Learning Through Fieldwork Observation

During my time in Mrs. Paynter's classroom, I have not only learned a lot about how a classroom works, but how I work in a classroom. I didn't spend a whole lot of time working with the children, but I learned how I reacted with the students, and how I conducted myself in a classroom setting. I learned the best ways to address the students and different ways to cover different topics, such as math, so that the students were able to understand. I learned some really effective ways to get the attention of students without distracting from the lesson. It was great to see how I felt when in the classroom setting, and Mrs. Paynter did a great job at helping me see everything about how a classroom is run, as well as made me feel very comfortable in her classroom.

Mrs. Paynter is a fantastic teacher that taught me and showed me how a successful classroom is run and what to expect when I become a teacher. I learned that teaching takes a lot of patience. I was amazed at how calmly Mrs. Paynter dealt with her students no matter how chaotic the situation was. I also learned how much time is involved in being a teacher. I know that it is a very time consuming occupation, but I didn't realize how much time she had to spend grading papers and preparing for future class periods, and that is just what I observed in the classroom. I'm sure she spends much more time at home preparing for work as well. Mrs. Paynter did a great job at being creative in her lesson plans. She continually approached ideas in her lessons from different points of view to help her students get a more rounded idea of what she was teaching.

Mrs. Paynter is an amazing teacher who taught me so much about being a teacher. She showed me many of the roles a teacher plays and how to use her skills to run a successful classroom. I can now honestly say how truly excited I am to be a teacher in the future.

Procedures in the Classroom

During my time observing Mrs. Paynter's classroom, I have noticed a few different procedures she implements to keep her classroom moving smoothly. The first thing I noticed was a math journal that every student had. Every day during math time, Mrs. Paynter has her students pull out their journals and take detailed notes on what they are covering that day in class. She goes through what she wants her students to write in their journals. Then, once they are working on their assignments, if they have questions, she directs them to their journals first to see if they can figure out their question on their own before asking for help. That way, Mrs. Paynter helps her students help themselves, therefore helping them use their time more wisely and not wasting her time with questions they can figure out themselves.

Another procedure I noticed in the classroom is their morning routines. Every student knows exactly what they need to do at the beginning of each class to get ready for a day of learning. Each student comes in and hangs up their backpacks, grabs their homework and packets out of their folders by the door, and goes to their desk. Once they are sitting down, the students are to work on their homework from the night before, or get caught up on their reading. This procedure keeps students working at all times and not disrupting others. 

Last week when I did my hours in her classroom the students were working on a math rotation going to different table and completing the questions on the table. Before the activity, Mrs. Paynter goes through the steps of the activity, and what to do if they have questions. Therefore, each student is completely informed when the activity starts. The students are completely aware of the steps and the procedure for the whole class period, and everything runs smoothly. 

Mrs. Paynter does a great job at keeping her students on task at all time, and making sure they know what they should be doing at all times. She is very clear in her instructions and her class runs very smoothly. 

Actively Engaging Students in the Classroom

Mrs. Paynter has a variety of ways of engaging her students in the classroom. One thing I noticed on the first day of observation was whenever a row (students sharing a row of desks) followed directions quickly and directly, they were told to "circle a smile" on their desks. After asking Mrs. Paynter what this was for, she told me that every time a row received 4 smiles on their desks, they were able to put a tally mark on the board under their row. After that row had 5 tally marks, they were able to make one guess in an ongoing game of battleship. Mrs. Paynter said she made it really hard for them to get there, and sometimes the prizes were not very big, but once a row had sunk a ship, they would get a classroom privilege. Just to keep it interesting, she also changed the ships positions regularly to keep the game engaging and challenging.

Mrs. Paynter also lets her students work in groups or pairs when doing different assignments. This gives them the opportunity to work with a partner and bounce ideas off of each other. It also keeps them from continually going to the teacher with questions. Mrs. Paynter also uses working with a partner as a reward. She lets the students work in partnerships only if everyone is doing what they should be and is actively engaged in the learning experience.

