It was so nice to finally be back in the classroom! It’s been a difficult transition for many of us going back to UBC after falling in love with our practicum classes. When I arrived, it felt great to hear from Mrs. S about how much the kids missed me and that they had been asking where I had gone. When I went to open the door at 9am, they were so excited to see me and many of them gave me big hugs- it truly is one of the best feelings! During the first part of the morning, we got to go practice for the Scrooge concert that they will be performing in early December. It’s amazing how easily kids that age can pick up 4 different songs and remember all the actions- they must have been practicing! For the past few nights I have had the songs on repeat in my head as I go to sleep at night! 🙂 When we got back from practice, I took the students through morning calendar with our VIP while Mrs. S got to assess some students out in the hallway. The students seemed to be a bit off task today, so I was able to practice some management skills. There was a lot of movement and not much focus, so they owed me 1 minute at recess. I typically do not like to punish the entire class for a few student’s actions, but decided it need to be done. Mrs. S didn’t’ have a problem with it (as she sometimes uses this technique), and they put their heads down on their desks until I said they could leave. I am curious to know if group punishment is something that should be used often, or if I should focus the punishment on individuals?

After recess one of the students read a story to the rest of the class, and then students had gym period. This was our prep period, so Mrs. S and I some time to mark math worksheets that she was using for report card assessment. We also spoke about the behaviors in the class that are beginning to affect some of the other students’ learning. This has been an ongoing issue since the beginning of the year, and finally there will be a meeting to address some of the concerns. Hopefully there will be some further support for those who are in need of extra resources. I am learning more about the complexities of children with behaviors and the importance of inclusion in the classroom. However, I can understand how some of these behaviors are truly effecting other student’s learning and progress, and the amount of time that is taken away when having to focus on others who are consistently defiant. It is definitely a difficult situation, but I’m happy to hear that Mrs. S is looking into further help for some students that are in great need.

The second half of the day we had a great opportunity to sit in with one of the best numeracy consultants who works with many districts in BC. We got to listen to her take on primary mathematics, and we even got to watch her perform a lesson for a K-1 classroom! It was such a great experience being able to watch her teach, and to see how engaged the students were with the lesson. The students were learning about subtraction, and the teacher brought in a variety of manipulatives for the children to use (mini turtles, fish, farm animals, lizards, etc.). Being able to physically play with these manipulatives and “create” a story about 7-1=6 was so much fun for the children. All the students were excited to share their numeracy stories for a variety of equations, and some even acted it out! To observe a professional teach a lesson was extremely valuable, and there were a lot of great takeaways. Specifically, I learned the importance of repetition. With young children, it is essential to repeat and practice what they are learning, as some may not be able to catch on as quickly as others. In addition, when using manipulatives, it is also important to allow the children to draw what the manipulative is depicting (i.e. drawing 7 circles and taking one away). You can also allow them to write the numbers out in word form when they feel comfortable. Including a number of ways to represent numbers is very important, and the students demonstrated that they were able to accomplish this. I found this session to be extremely helpful, and it gave me some great ideas and strategies to use for further lesson planning!

After school, I stayed with Mrs. S to help paper the hallway boards for Christmas decorations that need to be up before the Scrooge concert. It was great to stay and help the other teacher’s prepare for this, as I am learning so much about them and their passion for teaching. I really look forward to helping out at the Scrooge concert evening that is coming up in the next few weeks!

My first thought is- “Wow!” How could short practicum already be over?! The time just flew by with the blink of an eye, and now we are back to the UBC grind. These past few weeks have been such a wonderful, eye-opening experience, with Friday being a very tough day having to say goodbye to Mrs. S’s class. It truly is amazing how fast you can become so connected and ingrained in children’s lives. I am going to miss seeing them every day, but thankful that Thursday’s will still be spent with my class.

This week was very busy and I had the opportunity to teach on many occasions. Ms. S had lots of assessments to complete, so I offered to help in any way I could. One morning, I was able to take on the entire class from 9-12pm! It felt great to be able to open the class with our morning calendar session and “Show & Tell”. This part of the class is a lot of fun, as every day, a student is selected to be the VIP of the class and they conduct the morning messages (this gives each child practice being a leader and public speaker). We got to sing and learn about the months and days of the week, as well as discover more about the VIP through their sharing. It was exciting to see what many of the students brought to class throughout the week, and it gave me a sense of nostalgia seeing all the different toys (some of which were similar to what I used to play with when I was their age).

