Blog #9

I already knew that I wanted to be a teacher. I have been teaching preschool for years and I just recently have been working in a 3rd grade and kindergarten class. However, I have been working in a private school and I forgot what it was like to be in a public school. This class has confirmed to me that I want to be teach in a public school. I forgot how fun learning can be and how bright and colorful classes can be. I like the options you have to engage students in their learning. Something as simple as the use of technology in the classroom can be effective and engaging.  

I became used to the private school way of classroom management and teaching the curriculum the way they wanted. Which isn’t a bad way. It works, and they are able to yield the results they promise to parents and students.  I love teaching but something at my current job isn’t lining up with how I envisioned teaching in the classroom. This service learning has given me a new desire to teach and has helped me remember what I envisioned as a teacher.

The next steps for me to become a teacher start with acceptance into the UVU ELED Program. I have applied and I’m just waiting to hear back. Once Im accepted I can focus on my schooling. After I am graduated I plan to get a job in an elementary school, hopefully in Davis School District. These are my next steps and goals for my future as a teacher. 

Blog # 8

One of my favorite things about this class is the opportunity to make connections between service learning and the material we learn in class. One instance in particular, we had just learned about learning theories in class. That week when I went to my service learning. I saw behaviorism, constructivism and cognitivism in everything my service learning teacher did. Something I had never noticed before we had learned about it. 

The process of keeping a blog has done this for me, I go into my service learning with something specific to look for, then I take notes and when I get a chance I can type out the things that I am learning about. Typing it out just solidifies the things that I am learning and helps me to remember concepts that we have learned about.  

I see growth from the 1st blog to now mostly in the depth of my understanding of education. While I have been working in a classroom for years now, going back and observing has been a nice change to be able to sit back and watch what is going on rather than being in it and not being about to focus on the concepts I am using. 

Blog #7

I go to my service learning in the morning, because I'm only there in the first part of the day I miss a lot of the standards. However I am there for the Reading Standards. Some that I've seen specifically are the Reading Standard 1. My cooperating teacher has had me working with some of the students on a play. We read the script but we also talk about the  who, what, where, when, why, and how as it pertains to the play we are reading. The students understand the concept, which shows me they have already discussed these concepts in class. It also shows me that the students are understanding what they are reading. This activity also covers Standard 6 in the reading standards for 2nd grade. They get the opportunity to read the dialog with a different voice that they students believe match the personality of the characters. This helps the students understand points of view. Reading Standards have seemed to be an emphasis in my service learning. I think this is mostly because of the time that I am in observing and helping out. 

As I asked my cooperating teacher about standards, testing as well as the impact of NCLB. She said that because NCLB has been around since she started teaching that is has just been something that has always been a part of teaching for her. She also said that 3rd-8th grade has it harder because they actually take the national tests. Where as in 2nd grade they focus on preparing them for district tests. She said it can be a challenge though because she feels like every year they have a new standard. She also felt like because a lot of the students at their school are at a lower level, some of the standards even for 2nd graders can be really challenging. She felt like some standards were developmentally appropriate while there were other standards that she felt like were not because of the vast range of level her students are at.
We also discussed if she felt that the standardized testing accurately reflected the level the students were at. She expressed that she didn't feel that for her students that standardize testing was an accurate reflection. Some students don't do well on written tests but know the information. She mentioned that she had heard that many of the 3rd grade students end up in tears during testing because they don't know the answers and they feel the pressure they have to perform well on the SAGE testing and other standardized tests.

Overall this week was really enlightening, It was fun to watch specifically for standards and to get a chance to hear my cooperating teachers opinions on Standards, Standardized testing, and NCLB. 

Blog # 6

Diversity in my service learning placement plays a huge part. Based on what I can observe as well as what I've read about the demographics of the school. Students in the class are diverse in race, ethnicity, language, religion, family structure, and social economic status. As well as exceptional students and gifted students.
One of the ways I've seen my service learning teacher adapt to these diversities is in morning meeting. The students have a chance to learn about each other through prompts. Each day the students greet each other and have a question that they get to go around a circle and answer. This has been fun for the students because they get to learn about each other. I've noticed that the teacher will ask follow up questions to the students to get them to expand on their prompt. For example a student said they had a birthday party that weekend. The teacher asked what activities they did, what food they had, etc. This helped not only the teacher, but the students understand the culture that this student is a part of and how they celebrate.
Another thing I've notice that my service learning teacher does is they have center based learning in the morning. This keeps the students busy, while she has time to do reading groups. She then gets the chance to work with students in small groups and one on one. This can really help exceptional students that may struggle with dyslexia or other learning disabilities.
Besides, just what I've observed in the class, I have also noticed that the school has additional volunteers or employees that come and take students for individual reading or reading groups. While I have noticed a lot of diversity and things that are being done to accommodate all the diversity. I like that my service learning classroom has a sense of unity. While they may be different they focus on how they are alike and how they can work as one.