One thing I recently noticed in Mrs. Paynters classroom was her classroom chore list. Each student has a classroom chore they are to perform every day. The list rotates through the students so everyone gets a chance to perform the different tasks. When students behave well and are doing what they should be, they get more desirable tasks then those that don't. It is a subtle thing, but really helps keep students on track.

Today in class I saw her handing out candy to the class after the performed their wax museum skits. It was a small behavior reinforcement, but they students responded very highly to it. I believe it is the subtle things that help keep students engaged but also do no distract from the task at hand that are the most efficient and beneficial in the classroom.

The Importance Of Teaching

I believe there are many important roles a teacher plays in regards to being a teacher. One of the first important roles that comes to my mind is being there for them. Many children do not have a steady parental role model in their lives. As a teacher, you may be the only person in their lives who is continually there for them and wants them to succeed. I believe it is extremely important that as a teacher you stress to your students that you are there at all times for them no matter the issue. Let them know you are their friend, and you want them to be the best that they can be. That in itself is extremely important.

Another important role a teacher plays is that of preparing their students for what lies ahead; preparing them for the future. Of course it is much more than that, but one of the most important things we can do for our students is give them the knowledge they need for the future. It is our job as educators to relay information to our students in a variety of ways so that the students not only obtain the information, but are able to understand and apply it as well.

Being a teacher is most definitely not easy. I could go on and on about important roles that a teacher performs. In fact, I believe that every role a teacher performs is important. Without those roles, they could not and would not be a teacher. It is those important roles put together that makes a teacher who they as educators. I know it will be the hardest thing I may do in my life, but I look forward to the opportunity of holding the position of a teacher, and helping educate the minds of the future.

Preparation for the Classroom

From the first day in her classroom, Mrs. Paynter has been really great about keeping me involved in her classroom. One of the first things she asked me to do was go through a sheet of the students names and write down their new computer passwords for computer class later on that day. I went down the list and wrote down all the new passwords on little cards I made for each student. After that, she had me call students back one by one and give them their new password and made sure they understood what it was. It was a great one on one interaction with the students, and really helped me towards learning their names.

Another thing Mrs. Paynter had me to do for classroom preparation was making packets to send home to parents letting them know what was going on in the classroom for them month. She had me paper clip the papers together so that students could take them home. She was very appreciative to have me there to help her get all of her paperwork done therefore giving her more less stress.

I was also able to administer a "math facts" quiz to some of the students while Mrs. Paynter worked with a small group doing spelling. This math quiz is often full of basic multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction. The students are to see how quickly they can do the math, and once 3 minutes are up, they are to stop the quiz. The goal is to improve a little bit week by week. I was able to time the children and watch them while they took the quiz. I know it was really small, but it was the first piece of authority I was given in the classroom.

I also helped set up homework in the students folders, as well as prepare plastic bags with numbers on them for a future activity. Mrs. Paynter is great at having small things ready for me to take care up to help with her classroom preparation. I really enjoy seeing the little things that it takes to run a successful classroom. It really helps me see what my classroom could be like in the future.

Differnet Learners in the Classroom

At first when I saw the topic for this weeks blog entry, I didn't think I would have anything to write about. But after really thinking about it and paying closer attention, I realized that the reason I hadn't noticed any special attention in Mrs. Paynters classroom was because Mrs. Paynter is an excellent teacher.

My first experience I had with an English learner named *Anna. The class had been preparing for a math test for quite some time, and it was finally time for them to be tested. After the tests had been passed out, Mrs. Paynter came to me and asked if I wouldn't mind reading the test to Anna while she graded some papers. Of course I was happy to help! Anna came and sat by me at my table and I slowly read each problem and the answers to her on the test, often times repeating them if necessary. She was very timid, but really seemed to benefit from being able to hear the words out loud. I watched her from then on to see how she did in the class, and seemed to follow along very well. There were a couple of times she would raise her hand and ask for clarification on something. She seemed to very involved in the class and doing very well. I was impressed because I know that sometimes it is really hard for students who don't understand to ask questions all the time. Often it makes them feel inferior or stupid when they ask questions too much, but she did great.