Both of my observations (SEL and Math) were this week, and I felt confident about my lesson plans going in to the session. The only minor worry I had prior to the lesson was my ability to manage the students, as I knew this was something I had to work on. However, I was pleasantly surprised that over the course of my teaching this week, management became easier and the students were respecting me more as a teacher figure. Although my “Great Points” were being used as a means of extrinsic motivation, I felt that the children really took them seriously, and were showing signs of frustration at other children for misbehaving or acting out when I took a point away from them. On Friday (the last day for Great Points) – I experienced the students working so diligently and quietly to get their work completed in order to maintain the points they had earned. At the end of the day, I gave them all lollipops for being so well behaved and being great students for me during my practicum. It was great to see their eyes light up when they found out they were getting a special treat for excellent work ethic. I realize that extrinsic motivation is a highly debated concept, and that is why I have chosen it as the question I will be looking at for inquiry. My reasoning for bringing about “Great Points” is because I saw another teacher who used a similar method for an intermediate grade, and she had her students managed very effectively. I still wonder, however, if this is the right approach to take to ensure students are concentrating on the task they need to be focused on, and that the idea of a simple reward is not the only driving force behind their cooperation.

I really find it fascinating to observe students who are eager to conform to the rules, and work towards the goal (i.e. completing work and staying on task quietly to earn a lollipop). If I were to take this extrinsic motivation away from them, I believe it might just be that much harder for some of the more behavior-prone students to keep self-regulated. I feel as though there may be a certain age that requires more extrinsic motivation, compared to older students who are more mature to realize the importance and benefits of working hard. Interestingly, I got to work with a substitute teacher during one of my days at CC, and we talked about this method of Great Points. She told me she has been a teacher for over 35 years and that her entire career was based on motivating her classroom extrinsically. She said it was not only extremely effective, but made for a fun and entertaining atmosphere. This is definitely a topic I want to explore further, as I deeply feel that being intrinsically motivated is such an important piece of becoming a good student and citizen. However, I am beginning to see that younger students may need that extra push to get them motivated to a point where they can start to find that pursuit for intrinsic motivation.

Further, during my practicum, I spent lots of time with the students teaching math lessons- in particular, learning more about place value and currency. I noticed throughout my lesson planning that students in Grade 2 cannot rush through different activities. For many of the plans, I had incorporated sometimes more than one activity, and realized that this is not possible. Many students find math to be more of a challenge, and it is so important to use repetition with this subject. On many days I would need to review and repeat the lesson taught the following day, adding on some more challenging questions for the children who were really understanding the material. Having over-planned many of the days, I was able to learn from Mrs. S that it’s so important to be simplistic at this age. I found that because I have been teaching intermediate for my “Team-Teaching,” that the lessons have been more advanced and detailed. From this, I can understand that primary students need to be more streamlined and repetitive, compared to an intermediate class that can move beyond the simplicity and tackle the bigger concepts/ideas.

Some further observations that I noted from the week was specific to our Remembrance Day assembly. It was such a beautiful and solemn ceremony, and was very impactful. It was so touching to the point that when Mrs. S’s group returned to the class, there were 4 students who were in tears. Not only were they in tears, but some were balling and shaking because of how the assembly impacted them. Mrs. S told me that in all her years of teaching, she had never seen students act so emotionally over a Remembrance Day assembly. It was heartbreaking to see the children so saddened, but Mrs. S handled the situation in such a great way. Firstly, she comforted the students, as did I. We gave the students hugs and tissues, and she asked them all to open up their writing journals. Mrs. S asked them to write or draw how they were feeling about the assembly- that it was an important way to get feelings out. After they had written/drawn about their feelings, they were to write on something they liked about the assembly. Although it took over 30 minutes to calm some of the students down, it was a powerful experience to have participated in. I was fortunate to see how Mrs. S handled the issue so well, and she showed me lots of tools on how to deal with such a situation.

