Mindy and the last week of student teaching

Last week at our school,  all of the 2nd grade classes participated in "The Dinosaur Show." The students have spent the last month preparing for this yearly show. In our classroom each student created a book about the time period they were assigned to, complete with pages about an herbivore and carnivore that lived during their time period. In music they learned 3 different informative dinosaur songs to perform, which we also practiced in our classroom. In art, the children worked in groups and were assigned to time periods  These groups created  3 murals for display. On the day of the show, the students performed the songs for their families in the auditorium, and then the families were invited back to the classroom to see all of the books and murals on display, along with some light refreshments. It was amazing to see how excited my students were to participate in the show and have their families come to see what they had done.

As I come to the end of my student teaching, I wish to say that it was very gratifying to see the culmination of my students' work paired with their enthusiasm when sharing what they had worked so hard on for the past month. The classroom reception for all of the families was a very positive, happy experience where I got to speak with many of the parents. This was the perfect way to close out my time at Grandview.

My questions to you are:

1. Have you participated in any shows/assemblies? If so, was it a collective effort between the classroom and specials?  Is this, in your opinion, a worthwhile endeavor? 

2. How do you feel as you are coming to the end of your student teaching experience?

Getting outside and taking a break_Lauren and Kyle have thoughts

Kyle and I both agree that it is important for students to have free time to go outside and take a break or to even catch up on work. Many teachers incorporate "brain breaks" which are  fun, educational activities that allows the students to stand up and move around while still learning. As far as going outside, we feel that students need this time for socialization purposes. 

Kyle mentioned that he noticed that teachers do not seem to take students outside to read or sketch trees for science. We both agree that it is important for interaction to take place outside the classroom. Kyle pointed out that during summer school the kindergarten  had a camping theme and would often do activities in a tent that was outside on the playground.   His favorite activity was using squirt bottles to unfreeze the frozen bugs they had made. 

 I (Lauren) am student teaching in kindergarten and I know when its nice out the students get to play outside,  but only if all of their morning work is complete. I've had a few students who were told that they had to stay inside with another teacher until they finished all of their work and then they could come outside to play. I was concerned, because I feel that it is important for students to go outside for socialization purposes and to just get a "brain break" so that they can release all their energy and come back inside refocused and ready to learn. My class also just went on two field trips, one to a farm and another to the zoo. Both were outside activities and they were educational experiences as well.m    I believe that my students learned a great deal by taking part in both of these outdoor activities.  

We will ask two questions:

1.) Do you feel it is important for students to have that "brain break" or time when they just get to go outside to interact with  each other?

2.) What are some ways your class gets that time to just go outside, whether it be for a class or just time to play?

Rosalie and Grace ask a poignant question

The mere words "class project" can paralyze the strongest of parents, leaving them shaking with anxiety.  Forget about the words "Science Fair."  For teachers, receiving a 2nd grader's project that could have been done by only the most accomplished students at the high school level leaves us dumbfounded.  

Here's how most projects go at some point in a child's educational career:  

•     The project is assigned. 
•        The student puts off doing the project. 
•       A day or two before the monumental project is due, the child tells the parent, "I have a   project due and I have to make a (fill in the blank)." 
•        The parent is then at AC Moore or Michael's Craft store purchasing an assortment of craft supplies running anywhere from $30-$50. 
•     There may be yelling and/or tears from either the parent or child as they work into the wee hours of the night. 
•        Nobody at home will have dinner.  Tonight it will be take out, paper plates, glue, glitter, and a near death experience.

 There are mixed emotions at school as to whether or not parents should help out with projects at home.  As a parent and an educator, we have our own very strong opinions.  

 Then there are field trips....a child's dream, a day off from school.  The planning and oversight for a teacher can be overwhelming, and there are times when we wonder if the children really got anything out of the trip other than the bus ride and possibly the gift store at the end of the day.  

So our question to each of you is three-fold:

1)  What are some great projects you have seen that you felt were truly successful?

2)  What is your opinion about parental assistance on take-home assignments/projects?

3.    Have you had any experience  planning a successful field trip?  Share that with us.     

How far we have come: Nicole and James ponder!!!

