#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.