#4: Engaging Learners in Today's Classrooms

Three Examples of How My Cooperating Teacher Engages Learners:
1. When reviewing multiplication facts, my cooperating teacher would split the class into teams. She would have one member from each team come up at a time. She would write all of the answers on the board, and have the students turn their back to it. Then, my teacher would say a multiplication fact, like "4 times 6". As soon as she said it, the students would turn around. Whoever touched "24" on the board first won that round.
2.  When she was doing reading groups, my cooperating teacher would have the members of the group discuss what they thought would happen next in the book. She sometimes also asked them questions about what they liked, what they learned, and allowed each student to respond to the question. She required that each student respectfully listen to the others.
3.  When going over the spelling list of the week, my cooperating teacher would allow students to offer sentences that include the words. For example, the word might be "work". She would then let a student offer the example sentence, "My mom goes to work at a hospital". This was engaging because they were able to apply their real-life experiences to what they were learning.

An Instance That Was Not Engaging and How to Change It:
One instance that was not engaging was when we were doing reading groups, and the group who was not reading or on the computer would sit at their desk. They were supposed to be working on spelling, but most of the students ended up straying away from the task. I think one method that would have helped this activity to be more engaging would have been allowing them to study as a group. Whether they filled out the spelling assignment together or played a fun review game, working together instead of sitting silently at their desks would be more engaging.

#9: Is Teaching For Me?

     I have learned the full responsibilities of a teacher--especially those beyond the roles of teacher and grader. I have learned that grading takes a significantly longer amount of time than I had originally thought. In addition, planning lessons can take up more of your time, making it difficult to have time for yourself. I learned from my cooperating teacher that being a teacher can be very stressful. However, I learned that effort can lead a student to making progress that they may not have thought possible. The influences of a teacher can affect a child for the rest of his or her life, and change the way that he or she participates in the rest of his or her education.
     I have decided that I still want to be an elementary school teacher. I have decided that the pros to being a teacher still outweigh the cons. I have not decided on a desired grade yet, but I am drawn to third grade because of my SLP. I want to be a teacher because of the good that they can do in a student's life.
     The Service Learning Placement showed me first hand the difficulties and joys of teaching. It showed me how difficult it can be to manage a classroom when students have a lot of energy or are easily distracted. I was able to experience the importance of a schedule and the various activities that are done in the classroom. I also had the chance to watch students finally understand something that my cooperating teacher had been trying to teach them for a while. I was able to experience how fun it is to work one-on-one with students, and in groups, and get to know all of their individual personalities. Through the Service Learning Placement, I was able to see concepts that we learned in this class and decide what I thought of them in a more realistic setting.
     My next steps are to work on earning a few more credits before applying to the Education program. I want to do some hours in a few different classes, with different teachers and different grades. The goal of this is to better draw a conclusion of which grade I might prefer to teach in. I intend to try a few different schools as well, so I can develop an opinion of which schools I would like to teach in after earning my degree.

#8: Classroom Assessment

Through my Service Learning, I've been able to make connections between course topics and the Service Learning. Because of the real-life example of the classroom, the topics have become more solidified for me.
I feel that I have done a good job of articulating my learning and understanding. I have at least written what I felt I have learned and come to understand.
Blogging is helping me think and notice things in my Service Learning because I have a specific reason to watch for those things. For example, if I didn't have to report back on it, I might not notice examples of how the teacher treats students with cultural disadvantages. I at least wouldn't recognize that that is what they are. Knowing that I will have to write a blog encourages me to more carefully observe my experiences in the classroom. And, documenting my observations helps me to solidify what I have learned.
I published my first blog entry knowing almost nothing about education that I know now. I am glad that the blog has been a way for me to document my progress, and my pathway to becoming a teacher. I look forward to the next step in the journey, and hope that I will remember to revisit this blog and remember how it all started.

#7: Standards and Accountability

My cooperating teacher addresses the standards by having a consistent schedule in which she fits in a part of each standard every day. She has a time of the day where she will cover math standards, reading standards, and different art standards. She combines reading and social studies standards into the same assignments--such as a reading and writing assignment about the lives of Iroquois Indians. My teacher seems to use her time wisely in order to most effectively cover all of the standards.

Reading subject matter standards seem to be given more emphasis than others. However, this seems to be more because of her class's difficulty in meeting these standards. I don't quite see as many of the science standards being covered in the classroom. Part of this may be because I don't attend the full class, but the schedule also doesn't have a designated time for science. However, I don't see all of their assignments, so there may be some where standards are combined. My teacher understands the reasons behind the standards and standardized testing. But, like most teachers, she occasionally becomes stressed about all of the things that are required of her. I think that she does an exceptional job of realistically helping her students reach these standards.

#6: Diversity in Today's Schools

In my service-learning classroom, there is diversity regarding race, economic class, and family life. My teacher addresses them by treating all of her students equally. She doesn't choose favorites based on any of the differences possessed by her students.

This treatment is beneficial because she does not judge her students by their backgrounds. She expects all of them to accomplish the same amount of progress as the others. She holds them all to the same standard, and it empowers some of them to reach above the standards that may have been set for them by society.

There is one student who was not raised in America, and he is the only one who receives slightly different treatment. However, the only difference is the extra time that my teacher takes to help him understand the concepts (because of cultural knowledge that he lacks). He is still expected to succeed in the classroom and he is treated the same as the rest of the students, he just receives some assistance in cultural context.