Now that student teaching is more than halfway completed, both of us feel much more confident in our ability to deliver lessons. One area in which we still struggle for excellence, however, is classroom management. The hardest thing we find is transitioning from one subject to the next. For example, from math to science period or going from one activity to having the students return to their desks.   At first it took longer to transition,  but one of us has implemented a count down from 10 and this countdown strategy  enables the transition to go quickly and smoothly.       

Looking back at the beginning of student teaching we were both terrified that we were not  going to be able to control the students in our respective classes. While we appear to have full control of our classes we are still working on finding different ways to help with classroom management!!!

Both of us would like to know from you the following:  

1.     What techniques did you introduce that you felt would help with classroom management?    What worked and what did not work?    

2.     How did you feel on your first day of student teaching?    How do you feel now as you  stand in front of your class?  

Mindy and the "Aha Moment"

Throughout my education at Caldwell University I have learned many different teaching strategies. However, the one that stuck out most was the Monday Warm-Up that Mr. Rampolla discussed when he gave the seminar workshop a few weeks ago.   He talked about having the children work in groups to discuss 60 seconds of good news. Each group would have a spokesperson and report their group's good news back to the class. As soon as I heard this strategy it reminded me of  The Weekend News that we use in our classroom. Each Monday morning the children write about their weekend and then sit in a circle to share, but only if they choose to. Unfortunately, one of our students never shares and his parents have communicated to my cooperating teacher and me that he gets anxious about returning to school on Mondays.  He specifically referred to being uncomfortable with The Weekend News segment of Monday morning.  

After making some small adjustments, I implemented Mr. Rampolla's strategy with my class. I gave 6 groups 5 minutes to read their Weekend News to each other and then asked one person from each group to be a spokesperson. I gave the recalcitrant student the option of being his group’s spokesperson. He agreed and gave me a big smile! Not only did he report the weekend news for his group, but he shared highlights from his own. When I asked if he had anything else to report, he continued with additional details from his own weekend again. For me, this exercise was something I considered to be a huge success. Later in the week we met with the reluctant student’s parents for a conference. They brought up The Weekend News and shared with us how much their son enjoyed the new approach to this reporting activity.   They thanked me. Seems like something so small, but I felt so very accomplished at that moment. After so many classes and so many years, my dream of becoming a teacher has finally become a reality!!!!  

My questions to you are:
What teaching strategies have you implemented in your class during this student teaching experience that were new to the students and successful as well?
What moments have you had within your classrooms that have made you feel that you have accomplished something very positive?   Do not be shy………share those moments with us here.   

Lauren and parent-teacher communication

They say that your first teacher is your parent. This is why the roles of both parent and teacher are essential in a child’s life. Parent involvement is so important. Thus, it is very important that certain pieces of information are sent home to parents by the teacher.   One of the programs that I find helpful for communicating student progress is  “iReady.” iReady addresses both language arts and math skills.  This program shows the parent and teacher how much progress a student has made in both of these areas.   It shows the teacher what still needs to be worked on and, at the same time, parents are able to see how their child is doing and what their strengths and weaknesses may be in language arts and math. I believe that this program is an easy way to keep parents involved in the education of their child.  

Throughout my student teaching, I have observed my cooperating teacher speaking on the phone with parents. In addition, my cooperating teacher is emailing parents constantly, some more than others.   But, for the most part,  email is the most convenient form of communication. She also sends home unfinished work with a note explaining why the work is being sent home.

There are many ways to get in touch with parents……email, phone calls, i-Ready, notes, and parent teacher conferences. All of these communication devices keep parents and teachers in close contact with a student’s progress.    Thus, these are my questions for you:

1.)  Is there any parent involvement in your specific classes?

2.)  How does your cooperating teacher get in touch with parents?

Kyle and checking for understanding

With class sizes of 20 or more students, crazy schedules and the various time restraints that teachers face, where do you find time to check for understanding? Sometimes I see teachers just glance at homework while others grade the homework every day.   I try to check for understanding constantly.   Homework, classwork, answers to daily questions, along with exit tickets all help me to know if the lesson that I just taught was successful or whether the objective needs more time and more review. 