In summary of my 2 week practicum, I had such an amazing experience with Mrs. S’s students. I got to know each and every student more on a personal level, and they were able to learn more about me. When we said goodbye, it was nice to hear them say they wished I was staying every day! That made me feel really good 🙂 I am really looking forward to seeing my students again every Thursday and being able to observe more and partake further in teaching during these times. Mrs. S and I feel it is important to keep up with the role, so I will be helping with read-alouds and guided readings. I am so grateful to have such a great class to work with- April cannot get here soon enough!

 

Reflection Report:

Observations from my 2 week practicum (Week 1) – November 2 – November 6, 2015 

 

This week has been a very interesting experience. I have reaped the rewards, faced the challenges, and participated in the long hours that teachers put in to making the classroom an enjoyable learning environment. Mrs. S has been extremely helpful and has provided me with many resources to help benefit my lesson planning. Over the course of the week, I have learned so much about the students; their strengths, their amazing talents, and some of their struggles. I have come to realize the many challenges that come with managing a class- in particular, having a large group of students with defiant behaviors. This is a large learning curve for me, as I do not have a lot of experience working with children in a classroom setting, or working with students that are difficult to manage. I have received lots of great feedback from my SA during my teachings, and day by day I become more comfortable in the teacher role. Throughout the week, I was given many opportunities to take the lead in calendar/morning sharing, helping with read-alouds, and also teaching two math lessons. Mrs. S gave me a math workbook to follow, but I decided to make alterations to the dictated plan to provide the students with a more stimulating lesson. I wanted to incorporate bigger ideas, and make learning a great experience for the kids! For my first lesson, the students were learning about estimation, so I decided to be creative and have 3 jars with different amounts of gumballs in each. The students had to observe and use strategies to come up with their “guesstimates”. The strategy that I was hoping the students would start to use is grouping numbers into 5’s and 10’s. It was essential for them also to learn about place value, so once we estimated the jars, I counted the gumballs individually to represent how many ones and tens we had. The students were very engaged and excited that I brought in gumballs! At the end of the lesson, the students were given a gumball each- everyone had a smile on their face 🙂 It made me happy that they enjoyed and took something away from the lesson.

Unfortunately, my second math lesson did not go as well as I had planned. I had grand ideas of letting the students use a variety of materials/manipulative’s to represent the number 19 (plates, gumballs, plastic cups, paper clips, etc.,)- soon to realize that stepping out of the box sometimes backfires. The students worked in groups and became somewhat confused as to what the task was. I was beginning to feel slightly overwhelmed as the defiant/problematic students began to get a little bit out of control, so I quickly changed into our next activity. After the lesson, Mrs. S gave some great feedback, and explained that if a lesson ever goes south, there is no problem scrapping it and moving on to the next task. She also mentioned that having a math class as the last lesson of the day on a Friday is extremely difficult, and attention spans are limited. I can definitely see the importance of having math class in the morning, as opposed to the afternoon! Although I was initially frustrated with my lack of control over the students during the group activity, and the amount of work I put in to preparing the lesson, I came to realize that this was such a great experience to have had. Not every lesson is going to be perfect, and adaptations need to be made accordingly. It is also beneficial to keep a lesson somewhat simplistic at this age.

Mrs. S was also able to sit closely and observe the students on the carpet while I presented the lesson. She mapped out every individual student, and provided a complete analysis on each student’s behavior as the lesson progressed. It is absolutely amazing what teachers can miss when they are so in tune to what they are teaching…Mrs. S explained that even she misses so much of what’s happening and how off-task students can become during a lesson. It was shocking to see how many students were fidgeting and not paying close attention. Especially having 5 students with major behaviour concerns, the teacher’s attention typically goes to those children, and often times, we forget about the others. From the observations that Mrs. S made, I am definitely going to become more aware of the entire group as a whole. Without the help of our EA, I can’t imagine how Mrs. S would get through a lesson without the extra hand. It amazes me what she can do as a teacher- and I aspire to become as controlled and as patient as she is.

