Week 5 Blog

      So hard to believe I've already been in Education 250 for over a month! Time is flying but I am learning so much and very grateful. I got lucky with the professors I got this semester because I know a lot of kids who say they came out of their first education class not really sure about a lot of things and did not feel confident about their abilities to write a lesson plan. I know that when I leave this class that will not be my reality! I already am feeling more confident about my education knowledge and am feeling more certain about what grade levels I want to teach. I had the super neat opportunity to observe a 6th grade Social Studies class on Monday. This was actually much different than I thought it would be. I expected a much more rowdy bunch than the kids I observed. The teacher was calm, cool, and collected and never had to be firm with the kids. They were respectful and were eager and ready to take notes. I know that this is probably not always the case, but it was nice to see kids that age acting so mature. The maturity level of the middle grades is something very different from elementary.
        I think some of the lesson planing might be easier because the kids are old enough to have real conversations with. They were studying Mesopotamia and used GRAPES which is an acronym to take their notes and prepare for their test. I think I would like to bring something like that into my future classroom because it looked like a really neat way to help students organize their notes in an easy format. The teacher was very accommodating to every child and that was prominent in my observation. Before the notes began she had a child who had a hard time seeing up to the front of the room. She was also very engaging when she asked the students questions. It was clear that she was fluent in the NCSCOS. She had the learning target written on the board. This day it was "I can explain the direct and indirect characterization of characteristics in a text or a video. the SS was "I can establish the GRAPES of Mesopotamia. This made it clear to the kids what they were learning this specific day and was written in an easy to understand way.
        An aspect from this learning experience that I will try to take into my future classroom is the way the teacher smoothly transitioned form one topic to the next without losing the students full range of attention. I know this takes work to achieve fully but I am in awe of teachers who can accomplish it well. Middle schoolers are a whole new world compared to elementary schoolers but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

GRAPES video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bee5nHE9mgI

Week 4 Blog

        This week was crazy as far as teachable moments and real life observation in the classroom. I very much enjoyed the experience to get to observe a real kindergarten classroom and be exposed to a real-life learning environment. In just an hour, I learned techniques that I will carry with me and not carry with me into my future classroom. I got to see how one teacher had her class participate in literature stations and incorporate fun activities so that students were engaged and present the entire time. Instead of using "time-out" this teacher had a single station called "refocus." The student was sent here when they did not obey after a certain number of times. I loved getting to see this classroom and I can't wait to keep learning new ways I can make my future classroom the best it can be.
We did a group project this week about Relevancy and Methodology in education. This project was very beneficial to me. I learned new ways that teachers can keep learning relevant. One way to do this is to make sure you are "up to date with the time." This includes technology and just being plugged into the community your kids are exposed to. By doing this, you keep learning relevant for your students and help them relate better to you.

Blog 3

     This week the main focus was understanding the Philosophies of Education. We were taught the 4 C's to help us understand the concepts. "Over the years it became clear that the framework was too long and complicated. To resolve this issue, we interviewed leaders of all kinds to determine which of the 21st century skills were the most important for K-12 education. There was near unanimity that four specific skills were the most important. They became known as the “Four Cs”:"

• critical thinking,
• communication,
• collaboration, and
• creativity. 

These concepts are critical forming a smooth running and intelligent learning environment for students. My group focused on the philosophy of social reconstructionism. Theodore Brameld (1904-1987) was the founder of social reconstructionism. This theory is about helping students become better people in and outside the classroom and focuses on real world problems. It helps students become better people. It is a teachers responsibility to help their students become the best people in society that they can be. Teachers are leaders and sometimes spend more time with children than their parents can. This is why being a good, positive, and  kind role model is so vital. I really think this is one of the most important philosophies to bring into a classroom and I love learning about these different famous philosophers.

Week 2

This week in class was very impacting for me! I came across ideas and perspectives that really had me thinking in a new way and challenged previous ideas I had. The hot topic this week was a big milestone for our class to touch on. We began to learn how to write lesson plans. As a student, you only get to look at the classroom from one side most of the time. Learning how to begin to write lesson plans was huge for me. It is so much more work than you would think! Getting students to think creatively and intuitively, while trying to incorporate the North Carolina Common Core Standards is a tasking job. When done correctly, a student will be engaged, eager, and happy to be soaking up knowledge! I love the example that Clarker has shown our class by always being prepared. It is something I will take into my future classroom for sure especially when it comes to lesson planning. The farther planning is done in advance the better, because the more prepared you are, the better you will have a hold of your class and the better you will be able to invest in teaching the best and most creative lesson possible.

     Clarker taught us about the Six-Point Lesson Plan in the form of a podcast video. This teaching style is called the "Walking Classroom." I began to work on my first lesson plan and this video helped me learn in a way that was fun, new, got my blood flowing, and helped me focus in a new way. I love being able to learn at my own pace and I think the Walking Classroom Model will be something I would love to incorporate into my future classroom. Having a recording helps audible learners be able to go back and listen to something again and memorize it in a way that suits them so much better than scrambling to keep up with notes on a Power-Point. While researching the Walking Classroom model, I came across an interesting piece of research.

 
 A study from the University of Illinois states that there was a significantly incresed amount of brain activity going on when a student was actively moving their body and not sitting idle for a prolonged period of time, not engaged. I think this is so cool because the Walking Classroom is not only interesting and makes learning more fun, it is also better for your body and mind!