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What is the most important thing I have learned doing my Field Work?

My field work taught me about all the different aspects of teaching, and how important it is to have them all work together to create a good learning environment for the students. There's no one silver bullet that will make you a great teacher. There are so many different aspects and important factors you have to master. An elementary school teacher is basically a "jack of all trades"- they do it all!

One aspect that stuck out to me was the importance of routines and organization. To have things go smoothly day by day, there has to be a routine established at the beginning of the year. Although the students don't always 100% follow the routine every single day of the year, the routine will allow for structure and expectations to remain the same. This will allow the teacher to rely on this as the backbone of their teaching adjust everything else around it. I was very impressed with what I saw in my fieldwork classrooms. However, I know there are other classrooms out there that are not always that way. It just seems like a "no brainer" to me! But to others it doesn't come as naturally. I truly learned the importance of establishing expectations and routines  while I did my field work and I am excited to carry that into my classroom one day!

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• What are the school rules/classroom rules and how are they enforced?
• What are the procedures the teacher uses to make everything run smoothly in the class?

Mrs. Wilson has lots of classroom rules. She told me how she is a strict teacher, but when the students obey, everybody learns, and everybody has fun. Mrs. Wilson has her class on a routine. Each student has known the expectations from the beginning of the school year and it's clear they understand what to do. When they enter the classroom, they but their backpacks away and put their chair back at the desk. They begin their morning work and when they finish, they know to either do missing work or, if all their work is done, they may silently read. When it is time for announcements and the pledge, they all stop what they are doing and participate. Mrs. Wilson only has to occasionally redirect the more talkative students, and the whole day runs smoothly because the beginning sets the mood for the whole day. 

She also has class jobs that rotate through the students. Those include things like "equipment manager" whose job is to bring all the equipment in and out for recess. There is also a "MVP" (her classroom is sport themed) and the MVP is the first person Mrs. Wilson calls on to help her with whatever she needs, whether it's handing out papers or running an errand. She also has a job for someone to pick up papers and keep the classroom neat.These jobs are effective because she makes the expectations clear and the students know what to do. 

Mrs. Wilson has a HUGE variety of positive reinforces in her classroom. One that I really liked was the autograph board.  If a student does something good, they may sign their name on a small square with a number inside. When all the squares are full, she has another teacher at random select a number and the student whose name is on that number receives a prize. She has  "think sheet" (similar to timeout) that a student must fill out if there are any recurring issues. Overall, the behavior in Mrs. Wilson's classroom is great due to her efforts to establish expectations and be consistent in her rewards and consequences. 

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• What strategies does the teacher use to actively engage the students? How effective are these?

I've seen some very creative ways that Mrs. Wilson and Mrs Patten ( another 6th grade teacher I've observed during my field work)  have engaged their students. One time I watched as Mrs. Wilson did a math review. She had all the students write a math problem on their paper. She instructed them not do the math problem, just write it. Then she had them rip the paper out of their notebooks, crumple it up, and then go to either side of the room. Then she said, "Let it snow! " and all the kids threw their crumpled up "snow balls" into the air towards opposite ends of the classroom. The students had so much fun throwing their papers! It was fun to watch them get so excited. Then she got their attention again, and asked them to find a paper on the ground, pick it up, uncrumple it and make sure it isn't theirs, and then do the first step of the problem. Following the first step, she had them crumple the paper again, throw it across the room again, and then grab another one and finish the problem. The students didn't really seem to notice they were doing math because they were having so much fun doing the activity. They were all engaged and excited! It was neat to see how effective it was to help them review the steps of a math problem and prepare for their year end test. 

In Mrs. Patten's room, she did somewhat of a "morning meeting". Although it was in the afternoon, she had all the students move their desks aside and arrange their chairs in a circle. She sat in the circle with them, and asked them questions about how they felt their school year had gone. She asked for feedback as a teacher, she asked for feedback as students, and she asked what they liked or didn't like. It was neat how the discussion opened up and the students were able to share their thoughts and feelings as they drew close to the end of the year. Especially since these are 6th graders aren't coming back to elementary school and will be moving on, they certainly had a lot to say. You could feel the since of open community that Mrs. Patten had built with the students, and it was awesome. 

You could tell both of these efforts to engage the students were effective. The students were listening, following along, making comments, participating, and smiling. The learning environments were wonderful, and these teachers are excellent role models.

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I think the most important role a teacher plays is that of a good example. These children are around one individual 6 hours 5 days a week! They are bound to pick up on things. More than just learning the curriculum, these students are seeing how their teacher faces difficulties, is flexible with the changing of plans, and also they are picking up on how their teacher feels about them. A teacher's impact can not be quantified. It is endless in scope and infinite in possibilities. A teacher's belief in a child can change that child's life. Maybe that child will start believing in themselves, too. And they will follow the teacher's example and start believing in others as well. And from there it cascades into a beautiful positive impact on the world. And it all started with a  teacher's example. 

