April 24, 2015 Journal Entry #8

Journal Entry 8

What is the most important thing you have learned from the field work observation? Why?

          

             The most important thing I learned during my field work. I think was a lot of classroom management and how to work with student on an individual level. Mrs. Nuttall was really good at taking time to explain to me her rule and how she managed her classroom. She had her classroom organized in a way that went well with her schedule so that kids were not just all over the classroom all the time, because she had a huge classroom. I would have never thought about the layout of the classroom to help classroom management. I noticed and she taught me that a huge part of classroom management, is individualized student management. There were a couple kids in each class who had a harder time staying on task, or would get angry fast, or try to get their friends off task. Mrs Nuttall would take them aside each morning, in a not noticeable way and talk to them about the schedule for the day and what she expected and she would give them encouragement. This really helped these students because they knew her expectations and they felt that she cared. By doing this the whole class ran smoother. 

                There was no empty time, their schedule was regular for the most part, besides assemblies and stuff, so that the students had a routine and they knew how to go about the day. I also learned nothing slides when it comes to students. It you let one little thine slide, one time they will try again, or you will become to relaxed with your class and loose the respect of the students.
             The last thing I learned that is the biggest to me, is you are not the students friend, you are their teacher. A teach can care and love their students, but they are not there to play with them. They are there to teach. The students need to know this and the teacher needs to keep this rule. 

April 17, 2015: Journal Entry # 7

Journal Entry 7

What are the school/classroom rules and how are they enforced?

What are the procedures the teacher uses to make everything run smoothly in class?

         Mrs. Nuttal had a very specific schedule for her class and rules. All of the student knew the rules and schedule though. One of the biggest rules was a rule for Mrs. Nuttall her self. The rule was to always be consistent, to not left things slide with the kids, no matter how small. She said that this was vital because if she ever did let them slide even the little things, its would grow and grow and become a problem, the kids would begin to loose their respect for her and think they can get away with much more. The rules I noticed in Mrs Nuttall's class were all pretty simple, but it kept the class going, some of her rules were, walking in a straight line, not speaking out of turn. They students always had to tell her something they learned before they went to recess and went home. 

           Many rules in Mrs Nuttall's class were very specific to each student. Some students that struggled with focusing and got angry or frustrated fast, she would pull them aside and talk about the routine of the day and asked how they were and just prepared them for the day. I am thinking of a specific little girl she did this with. The little girl has 3 strikes a day, if she reached those 3 strike, the parents would find out and she would have to sit out of an activity or out of the class. 

           Mrs. Nuttall used several things to help her classroom rune smoothly, but one of the biggest things she did that was for every student was punch cards and earning marbles. I loved these 2 ideas because it helped students individually and as a class. The punch cards were little card they each had with 20 boxes on them. Every time Mrs Nuttall saw a student on task, or getting to the rug early, she would say "I caught you" and give them a sticker, when the punch card was fun they earned prize. Then the class as a whole could earn marbles she could place in a mason jar, when the mason jar was full they would earn a party.

Blog Entry 6: April 3, 2015

Blog Entry 6

What strategies does the teacher use to actively engage the students? How effective are these?

                  Mrs. Nuttall has to be one of the best teachers I have ever been around. I love observing and being in her class room. She is a kindergarten teacher, so she has a hard job of making sure the students are engaged. Kindergartners loose focus very fast they have a short attention span. She has several strategies to make sure they are engaged and learning. The biggest one I can think of though, is that her lessons are short. In the beginning of observing  I felt a little overwhelmed with how fast the class moved. The longest activity was centers or small group time  (around 20 minutes) and even then they were switching centers and groups every 6-7 minutes. I asked her about this and she was able to help me understand. She explained that since their attention spans are short, she does short activities so that when they are in group time, guided reading, large group or math, they are focused and getting the most out it as they can be. She would also start new activities or lesson when the kids were cleaning up the last one, because it forced them to stay on task, because they new they needed to get to the next thing.

                 Mrs. Nuttall also taught me that as a teacher you much be super excited about everything you do, even exaggerator your excitement to help the kids focus. You cannot be monotone. Mrs Nuttall, is actually my neighbor and I have known her for years. I never knew how silly and excited and loud she could be until I saw her teach, because I had only ever seen her pretty quiet. 

               These last two things I want to write a out I think are the most important. She does a ton of small group activities where she is working with around 5 students and is able to really work with them individually and help them. I think this is the most important way to actively engage students, is to just create time where you directly work with each one, like in small group time. During all the small group time activities she has "self start" activities that the students know how to do with out her instruction. I think this really gives students responsibility. From what I have seen the self start is the "cool" thing to do for the kids. They all enjoy it and think it is cool, and that they are cool that they can choose a learning activity that they don't need someone telling them what to do all the time.

              These are just a couple strategies I have seen. I have learned so much from observing and I am so exited to apply it when I begin teaching.