Last Observation at the Elementary School

On the last day of my observation I first observed the students making a picture graph on the iPad for a math assignment. This was the first time that the students had done this, so they were exploring the app and all it had to offer. The teacher was so excited about discovering this new app because it allowed them to upload graph paper and then label it with both pictures and text. This proved to be a great tool, because the teacher could give them a word problem and then they could create a graph that showed the correct answers. If they messed up the graph they could easily erase what was wrong and then correct it. The students really enjoyed this assignment, so the teacher said they would definitely do it again. This day proved to be an unusual day, because after the math exercise the students helped the teacher create props for their upcoming music performance. The students have been learning about Native Americans and were putting on a performance displaying traditional Native American music and dances. The entire class seemed to really enjoy helping the teacher make the props, and they did such a great job that the teacher rewarded them with candy. Overall, my experience at the school was wonderful. The students were extremely well behaved and friendly, and the teachers were very welcoming and helpful. This school was completely different from the middle school, and I only wish I could have spent more time there. I am thankful that I was able to observe iPads being used in the classroom, because it completely changed my opinion for the positive. I hope that other schools will take note and realize what an asset they are. Hopefully, when I am a teacher I will be able to work with new technology and be able to expose my students to technology that they might not have been exposed to otherwise.

Second Visit to the Elementary School

My second visit at the elementary school was just as amazing as my first visit! I spent the majority of the time in my mentor teacher's fourth grade classroom, and was able to observe the iPads being used by all of the students. My mentor teacher allows her students to use the iPads everyday, and she incorporates them into every subject area. During the time I was there, the students were working on creating a poem in their writing journals. The purpose of the poem was to write clues in each line that would describe the subject of the poem without actually telling the reader what the poem was about. The teacher gave the students rules to follow and then allowed them to work on the poems individually. Once they finished their poems, the students typed them on their iPads and then gave them to the teacher to print. I was amazed at how comfortable the students were with using the iPads by themselves. They seemed to know pretty much everything about them, but even when they didn't they tried to figure it out on their own. I am so happy that I was able to observe on a day when the iPads were being used for a writing assignment, because I wouldn't have thought that the iPads could be used for all subjects. I liked that the teacher incorporated the iPads only after making the students write their poems first. I am so excited that I was able to observe such an amazing classroom, and see how new technology is being incorporated in the classroom.

First Day at the Elementary School

Today was my first day at the elementary school and it was amazing! My mentor teacher left early in the day so she arranged for me to observe another class. My mentor teacher's class is one of the fourth grade iPad classes, which I am very excited about. She let me observe the other iPad class because of its similarity to her classroom. During my time there the students were all on their own iPads working on math problems and other activities. One of the students showed me all of the apps that were on her iPad and showed me what they do. It was so nice to see a student who was excited to show someone else their schoolwork. She wasn't alone in her enthusiasm. The other students appeared to be genuinely enthusiastic about using iPads for learning. I also had the opportunity to talk to the teacher, and was shocked to learn that even though she has "headed" the use of the iPads in the school, she will not be teaching at the school next year due to budget cuts. This was shocking especially because she was the teacher who the assistant principal bragged on at orientation for having an almost paperless classroom. The teacher told me that even though she has helped build the iPad curriculum, she will be one of the first teachers cut due to this being her first year teaching. After seeing all she has done with bringing technology to her students, I feel that this is an injustice. Her class is so advanced compared to the majority of the classes is South Carolina, and I am shocked that the school doesn't see her as a valuable asset.
Overall, today was a great day! I was able to see a different style of learning that I had not seen before, and I hope to learn a great deal from my observations. I am so excited about spending more time at the school and seeing more of how the iPads and other technology is used.

Orientation at the Elementary School

After seeing the elementary school for the first time last week during orientation, I was pleasantly surprised about how nice the school is. It is a big difference from the middle school we were previously at. The assistant principal was very friendly and welcoming, and I was so excited when she started talking about all of the technology they have in their classrooms. I was shocked to hear that one of their classrooms is almost completely paperless. I hope that I will be able to see the Ipads and Ipods being used by the students, because I have not seen this standard of technology used in any other school. I was also pleased to see that the teachers seem to take pride in their school and the way it looks. I noticed that each teacher had their classroom doors decorated very creatively, with many having 3-D artwork on them. I love seeing this because it shows that they care about creating a fun and visually stimulating environment for their students. I especially loved the beautiful murals that were painted in the hallway at the front of the school. I am definitely looking forward to spending time at the school, and plan to start going next Monday. I have been placed in a fourth grade classroom, which I am very excited about. I can't wait to meet my mentor teacher and hopefully learn a lot during my time there!

Last Observation at the Middle School

On my last day at the middle school I observed an 8th grade English class and a 6th grade Science class. I observed the 8th grade English class first and was surprised that there were only 15 students. I originally thought there were more students in the class because at the beginning of class there were four other students who were in the class being loud and disruptive. After class began and the four students were still standing and talking the teacher finally told them to go to their classes. I was surprised that it took so long for the teacher to tell them to leave, because they were being rude and bullying some of the students. Once they left the teacher was able to start with her lesson which was about useful Power Point tips. She explained that they needed to know these things for their upcoming Power Point project. She displayed a Power Point she had made which gave the "rules" she thought everyone using Power Point should follow. These rules included what fonts to use, how many words and bullets should be on each page, simple transitions, and never use bright colors. After going over these rules she then took the class to the library so they could begin working on their projects. I was happy to see that even though the school doesn't have a lot of technology, the teacher was still trying to expose her students to useful technology that they will come across as they get older.

