own. It was fun seeing all of the kids, the tasks that they have to do, and what the teacher does to encourage them. It was exciting imagining myself in her shoes in just a few short years.

 My next steps are very clear. I take the PRAXIS exam in January and I will be well on my way to entering this wonderful program. I cannot wait to dive in further to learn more about learning and how to be the best that I can be. This class was such an eye opener and an inspiration to what I want to be doing with my life.

Thank you,

Megan

Blog Entry #7 Standards

Hello & Welcome!

Today we are discussing standards in the classroom. In my service learning placement Mrs. Porter always makes sure to make her purpose very clear. Every day she writes a learning objective or "target" up on the board in her classroom. This helps her, as well as the students, keep a focus on what is important for each day. That is just on a small scale!

On a larger scale, perhaps coming from Utah Core Standards, is something I have also seen in her classroom. Math, Reading, and Science, seems to have a bigger focus. However, subjects like art and history also have a place! During one of my volunteering sessions the teacher tested the children on that weeks spelling list, checking to see if her students were up to par with where they needed to be. I've seen reading tests, math quizzes, etc. Like I said, some subjects get more attention than others. I believe the reason being is that math and English, can help in other areas as well. They are like building blocks to help the kids excel when they learn about other topics.

I've heard from several teachers that standardized testing has positives and negatives. Sometimes it helps the teachers evaluate their classroom and decide what they need to spend more time on. It helps them be efficient in knowing what needs to be taught or what is expected. However, sometimes it causes the students stress. They worry about test scores rather than just learning. It can also cause teachers to lose creativity in the classroom.

Overall, testing and standards in education are needed. However, that doesn't need to take the fun out of learning, or the creativity out of teaching. My placement has taught me it should be used as a tool.

Until next time,

Megan

Blog Entry #6 Diversity in the Classroom

Welcome back,

Today's blog post is all about diversity! There are an endless amount of things that make us different, unique, and individual. However, as humans, different can often be hard to deal with. Especially as kids! As a teacher one must learn how to lose all prejudice, and put off any of the judgments we may have.

This week in my service learning I tried to identify the types of diversity present in a typical 2nd grade classroom. Although there are several types, two that I found in my classroom volunteering was both race and disability. The classroom had what I could Identify as Caucasian, African-America, Hispanic, and Asian students. There were also students with physical disabilities. One thing that I noted was the fact that the teacher I was observing treated all children equally. Not a single student was treated better, or singled out. The classroom included all of the kids and all the students didn't even seem aware of the differences.

Overall, I think it is important to mention that everything in her room was accessible, to everyone. Students who are physically disabled in any way would be able to access any part of the classroom. There were no English language learners in the classroom (that I could tell), however she created an environment where difference was celebrated and connections were made even among students from different backgrounds.

Until next time,
Megan

Blog Entry #4 Engaging Learners

Hello and welcome back!

In today's post, we will be discussing my experience observing engaged learning in an active kindergarten classroom. An engaged classroom is important for children to not only hear what you are saying as an instructor, but to listen and to learn and remember what they've been taught.

Some real life examples come to mind as I ponder my service learning experiences thus far. First, is the teacher's use of hands-on activities. She split the children into groups and had them each work on a different "rotation". Throughout the week the groups of children would complete one activity and switch (or rotate) to the next the following day. One of the activities provided an opportunity for the children to write on, cut out, arrange, and glue different strips of paper to a name tag showing them how capital letters are larger, and take up more space than lowercase. This activity allowed the children to participate and see for themselves the differences in size, rather than the teacher just showing them or explaining it to them in a lecture style.

Second, was the teacher's use of an interactive lesson plan. That day the Kindergartners were learning about the letter "G". The activity to introduce the letters sound got the kids very excited and eager to participate. The kids were told the night before to bring an object to share with the class that started with the "G" sound. They brought them in and put them in a bucket at the front and one by one the teacher pulled them out and they discussed the sound. They were able to hear the sound difference like in "Glasses" versus "Giraffe" and were able to connect it with actual objects. This was effective as they connected what they were learning with their own toys and objects, and they got to be a big part in participation.

