Middle School Observation!!

This week we got to observe a middle school classroom and it was great. Considering that I am striving to become a middle school teacher you could see why I was really excited about this school visit. The awesome thing was that they were working on science when we arrived so it was just perfect for me. The teacher was really nice and kind. She told us before we walked in that this class was going to be boring because they were reading some article individually. There were a lot of differences between the elementary and middle school. In the middle school the class was a little bit more organized and for the most part the students were well behaved. Although the teacher said it would be boring, it was actually interesting to see how she gave each student help with the questions on the worksheet. The teacher mentioned to us that they were trying to do more literacy throughout the school. She was demonstrating the importance of literacy in her class which is one of the NCTCS. She also had good classroom management skills the students knew what she expected and so they did whatever needed to be done. I started doing a bit of research on ways to manage middle school students because well they are known for being rebellious. The following link is an article talking about ways to manage this specific age group and might be useful for other grades as well. 
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/art-of-managing-middle-schoolers-ben-johnson

 I can see myself teaching energy in my future classroom but I would try to make it a little bit more interactive. It was weird for me to realize that one day I will be in the teacher position and not the student. Having the opportunity to be in this class was very enlightening. I hope to be as good as the teacher I observed. High school is next!

First Observation!

On Monday for class we went to an Elementary school to observe in the classroom. What I observed was very eye opening. It was different this time to be in a classroom because I was there as an observer and not as a student. I understood the teacher position better and I saw things differently. Although I don't plan on teaching elementary school it was good to see how this school worked. It also made it very clear to me that I will never be equipped to teach elementary school. I observed a 1st grade class and it was hectic. When I arrived in the classroom the students were in centers that included writing and math. There was a group of students in the front of the class who were working on math problems on a smartboard. This was crazy to me because when I was in 1st grade the only things we used to learn math was some blue colored blocks. It's amazing how these students are already depending on technology in the classroom and how the teacher is using it to her advantage. Something that really hit me hard was how much we actually have to work on classroom management. Some of the students were getting up from their sits and interrupting class, others were not doing what they had been told. The teacher startled me when she blew a whistle, I then realized she blew it to get everyone's attention. While observing this classroom I got some ideas on how I want my future classroom to be like, I will make sure every student knows the rules and follows them. I will incorporate technology in my lesson plans to try and facilitate learning. I want to be able to use my time wisely and teach instead of wasting time trying to get the class to be quiet. I know that with observations I will be able to learn something from every class I sit in. Can't wait for next week!

Looking Ahead

This week in class we looked at what the next 2 years will look like. We had an orientation on Friday and the activities they made us do were really fun. The fun didn't last long though because they went and loaded us with a huge amount of information. It was good for us to hear everything. Everything is happening so fast and I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. On Monday we discussed more about what we have to get done and about edTPA. Dr. Parker dropped some facts on us about how it takes 3 years to recover from a bad teacher and it made me realize how important our job actually is. We have the chance to shape a students life forever! When we talked about this I thought of my future students and how I don't want to be the cause for them to get behind. I will use things from each educational philosophy and use different teaching styles so that I am able to teach every single student in my class. I will look at the NCTCS and I will make sure I am reaching them all. I will do everything in my power to make sure each student reaches their full potential. 

On Wednesday we did another walking classroom where my professors talked about one of our group projects on relevancy and methodology. They mentioned DOK and I hope to learn more about this topic with some more research. This week has been very informative, maybe more than I ever expected but I am ready for the next couple years. 

Week 2

This week in class was pretty interesting. On Monday we did something called a walking classroom where my professors recorded a podcast and we listened while going outside and walking around campus. It felt weird doing something like that because I've never done something like that in any other class. In the podcast Dr. Clark and Dr. Parker discussed the 6 point lesson plan and this was brand new information to me but it made sense. The 6 points are; Learning target, setting the focus and link to previous learning, teacher input, guided assistance, independent practice and closure and look forward. Each one of this points has a focus and a time period. I feel pretty confident on most of these but the learning target is still a little iffy. I know that I will get familiar with this because I will need to learn how to write a lesson plan. I feel like this will help me with the NCTCS because I will need to know what I'll be teaching and I should know how to do it with structure. I want to be able to answer questions for my students that weren't answered for me when I was in middle school. I was reading an article about students getting out of control after a group activity and they were discussing having a "quick write" after the activity to calm them down but also to see what the student has learned from the activity. 

So far this class has been great. My professors are willing to help us be great teachers and they care about what we have to say. No other professor of mine has ever taken time out of class to discuss our understanding about a topic they just keep throwing information our way. I am looking forward to the next couple weeks, Can't wait to see what Team Clarker has planned for us.