The most challenging role a teacher plays is that of diciplinator. (Is that a word? Spell check doesn't think so. But I think it fits what I'm trying to say, so there it will stay.) I think it would be extremely difficult to have to be the one to enforce the rules, and give negative consequences when students do not obey. Teachers are NOT the student's mothers, but the ones who behave badly probably aren't getting enough guidance and support at home, and so that direction has to come from the teacher. But as a teacher and not their mother, it's much more difficult to help the students learn essential social skills and help them behave than it would be otherwise. It places a huge burden on the teachers and it effects the learning of other students when students act out. It's an issue that doesn't have a particular one size fits all solution, and dealing with it on a case by case basis sounds extremely challenging. Mrs. Wilson has spoken to me multiple times about how difficult it can be to help a student learn to behave. She knows this student has no real support or guidance from home, and it's sad for her to try the best she can and see no improvement. It sounds discouraging, frustrating, and heartbreaking.I can't imagine a job much more difficult than that of a teacher's job to discipline the students. 

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Mrs. Wilson stays after school at least 1-2 hours (or more) every school day to do lesson plans, grade papers, and coordinate with other teachers. I stayed after school one day to help her grade some science tests. It took so much longer than I thought it was going to! I found myself losing steam quickly- especially since I had helped throughout the afternoon in the class. She played some relaxing music, and she settled in to add lots of grades into the computer. She had me record the scores for the tests, I put the tests in number order (each student had a number to keep things organized). Mrs. Wilson also had me return some previous assignments back to the students in their cubbies. I learned there is a lot of organization and alphabetizing and coordinating that goes on behind the scenes for teachers. 

As for testing, Mrs. Wilson's class had just completed (or tried to complete) the new RISE testing from the State. She explained to me about all the problems they had trying to complete the testing. Mostly due to technical difficulties, she was disappointed and frustrated in the State School Board for moving forward with a test that was not ready to actually access what the students have learned. In the past, Mrs. Wilson's classes have always scored very well on end of year testing, but this year the tests will not be considered at all due to the technical difficulties. The normal unit exams for the various subjects are generally put together by herself and the other teachers based on the Common Core (such as the science test I helped grade). Overall, Mrs. Wilson doesn't have a problem with testing in general, but the feels like it needs to be done in a professional manner in a way that can more closely assess what the students have learned.  

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Modifications for Exceptional Learners

In Mrs. Wilson's classroom, she has a few exceptional students. There are many different ways she supports these students, and many different modifications she makes. As I was helping grade papers, she gave me special instructions on how to grade certain student's homework/ morning work. For some, she only required them to do half the amount of work, and still gain full points. She explained to me that these students were doing their full effort to complete this work, and because of their mental capacity they can't do much more. If they do their best, give them full points.

 There were other ways these exceptional students get the help they need. They have various "pull out" classes. Mrs. Wilson said that they try and incorporate them as much as they can with the rest of the class, but for some things they have to go another class. I was able to observe in these other classes. There is much more one on one help, as in smaller groups (2-4 students per one teacher) the students are able to more easily focus and get questions answered. These pull out classes were for the fundamentals in reading, writing, and math. I feel like having these classes really is beneficial for the students, and allows them to learn in a better environment. Keeping them as much as possible in the "home room" classroom also allows them to develop their social maturity and not feel completely ostracized or left out. Overall I learned a lot about the various ways teachers help those who are exceptional students. 

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One on One Experience 

I had a wonderful opportunity to work one on one with an ELL learner. Elise (name changed) has moved here from Mexico, and speaks very little English. She needs extra help with reading and writing, and doesn't communicate much. Mrs. Wilson had me pull her aside to the back table and do some reading exercises with her while rest of the class worked on their guided reading. We read a simple book (about 1st grade level). She did very well- but got easily confused on words like "looked". We practiced the words she struggled with, and then I spoke some sight words aloud to her and she had to write them down. Because I spoke a little Spanish to her, she opened up to me. Mrs Wilson said she hasn't gotten that far with Elise so quickly in one sitting before, and was very impressed. I was grateful for the opportunity to work with her, especially since her level is so different from the other 6th grade students. 

This experience brought to my mind the impact that diversity can have in our classrooms. We do not discriminate, we do not leave any children out. Everyone deserves an education. Just like those who fought for desegregation in schools, we know that including all students is what is right and fair. We see the impact of diversity and inclusion in our schools today. Their efforts have lead to so many more kids being included and learning in ways they maybe would not have. I am grateful for those who stood up for what they believed in, and brought all children together to learn.