Earlier this year I came upon a program entitled  Plickers.com.   It is a program that enable the teachers to check for understanding in real time.    It is intended for the teacher to have "quick checks" for understanding to know whether students are understanding big concepts and mastering key skills.   I would like it if we  could implement this program in our school .............hopefully we will soon. The program works so that when a student holds up a white board with an answer others can see it.   Others may copy it but with this program students have their own card and don't know what they are showing to the class. This program would enable me to check the understandings of individuals or the whole class,  which is great. The drawback is that all questions are multiple choice. Has anyone had experience with this program?    Is it helpful?    Would you recommend this program?    
In the meantime, what are some ways that you check for understanding in your lessons?

One of our students is concerned about motivation techniques

In my role as student teacher, I have acquired more responsibilities in the classroom. One of the questions I have with regard to students in the classroom is how to truly motivate them. My cooperating teacher uses an app called "Class Dojo,"  through which points are awarded to students (or the class) for either being on task, participating in class activities or displaying good behavior. As I have looked into Class Dojo I have determined that the purpose is for teachers to encourage students and to share positive moments with parents. 

I think it is a great tool to connect with parents as they can view their child’s progress. However, the ability for the teacher to add or subtract points digitally seems the same as posting a chart and receiving stars for good behavior. Depending on the setting used, all the students in the class are able to view how many points each student has accrued. I would assume the private setting is best to use so that other students and parents do not have access to the points that others have accumulated........or not accumulated. 

During the first week of student teaching I was asked to award points to students for being on task. However, I began to question myself with regard to awarding individual student points, I decided to give the class as a whole a point for being on task. I did not feel it was the right thing to do to award individual points on this app. I have some concerns............I believe this is a form of extrinsic motivation that only will work in the short term.   Further,  I believe that we as educators must seek to motivate our students  through intrinsic means. Thus, my question to you is this....... what kind of motivational strategies  do you use to engage and encourage students?

Nicole and differentiation practices

I am student teaching in a private preschool and we service children with autism. At first, I was so nervous because I didn’t know how I was going to include differentiation into my lesson plans. There are about 10 students in the class, seven of whom have been diagnosed with autism. These students are sweet as can be but it is just so hard to find activities that they are able to do and can, at the same time, include the other students that need the challenge.  My cooperating teacher and I have written my first lesson plan together and she has helped me include differentiated instruction into my lesson plan. This past week was my first time taking over the classroom and I was a bit nervous. The lesson went pretty well and the students loved the activities that I incorporated into the plan for the day but here are a few questions I have for you:

What are some ways in which you include differentiated instruction into your lesson plan?   

Have those lessons worked out in class as it was planned in your head?   Do you think that we need more instruction in our classes as to how we differentiate our lesson on a regular basis?  

Grace Jackson asks about connections

As I begin my student teaching, I feel as though I am on a roller coaster of emotions. The feeling of excitement and relief of finally getting into the classroom for the first time is, of course, one of the strong emotions that I have. I often find myself asking if this is truly happening and telling myself not to “mess up.”  Most importantly I was terrified as to how the students were going to take to me as I began to  become a part of their classroom.  Despite having this scared feeling, I found that these young students connected really well with me during the first week. However, some of them are still warming up to my being in the classroom and that is ok with me. I want them to feel like I am a part of the little family that my cooperating teacher has created within the classroom.

Finally here is my question to you..

1. How did you connect with your students for the first time you were in the class?

2. Do you feel that having a connection with the students is the most important part of your student teaching experience

Rosalie asks how we wish to be remembered

Several years ago, a mentor of mine told me that our students will not remember the curriculum we present to them as their teachers; however, they will remember how we made them feel.  This statement had a tremendous impact on me.  I reflected on my own teachers growing up.  I too did not recall the curriculum any one teacher in particular taught.  In truth, I did not recall many teachers.  I did remember the two types of teachers at both ends of the bell curve, the great ones and the terrible ones.  The more I thought about this I found it sad that so many teachers were (in my mind) in the middle of that bell curve.  they had had an opportunity to inspire, influence, or motivate me, but instead simply taught me their assigned curriculum.  I wasn't sure which was worse, the teachers who had simply faded into the recesses of my mind or the teachers who were great examples of what not to be.

So my question to you is two-fold:

1)  What were the qualities of the great teachers you had in the past?

2)  What are you going to do to be remembered as a great teacher who made students feel inspired?  

To my fellow classmates:  Be joyful!  Be amazing!  Be remembered!