I have also had the opportunity to read with many of the students, and see where their levels of comprehension and word pronunciation is at. Many students are beyond their reading capabilities for their age, while some are having significant struggles. During silent reading, I have been taking students aside one by one and making notes on the strategies that they are using as readers, and also to see what level of books they have in their book box (Mrs. S wants 2 easy reads, one challenging read, and a chapter book). For those needing extra assistance, I was able to attend an IEP meeting with Mrs. S and the Resource Centre teachers. It was amazing to be introduced to this process, and what is discussed amongst the professionals in order to give each child the best instruction and guidance possible. Being a part of this meeting has given me the opportunity to learn more about some of the students on a individual basis, and has allowed me to connect with them further in class.

I believe the greatest struggle so far in the first week of practicum is learning how to manage students that are defiant. I can see how a teacher can become easily overwhelmed and stressed in these cases, and I am very eager to look into this further for my inquiry question. Many times I would ask a particular student to move seats on the mat, and they would argue and say, “No!” Mrs. S gave a few tips and tricks to deal with these types of situations, but at times they did not work as expected. As Mrs. S and I discussed, I believe the students are still trying to get to know me as a teacher figure, and that they must show me the same level of respect as Mrs. S. They view Mrs. S as the “big boss lady,” and the EA and myself as easier to defy. However, as time progresses in my practicum (and so I have already seen over the past few days by becoming more engaged in teaching lessons and being hands on), the students will come to show me greater respect as a leader and teacher who has rules and regulations.

So far, this has been such an amazing experience, despite one lesson that had a few hiccups. I am so appreciative of how engaged my SA is, and that she is able to share a great amount of feedback on my lessons. All of Mrs. S’s advice and feedback is so invaluable to me, and for her to allow me to dive right into the teaching role has been so helpful. Even though it might be nerve-racking at times, I feel good about learning from my mistakes- a very challenging thing to do, as I am a bit of a perfectionist. As time goes on, I am learning from these hiccups, and it’s making me a better teacher. I look forward to teaching more in my final week of the 2-week practicum! 🙂

Some questions I have:

1) How much extrinsic motivation is appropriate? We want students to become intrinsically motivated, but we also want to praise them for their hard work. Where is that fine-line?

2) How do teachers cope with students who have extreme cases of conduct disorder? I am eager to learn the techniques involved in helping these students succeed to their fullest.

Reflection Report: Observations from Practicum (Day 4) – October 29, 2015

 

Today I had the opportunity to take charge of the morning sharing/calendar time! Mrs. S had to work with a child out of the classroom, so she asked if I wouldn’t mind assisting. I was very eager to start taking on the “teacher role,” so this gave me a chance to see what it was like to take control of the class. Every day there is a student who is the VIP for the day, and this time it was a boy who experiences some behavioral challenges. I thought it would be a great opportunity to let him know that it was my first time helping with the calendar, and if he could be my big helper, I would be very grateful- his face lite up and he told me he would help me take charge, and that I didn’t have anything to worry about because he knew all about how to do the calendar! I thought this would help boost his self-esteem, and enable him to take on a teacher-like role himself. It was clear that he felt empowered by his ability to help me, and we worked together to get through the morning carpet time.

After the morning session, the kids moved back to their seats and Mrs. S taught them some artistic methods for creating a pumpkin patch scene. She wanted to give them a sense of angle and depth, so they worked diligently on positioning the pumpkins in different ways. They also worked on shading techniques. One of the students was questioning why they had to use bats and owls as eyes for the pumpkin (not a typical technique), and Mrs. S explained that it was to try something different. This particular student became very emotional and broke down in tears, so I went to assist and ask her how she was feeling. Mrs. S said that she had never seen this student act this way before, so she wrote it down in her book. After she calmed down, the student used the drawing technique for one of her pumpkins and she realized it wasn’t that bad after all. Mrs. S drew a chart for the student, depicting the scale of the students feeling compared to the level of the problem. She worked with the student to determine if her reaction was acceptable with the level of the problem- the girl agreed that it was not. I found this to be a great technique to use, as it allowed the student to realize that she most-likely over-reacted in relation to the issue at hand.