The next class I went to was a 6th grade Science class. On this day they went to the lab, so I was able to go along with them to see how they were able to learn hands on. I enjoyed this experience the most, and I even got partnered with a group of students. This was exciting because I got to talk with the students about what they were doing, and they were able to show me what they had learned. During the lab, the students had to create three different types of circuits and be able to label each part. I thought that this was a great idea because the students really enjoyed learning hands on.

Overall, my experience at the middle school was very insightful. I was able to observe many different classes and teachers, which allowed me to see different teaching techniques. Even though the school didn't have a lot of technology I think it was a great opportunity to see how schools can be so different. You never know where you will end up teaching, whether it be a school with a lot of money or a school like the one I observed at.

Fourth Observation

I went for my fourth observation on February 23, and I didn't realize until I got there that it was job shadow day and early dismissal. I think that job shadow day is a great experience for students, because they are able to go to work with a relative and see what it is like to have a job. The majority of the students had chosen to go to work with a family member, but there were many students who opted to come to school instead. I first went to an 8th grade English class where there were 8 students. The students were playing games on the computer, talking, listening to music, and playing on their cell phones. The teacher explained that this was only because it was early dismissal and also because it was job shadow day. I was surprised to see that students were allowed to have cell phones at school, but the teacher said that they could only bring them on dismissal days and on Fridays. One good thing about going to observe on this day was that I was able to talk to the teacher. She talked about her smart board and mentioned that she is still trying to get used to it because this is her first year having it. I was surprised that she hadn't been sent to any teacher training classes to learn how to use it, because the elementary school next door sends its teachers to smart board training classes. The teacher also mentioned that due to budget cuts the school had completely cut the teachers budget for the year from $250 to $0! This was shocking because that is the only money given to teachers to use for their classroom supplies for the entire year. This is probably one explanation for why the classrooms I have been in are so bare and lack many supplies.

The next class I observed was a 6th grade science class. From the moment I walked into this class it felt welcoming and visually stimulating. The classroom walls were covered in colorful educational posters and projects. I really liked the look of the class because it looked more like an elementary school classroom, which I find to be a more enjoyable atmosphere for learning. Unfortunately, on this day the teacher only played episodes of the Magic School Bus for her students to watch. She explained that she thought they were great learning tools because the episodes she played were about electricity, which was what they have been learning about. One thing that surprised me about this classroom was that there were no computers in the class.

Overall, I am glad I got to observe on this day because it allowed me to have more interaction with the teachers, and it also allowed me to observe what a non-typical day is like.

Third Observation

On my third visit I observed a 7th grade advanced language arts class and a 6th grade social studies class. In the 7th grade language arts class the students were put in groups of 3's and 4's. The group members sit at the same table and work together during group activities. One thing I really liked about the class was that the teacher encourages her students to work together to answer questions in class by giving points for class participation and correct answers. She tracks the group's points and gives them different rewards such as candy and chips. She also allows the leading group to sit on the couch she has in her classroom during silent reading time each day. It appears that her strategies have paid off because the students were extremely eager to participate during the various activities. The language arts teacher also incorporates different technology into her class everyday by using her smart board, playing music that pertains to what her lesson plan incorporates, and allowing her students to take turns using Quizlet on the computer. I wasn't familiar with Quizlet until I saw the students in her room using it, but after observing it's uses I think it is a wonderful tool that all teachers should be using. Quizlet allows teachers to create their own online learning games that incorporate the vocabulary words being taught in the classroom. The students seem to really enjoy playing these learning games and also learn a lot while doing so. I was very impressed with the vocabulary being taught to the 7th graders in particular the words perihelion, delineate, emollient, vociferous, petroglyph, and sine qua non. I don't remember learning words like that in middle school, but I think it is wonderful to expose as many words as possible to younger students.Overall, I was extremely impressed with this class. The behavior of the students was excellent and their eagerness to learn was apparent. It was hard to believe that I was in the same school due to the drastic differences in behavior compared to the other classes I have observed.
I also observed a 6th grade social studies class who was learning about Persia. At the beginning of class the students wrote key terms and definitions from their text book and then they copied notes from the smart board. During this time the students complained about having to take too many notes, and some of the students passed notes instead of doing what they were supposed to. The teacher finally caught two girls passing notes and took the note from them. She then proceeded to read it and told them that she was disapointed because they had written some very bad things in the note. I was surprised that she didn't do more to discipline them, but that must be common because her students seem to take advantage of her not being a strict disciplinarian. After they copied the notes, she told the class that they were going to watch the fight seen from the movie 300. This shocked me due to the extremely graphic violence shown in the movie. The fight seen shows the Spartans and the Persians fighting to the death, which is very brutal and bloody. From most of the students reactions I could tell that they had not seen the movie before. During the part where a person gets decapitated the students started to scream and couldn't get out of the class fast enough. I couldn't help thinking that if I was the parent of one of the students I would be extremely mad that the movie was shown at school. It was completely inappropriate to show to a 6th grade class.