Sunnyside Elementary Reflection Week 2: Carolyn Robinson
October 15, 2015
Today my day at Sunnyside Elementary was both jam packed and eye-opening. In addition to observing the 3 regular classes we have been visiting the past couple weeks, today we also got to observe a Montessori class and 2 assisted learning classes.
In the assisted learning classes I observed today, I noticed that both teachers used a lot more scaffolding with the students to help assist them in their learning. When teachers asked questions, they followed them with many prompts, clues, and varying degrees of assistance depending on the child and their specific learning needs. Additionally, I noticed that in this particular class the amount of time it took most students to answer questions was much longer then in a traditional classroom. Some of the students that I observed in the assisted learning class were ones that I had also observed within regular classrooms. What struck me as really interesting about observing these students in the assisted learning class was how much more focused and academically successful they were with stronger 1-1 attention. I assume that it also helps to have activities designed to specifically help the child with the individual difficulties they experience in the classroom.
In the Montessori class I observed today, there was not a lot of questioning done by the teacher in the short time that I was in the classroom. Instead, the children of various ages worked independently on math workbooks. This was the first time I have ever observed a Montessori class, and I was so impressed with how independent and self-motivated all the students were, even the youngest student who was only 5 years old. I was so impressed with the mature composure of all students within the classroom and with how they all helped one-another in learning. I was also really impressed with their ability to self-regulate on their own. One question that I have about this Montessori class is how do the children in this class learn to become self-motivated so successfully?
I ended the day with 3 quick visits to my regular classrooms. One major thing that I noticed, specifically in Ms Steve’s and Ms. Au’s primary classes, was how much more adjusted and settled the children were in the classrooms compared to last week. In the little amounts of time that I have spent in these classrooms, it is obvious to me that both teachers have spent a considerable amount of time creating a safe, friendly, and structured class community with all of their students. From an SEL standpoint, this is fantastic. The last classroom that I visited today was Ms. McCredie’s grade 5/6 class – which I have just found out is the class I will be doing my extended practicum in. I am so thrilled to be teaching this class of amazing students. In this class today, my classroom observations were minimal as the children had a free period in which they all played on the playground. Although I was unable to make many classroom observations with this class, I was able to observe the children in a social setting which was really unique. I was able to see who some of the dominant personalities in the class were, as well as some of the more shy personalities. Additionally, it was interesting to see how the different friendships and relationships between students in the class transferred onto the playground. As a whole, they all played extremely well together, but I did notice a few social disagreements amongst a few of the girls in the class.
Once again, my day at Sunnyside was fantastic. I can’t wait to go back next Thursday and really start getting to know my extended-practicum class better.