During the morning math session, Mrs. S was working with the students on place value and using blocks to help them understand the tens and ones columns. At one point, a student who has behavioral concerns went under a table and would not come out. I asked him nicely to come out from the under, but he refused to. It was difficult trying to get him to move- and I realized that it is going to be an experience dealing with his behavioural problems. I am really looking forward to learning more about how to appropriately assist students with conduct disorders. Mrs. S also suggested a book called, “Champs,” by Dr. Randy Sprick, which I’ll be looking for in the next few weeks. I feel like this class will require me to develop management techniques very quickly, so any suggestions on resources for management will come in handy!

During the afternoon, the students spent the majority of their time working on another art project- they had to create a haunted house, and Mrs. S demonstrated on the whiteboard the many characteristics of a spooky house. I came to realize that many of the students in the class have great artistic talents. However, one boy in particular was not paying attention to Mrs. S’s instructions, and drawing the house however he wanted- finally scribbling all over the page at the end. After class, I spoke to Mrs. S about this and she mentioned that the student does this because he has no confidence- he rather not try. I am starting to take particular note of these instances and I am going to do everything I can by the end of my practicum to help the student notice his potential. It will take some time, but I believe trust is the first thing that needs to be accomplished with these students, and I am already starting to see they are warming up to me. One of my practicum students saw me in the hall on Friday and ran up to me and gave me a huge hug. It made me feel really special! I can’t wait to get into the classroom full-time on Monday…

Reflection Report: Observations from Practicum (Day 3) – October 22, 2015

 

It was great to finally settle into Ms. S’s class today. When I first arrived, I had the opportunity to chat with her and the EA, Ms. G. We went over the class name sheet and spoke about the allergies that students have. We also discussed the daily agendas which I thought was very helpful so I could get a sense of the routine. It was also great to learn more about the classroom and where the locations of reading books, puzzles, calendars and other daily activities were situated. By the end of the day, I had a better understanding of where everything was and the flow of the classroom. When the bell rang, the children got settled into their seats swiftly and they began the class with planners open on their desks. While they listened to the morning music, they worked on some drawing for the first 15 minutes of the day (this is the typical outline for every morning) and I can appreciate the idea of routine. After this quiet work time, they moved onto the carpet and worked on their daily calendar exercise which is directed by that day’s VIP. Every day they have a new VIP who takes on the role of helping the class. Ms. S also tied in some math exercises with the calendar time- asking the children to count the number of days they had been in school for, and what day of the week it was. They then transitioned into “Simon Says.”

The first lesson of the day was math, and we brought out the 10-frame kits with blue and red coins. Ms. S led the children through a series of adding and subtracting questions and they were able to show their work as a visual representation on the 10-frame. Ms. S was consistently monitoring the children’s ability to regulate and had to repeatedly ask some of the students if they were in “the growth mindset” for learning. For the most part, the students were very well-behaved, and I was able to sit with them on the carpet and discover their strengths. I was also able to take some time with another student who has some learning difficulties, and we worked on some problems together. Another aspect of Ms. S’s teaching that I found very powerful was that she reflects on those that make mistakes, and positively reinforces that it’s okay to make them- otherwise we wouldn’t be able to become better learners. She continually praised excellence and encouraged those that were struggling. If she called on someone to answer a question and there was a long pause in their answer, she would move on to the next student to see how they might be able to help answer the question. I thought it was important that she didn’t wait too long for the answer, as we have come to understand that the child may feel anxious or fearful of being put on the spot- we don’t want the child to feel negatively about not having the answer right away.

After recess, the students went over to the gym and had class with another teacher. This gave Ms. S and I had some time to plan for the following day’s class activities. I helped her organize some writing books for a spelling lesson, and we spoke about the parent teacher conferences that were happening during the afternoon hours. I was fortunate enough to be able to stay with Ms. S and listen in on some of the parent-teacher conferences. I was amazed at how she articulated to the parents and the great things that she had to say about her students. For one student who was having some self-regulation difficulties, she explained to the parent her concerns, and brought over the boy to include him in the conversation. I thought it was a wonderful idea to bring in the student as well as the parent- it allowed for a more open conversation and was not “secretive” by any means. This brought me back to my school days and I realized that I never had the opportunity to meet with my parents and teacher collectively during interviews. I really enjoyed listening to their conversations and it gave me a great insight to what future interview will hold. Today was a success, and I am really looking forward to my 2 week practicum!

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