CBO Discussion

Kelsey and I both were types of mentors for our CBO experience. I was a mentor and * Middle School and she was a math tutor for a young boy. For this blog I am going to be talking more about my experience with my student at *. My menti seemed to have some family problems. She didn't live with her mother but occasionally saw her but her and her brother lived with her father. She always talks about how his brother is a trouble maker and that she is nervous to go to High School because she doesn't want her teachers to think less of her because of who her brother is. She told me that she was a little dyslexic and that she struggled in school because of it. I noticed this a lot during our interactions. We would play hang man a lot and for example one of her sentences was "I watch my grandma and my cousin get their nails done" but she spelled "I wach my gramma and my cosin get there nales done" I thought that the best way to address her spelling issues was to correct them in a positive way. So when ever we played I just made a list of her words spelled correctly so she could try and remember them. To be perfectly honest sometimes my menti annoyed me and it was a struggle to be a good mentor but I just kept telling myself that this is reality and I might not like all my students 100% of the time but I have to be a good role model and show them the best teacher they deserve and I when my menti annoyed me I just over came my frustrations and sucked it up and kept a smile on my face. I had to adjust my lenses for her. My student was over weight and she mentioned many times that kids made fun of her in school and I had a hard time dealing with this issue and what would be the correct way to go about this issue. I tried to tell her that certain people are mean and that as long as she was happy she shouldn't care what others say but if it ever bothered her a lot then she should talk to a teacher or a school counselor about it. Over all I think I got a lot out of this in what to expect as a teacher dealing with students who do not have the perfect life style or do not have any learning disabilities. The one thing I wished I had for this mentoring position was some kind of training so that I could have been more helpful to my menti and would have had more time to work with her.

Last Blog :)

While talking to my teacher I asked her what the greatest demands are that she faces and how these demands impact her teaching on a day to day basis. While talking with her she said that her biggest struggle was the different levels that every student in her class was at. It is so hard to be teaching a math lesson knowing that half the class is lost and not being able to go and work with them because then the other half of the class would be unattended. It is so difficult to know that some of the students in her class are not even at a second grade reading level and they are getting ready to move on to the fourth grade. It makes things difficult but it allows for the teacher to get creative with her teaching. She needs to find ways of explaining things so that every student understands and gets hands on understanding. She uses a program called GLAD that helps ESL learners and which really helps her class as a whole. Something else that makes these issues better is having us as aids because they she utilizes us and has us bring kids aside and work on math, reading, and writing that they are struggling with. This way all her students are able to stay at a closer pace with one another. :)

Bloom's Taxonomy of Questions Observation

When I observed my class I notice a lot of different things. It was hard to observe for the Bloom's Taxonomy issues because she was giving instructions on writing their pen pal letters and it is something they have been doing the whole year so they are expected to understand what needs to be done. But it seems that their pen pal letters were not at the level they were needing to be for writing grades. The teacher made a new rubric for them that was meant to be a lot clearer. She ended up going over all the aspects of the new rubric and showing that what is expected for a third grader and what is not expected. After that she split them up into two groups and there was another teacher there to help for the activity and the two different groups worked on writing the ideal paragraph for them to be writing and they worked together to do all the brainstorming and coming together to write the paragraphs. This was meant to help them visually see what was expected.
While I was observing though I did notice a lot of things that I thought would be important to address with my fellow bloggers. :) I noticed that a lot of times the students do not really pay attention to the directions if someone else is doing something else. A lot of times they will say something like "Lauren doesn't have her paper with her!" In a way to tatal-tail and then while they are doing it the miss the instructions or disrupt the class. But the problem with this is the teacher does not really do anything about it and just ignores it but I think it is important to address these issues in the class so that the students know it is not appropriate. I have noticed a lot that the teacher needs to do a better job of managing her class and make sure that the students are being respectful and appropriate.
Back to the Bloom's Taxonomy of Questions I did find that in the category of KNOWLEDGE: the teacher handed out the new writing rubric so every student would see it and have it. In the category of COMPREHENSION: It was hard to see if the class was comprehending, they go off in groups and do what they are told but do not really know why it seems. In the category of APPLICATION: they have worked on pen-pals all year long so they should know and understand what to be doing and what is expected of them. In the category of ANALYSIS: they brainstormed ideas on what makes a good paragraph and then they were sent to go write their own paragraphs. In the category of SYNTHESIS: they do try to build newer and stronger patterns when it comes to their pen pal writings--incorporating the new things on the rubric. And finally in the category of EVALUATION: the teacher will be using the new rubric to grade their writing and see if the students got the idea of it.

Lesson Clarity

I feel like my teacher is very good about making her lessons clear to the class. She always calls them to their front carpet and the kids know that the front carpet is for information and the back carpet is for sharing. She has taught them well so that they know what to expect and how to behave. When the class is at the front carpet she makes sure not to start talking until everyone is quiet and is paying attention to her. She always introduces the lesson and the idea of the lesson and with this she may give a few examples if needed. What I like most is that she has the class repeat it after her so that she knows they are all listening and paying attention. What I think is important that I like that she does is she lets the class ask questions after she has had them repeat it so that there is no confusion after when it is time to work. I feel that my teacher is very strong when it comes to teaching and telling a lesson. And I also like to see that she has the class trained well so they know what to do when being told something new. :)

First observation...

My teacher does a good job of getting her classes attention. When she wants to announce something to them and they are busy at work she raises her hand and covers her mouth and everyone else copies her until their is absolute silence. And when a student is acting up or behaving well she has a board with their names on it and they are able to move their names up and down so they can see how they are behaving. Sometimes I notice though that when the students are silent reading they are goofing off or doing something else and it is hard to keep track of that. I hope there is a way for me to learn how to better manage that for when I become a teacher!! Any thoughts or have your teachers done anything that seems to work well? I would really love some input! :)

Philosophy

Today I interviewed my teacher about her philosophy of teaching. She felt it was important to focus on the whole child. To create a kid who can survive in the world and can have conversations with people and be part of a society. She wants her students to feel safe and comfortable so they can communicate with people and get to know them. She believes you need to be comfortable and feel safe before you can understand the educational portions of life.
And so far my aiding in her class room is going well and I like all the children :)

Today is my first time ever blogging and I do not really know what I am doing! This will take me a while to get used to...But I am looking forward to begin my aiding in a third grade class because I interned in a third grade class in my senior year of high school and I loved being in the third grade class. I feel it is the perfect grade level for me! :) I am very excited to get into the classes and get started!