Another experience I had with an exceptional learner was a student named *Samantha. Samantha has a really hard time focusing in class, and often seems distracted by other things in the classroom. I almost positive that she had ADHD. I noticed that Mrs. Paynter tried as often as she could to call on Samantha and keep her on the same track as the other students. After spending more time watching Samantha, I noticed that Mrs.Paynter had strategically placed Samantha by specific students that were able to help keep her on track and keep her involved in the class activities. She also placed Samantha on the back row so that there would be no students sitting behind her to be distracted by her movements. It really was a very simple thing, but seemed to have a huge effect on how Samantha acted in the classroom.

I learned this week that having different learners in your classroom doesn't have to interrupt or change the way your classroom flows, you just have to learn ways to adapt so that every student can have the same learning experience as the other students. I am definitely excited to learn more strategies that can help me in my future classroom.

Working One-on-One

This week, I had the opportunity to work one on one with a girl in Mrs. Paynters class. Mrs.Paynter was working with small groups in the back of the classroom on spelling while the others worked on passed back homework from the day before. Mrs. Paynter told me I was welcome to walk around and help the students out with any questions they have. A little girl called me over to help her out on her math assignment she got passed back from the day before. She was working on adding and subtracting mixed numbers, and was concerned about a problem she got marked wrong and wanted to know where she went wrong. I was really stressed out at first because it had been a LONG time since I had even attempted to add and subtract mixed numbers. I I worked through the problem the way I thought it should be done, and it turned out that I got the same wrong answer as she did. I felt really inadequate and stupid, but she was so understanding and nice about it. I turned around and asked another student to explain to me how to solve the problem and then taught it to the girl and showed her where she went wrong. Needless to say I need to brush up on my 5th grade math, but I was really great getting to work with a student one on one. I was really relieved that she was so nice to me, and it was great to see how she processed the problems and why she was having a hard time with them.

One thing I was really impressed with this week was how involved Mrs. Paynter was with her students even before the bell rang. She answered questions, asked about readings, and was personally involved with each of her students. She is very good at checking for understanding and making sure that all the students were on the same page.

My favorite thing we did in class this week was the vocab game. Last week they got in partnerships and drew a picture to represent their word, but this week they got in partnerships and had to come up with an action to represent their word and show it to the class. I was lucky enough to participate because there was an odd number of students in the class, but most of all, I was incredibly impressed at their creativity and ingenuity. I got to work one on one with another student as we came up with our action for "developed". I asked her questions to see what her understanding of the word was, and then gave her a few of my ideas. Then she came up with an idea that we both liked and it represented our word perfectly. She was so smart and creative. It was a lot of fun, and I really liked that it was different than last week. Not the same activity over and over again.

As Mrs. Paynter taught, I sat and thought about what we had been learning this Module in relation to segregation. I can't imagine what it would be like if our classrooms were like that today. I thought about Ruby Bridges and how she attended the school for an entire year and was the only student in her class. I wonder what the interactions with her and her teacher were like. Were they more in classroom interactions or one on one interactions? I would say they were like one one one interactions, and I wonder how different those interactions were for Ruby than being in a class with many other students would have been. I think about how I would act in that situation teaching just one student instead of teaching an entire group of students. My mannerisms and methods would be more specific and specialized to a certain student, than generalized to fit a group. I thought about girls that I got to work with. I not only helped them, but in return, they had taught me as well. We created a bond and a connection that is different than the interactions I had with the other students, and I felt more and more comfortable with those two students as the class period went on.

I had a lot of fun this week observing the classroom and Mrs. Paynters methods. It was also great to learn about one on one experiences with students and how much more personal those interactions are than when teaching an entire class. It was the first time I had had that type of one on one interaction in the classroom setting and I definitely look forward to having more, and most definitely improving on how to handle them.