#5: History of American Education

Obvious evidence of the Brown v. Board of Education case would include the differences in ethnicity among the students. The classroom is not exclusively white, and that is a direct result of this case.
I do not see any support for English learners, only because all of the students in my service learning placement speak English. However, there is a student who has moved from another country (as he told the class), and he has been supported through his learning about the American culture. The students and teacher treat him the same as they treat all of the other students.
I have not seen any science-related results of Sputnik. However, I have definitely noticed that the importance of learning material instead of merely memorizing it is greatly emphasized. Following Sputnik, the United States realized that we were failing to educate students about science. They figured that this was the reason that Russia was able to launch Sputnik into space before we had been able to do anything. As a result, they strengthened the science curriculum. I have noticed that my service learning teacher understands the importance that actually learning the subject matter holds, just like the government did following Sputnik.

#3: Creating Productive Learning Environments

My cooperative teacher has offered choice to students multiple times. This last Thursday, we were reviewing the three times table. My teacher noticed that one student was having a difficult time competing against two of her classmates in a game. She offered the student the choice to take a minute to study on her own for a few minutes before joining the game, or continue to play. She has also offered her class the opportunity to choose their own rewards for good behavior, which promotes the behavior because they specifically wanted it.

The cooperative teacher encourages a positive classroom community by often having her students work in teams to complete in-class assignments. In their reading center, they have the opportunity to discuss insights that they may have about the book they are reading, and they learn together as a group. She also scolds unkind behavior from student to student, and never tolerates it (as doing so would create the impression that such behavior was acceptable).

When it comes time to do Centers- which is around 2:50 every day- the schedule is the same. The same groups go to the same centers first, and then they rotate in the same order as well. Students know exactly where they should be, and when they should be there. This supports a productive learning environment because no time is wasted with the question "What do we do next? Where do we go?" I've looked at her class schedule on the whiteboard, and it is the same every day. This makes the most use of her time with the class as it prevents the need to ask what they are doing that day. Additionally, students are less distracted by daydreams of what they might do that day, because they already know. Through this consistent schedule, a lot is accomplished throughout each day.

#2: How People Learn

My teacher for my service learning placement seems to use the learning theory of constructivism most often. She was going over spelling one day, and she would have the students give her examples of words that they knew made the sounds she was discussing (i.e. "Do you know any words with an 'oa' that makes the long 'o' sound?") Still discussing the long 'o' sound, she asked, "Would you guys say, 'Look at the coo?" Referring to the word cow, if following the 'ow' makes the long 'o' rule. She uses real-life experiences in order to teach the students, and they are able to make connections and better learn the material that she is teaching.

Regarding the different developmental levels of her students, my teacher works with groups that are on the same level specifically. I was working with her in the Reading Center and she has three groups of students, each group having different levels of reading ability. For example, one group of three students reads a very basic children's book with simple words and a simpler plot. Then, she has a larger group which is reading a longer book with larger words. She works with each group on their level, and understands what they each need. We were discussing the differences of the groups and she said that she knows the higher group needs to develop better reading comprehension, while the lower group needs to focus on being able to read the words. She works with different learning preferences quite fluently- meaning that there isn't necessarily a distinct "And this is for the visual learners" moment. While she was going over spelling she drew a diagram of the 'oa' vowel pair in which they are both walking but 'o' is talking, in order to demonstrate the saying "When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking." Then, she gave some auditory examples, such as 'boat', 'load', and other words, making sure to carefully emphasize the sounds such that they could be picked up on by the auditory learners.

#1: The School

The school that I intend to complete my service learning for this course is Bluffdale Elementary, in Bluffdale, Utah. It is just down the street from where I currently live, and my a few of my siblings have been attending Bluffdale for two years. Bluffdale Elementary was built in 1995, and served 914 students in the 2015-2016 school year. In this post, I'll include a picture of the boundaries as well as the school itself. The surrounding neighborhoods include families of all economic backgrounds- upper-class, middle-class, and families living in poverty. Parent involvement includes the same 5-10 parents per class taking care of each event (parties, PTA, assisting teachers, etc).

Some enrollment statistics include: 17.2 percent of students being in an ethnic minority. Of the 914 students enrolled in the last school year, 757 were Caucasian; 4 were Asian; 6 were Black; 93 were Hispanic; 41 were Multi Race; 12 were Pacific Islanders; and 1 student was American Indian. 2.5% of students were learning English as a second language, and 22.9% were economically disadvantaged. Bluffdale Elementary also offers a Portuguese Immersion program for students beginning in first grade in order to offer them a bilingual experience.  13.2% of students required special education (which Bluffdale has a Resource program for). Additionally, students with difficulties reading or learning math can attend Resource for extra help. The program also offers speech therapy as needed. By gender, there were 409 female students and 505 male students as of last year's records.

My understanding of the purpose of the service learning placement is that my discipline-based knowledge will be exercised and therefore enhanced, and that I will acquire a full understanding of the content that I learn throughout the course. I will be immersed in the subject and its application in the classroom as I observe teacher-student interactions. I will have the opportunity to strengthen the community, especially with the diversity at Bluffdale Elementary. I will gain a sense of responsibility to and engagement in the community of the school.

I look forward to the opportunity to appreciate the occupation of elementary school teacher, and to be able to decide if it is a job that I actually want to pursue. And so begins my adventure in education!

Front of Bluffdale Elementary