Blog #5

As I've been in my service learning placements I have seen lots of evidence of historical events. The one I have seen the most is the support for English Language Learners. In the 2nd grade class I observed that there are a handful of students where English is their 2nd language. A few where they are fluent in English now, however there is one student in particular that is new to the class and she knows very little English. I have been impressed by how my service learning teacher has adapted her curriculum to reach this student as an ELL. There are posters around the room that are specific for ELL's, pictures by the vocabulary words and spelling. This has been nice to teach the English word for what they are learning.
Another thing I have seen is that when they do partner work. She will pair this student with a partner that knows both English and Spanish (which is both students first language). This has helped this student to feel included but to also comfortable to ask questions. This also has been good for the partner who gets a chance to teach and practice their English as well.
Last, the class uses I-pads to work on phonics and reading. This is effective in the sense that it works with each student at reading level they are on. For those that are learning English, they are able to work through things that are simple as they are learning, while they are able to participate in the same activities as the other students.
I learned that these things I have observed are a landmark result of Lau vs. Nichols. Where it was ruled that bilingual students where to have resources to help them throughout their education.

Blog #4

The students in my service learning class are engaged in many ways. This last time I went to observe I noticed these three ways they were engaged in learning:
1. In morning meeting they have a different rhyme or attention getter that they use to get to know one another better. This morning they played "Knock-Knock", where the students get to know their classmates last names as well as review their first names.
2. Each day they have a classroom helper. This person gets to help get a lunch count, be a leader of certain activities, and help whenever the teacher needs it. The students love when it is their day to be the helper and they are more involved in the lessons as well as their own responsibility.
3. Today they sang and danced to a song called "Lettercise". They get to use song and movement to review the letters and the sounds they make. This is fun for the kids because they get to move and sing. It also is a great way for those that are still learning their letters and sounds to get practice.

Blog #3

When did a student feel safe and loved? 
Something I have LOVED about my service learning teacher is that the students feel safe to answer questions. I have noticed a couple times when the student gave the incorrect answer. Ms. Booth didn't just say "wrong, try again." She asked the students how they came to the conclusion and then she even would give and example of how she can understand how they would have gotten that answer. She then leads the students to figure out the correct answer. 

What clear routines are established in the classroom?  How do they support a productive learning environment?
In my service learning classroom, they have a routine called "give me 5" (I think it is a school wide routine). When the teacher says "give me 5" The students have 5 seconds to manage their bodies, put their eyes on the teacher, voices off, ears are listening, and are ready to move on to the next thing.  The students know the routine but Ms. Booth will refer to the classroom poster they have when they don't make it in time and they review the standard and what she expects in the class. This allows the students to manage themselves, it prepares them to listen and to learn. 

What does the cooperative teacher do to establish a positive relationship with each student?
Each morning the class has a classroom meeting. She has a time where they greet each other (each day they have a new creative way) she participates in the exercise and takes time to talk to her students individually. Then she listens to how they are doing and engages in conversation. Also just as I said under question one. When students answer incorrect she uses that time to positively build a relationship with the students.

Blog #2 Learning Theories

This week in my observations I noticed that my fieldwork teacher, Ms. Booth, used several learning theories in her classroom to help facilitate learning and classroom management. The theory I observed her use most was behaviorism.  One of the ways that I saw behaviorism was when the students brought back a signed paper they were given a candy. They also had several systems such as class and table tally marks, which the reward was never stated but I can imagine that when the class gets so many points they get a reward.
As an incentive to follow along and participate they had a class money system where they would receive paper pennies they could put in their "banks". I like this idea because it encourages students to participate every step of the way, but it is also a way to encourage learning. You can use money to teach about money, and economy.  As well as use it to teach about simple addition and subtraction. Money is something that can be related to the real life, and teach them about actual life experiences they will use. I really enjoyed my time in the classroom this week. It gave me lots of ideas of things I could implement in my own class one day.

Service Learning Location: Blog #1

The place I have chosen to do my service learning project in at Bellview Elementary in the Canyon School District. I chose this location because it is close to my current place of employment. As I look up information about the school, some things that I found interesting are the demographics. I noticed that they have a high percentage of students coming from low income families. Their test scores on average are also right with the state averages or even in some cases they were lower than the state average. It will be interesting to see how these demographics compare to my experiences I've had so far in a classroom. Just as a side note, Ive been working in a private school for the last year, so this is will be very interesting to compare the similarities and differences. 

As I went to the school website I was impressed by their mission statement. One of the main points in their mission statement is that "Individuals have the right to a positive and safe school environment." I like this because I believe that when you achieve this among teachers, students and parents you can foster the best learning environment. You will also find the most success as you create a classroom where its safe and consistent to learn in. If they are successful in their mission statement, I am excited to be at their school observing and learning from them.