Third, was the use of an innovative, or creative, lesson plan. This teacher came up with an activity that helped the students with reading comprehension. I was not in class for the book that they read, but when I came in they were doing an activity based around popcorn. They had a worksheet with puffs of popcorn that had an image to do with the story they read. After completing the worksheet, the children were given a cup of popcorn to enjoy! The children loved it and also were more interested in finishing their work to be able to receive the yummy treat. Her idea of incorporating that brought a little more life, and engagement into her lesson.

However, I have seen situations in which this environment is not provided. One student in particular that we were working with really struggled and I'd like to use that as an example. The children were given the task to write the capital and lowercase letter "G" several times. If they did it incorrectly they had to erase it and start again. This boy was obviously a wiggle worm, and his attention was elsewhere, his attitude was sour, and he didn't end up finishing on time before recess, along with several other students. If the task at hand could be swapped for different tools perhaps a whiteboard, or smart board, or even something simple as colorful papers or markers he could have been better engaged. Sometimes, just using different tools and technologies could make a boring lesson plan more engaging.

Overall, creating this environment of engaged learning is quite the task. However, it is detrimental in the education of any student.

See you next time!

-Megan

Blog Entry #2 Learning Theories

This week at Rock Canyon Elementary I was able to spend time in an, awesome, kindergarten class room.

Today we are discussing "Learning Theories". In particular, we will be discussing what I observed this week in class itself. Kindergarten is crazy! I so fully admire all the energy and patience that I observed during service hours this week and was thoroughly impressed to say the least.

When I first walked in, the very thought I had was, "How does she take control of her classroom? How does she get these kids to follow direction?" The answer is something I learned while doing my online classwork: Behaviorism.

Behaviorism is the learning theory that this teacher used in full force in her classroom. To summarize
the theory, behaviorism is controlling or changing behaviors based on patterns of reward or consequence to certain actions.

For example, the teacher allowed "Choice Time" to students who finished their work at their stations. (The student was allowed to pick an activity of their choice to do in the time remaining.) By using this method, her students were more likely to focus on their work to be able to receive the reward of playtime. Another example I saw was one of consequence. One child, having a particularly difficult time being motivated, had to stay inside to finish her workbook page before being sent outside to recess. Thus, showing the child the need to focus during work time.

As you can see, this teacher had a good way of showing, or perhaps in better words, "training" her students what it is like to be in school. Behaviorism worked well in this kindergarten situation.

Until next time,

Megan

Blog Entry #1 Rock Canyon Elementary School

Hello, and welcome to my blog!

Today, we are going to discuss my beginnings in a "Service Learning" position at Rock Canyon Elementary. To introduce myself, I'll just say that I am an aspiring elementary school teacher, and am loving every minute of my schooling!

I chose Rock Canyon because of it's close proximity to my home here in Provo, Utah. Upon contacting the school I was greeted with possibly the friendliest receptionist I have ever come in contact with. She set the right tone for this fun, lively environment.

The school itself is situated in Provo Utah and has a very open courtyard leading up to the main entrance. It is clean, it is inviting, I love it already!

Upon further research about the school and surrounded area I learned several things. For example, Rock Canyon is ranked 47th out of 527 elementary schools in Utah! That alone is incredible. The quality of education that these students are receiving beats 480 of Utah's schools. The school itself has around 634 students of which 79.5% are Caucasian, 9.8% are Hispanic, and 4.3% are Asian. This statistic was not surprising due to the city where it is located I feel as though it matches pretty well to the states statistics. Finally, I learned that only 32.2% of students attending here receive free/discounted lunch. This shows the economic standing of the majority of students is either average or above.

The surrounding area is just as inviting, full of neighborhoods, green playing fields, beautiful homes, and a great view of the mountains!

I am excited to apply what we are learning in class and to learn more about the field of Education! Service learning is important, as a student especially, to help give expirience, to learn, and also help solidify my desire to work as a teacher myself someday.

Until next time,

Megan