Now that our classroom placements are all set, I will be with my grade 4/5 class for the rest of my practicum.

It is super exciting to be in the same classroom each week as I am now starting to get to know the students names and personalities as well as the teacher and her teaching styles!

This past week I focused on observing the communication styles of my teacher. She has a wonderful way of connecting and communicating with the students. For example when she asks questions she will always repeat back what the students said. I think that this is good for clarification and allows for the other students to hear the answer for a second time. My teacher is always very positive with the students, even when they give wrong answers she will give them a positive affirmation like “good try” or “good job” and then provide them with the appropriate scaffolding to get the to the right answer. Also if a student provides an answer that is on the right path she will dig in and try to get them to the answer by asking them to “please expand” on what they are thinking.

My teacher is also very good at communicating expectations to the students. When assigning activities she will write out all of the instructions/ directions on the board and will also write what the assignment will be graded on i.e., Following directions and completed on time. I think that this allows for the students to really understand what it is that is expected of them.

Also, whenever the students are talking she makes the effort to actively listen to what they are saying, repeating back when they said to allow the students to know that she is listening to them. I also appreciate that she talks to the students in a ‘real’ way, she doesn’t baby them or talk to them as if they are babies.