Blog Post #4

Blog Post #4

In the classroom I was in this week, I noticed many ways in which the teacher I was cooperating with was both effective in engaging students and also ways in which activities could be more engaging. One way my teacher engaged her students was by using technology. She began the class period by having one select "student of the day" go up to the smart board and sort information about what was going on that day, and different aspects about what they had previously learned. This not only engaged the student at the board but also the whole class as they helped their classmate succeed. Another way my teacher engaged the students was by using project based learning. The students after each unit, would create a project demonstrating what they had learned. For example when I was there they were studying bugs. For their project at the end of the course they were to make a life size bug from certain materials and label the type of bug they made. Another way my teacher engaged students was by adding action to regular activities. The teacher I had had one student also share an item with the class for sharing time. She then incorporated their object into something they were learning that day. For example the student I saw brought in a stuffed animal. She then applied this to a certain subject such as science or something that they had learned about previously. This showed that the students could apply what they had learned to everyday life. One activity that was not engaging was when the teacher told the students to take our their warm up booklets. This booklet had a variety of activities the students did, yet it was hard to focus the students or help them because they were all in very different places. Most students did 2-3 pages then were instructed to have free time. In my opinion this did not help the students, and surely made them rush through assignments for free time. I do not think this was engaging. To be more engaging I believe they could work in small groups on the same page or have the teacher do one page with them and let them do the next alone. I also believe they could create  a game out of this activity. All in all, the class was fairly engaged and I believe my teacher had a very engaging lesson.

Blog #3

Blog Post #3

1. What does the cooperative teacher do to establish a positive relationship with each student?   The classroom I was in this week had a substitute teacher. Yet there was one teacher that came in to help with classroom management who seemed to have a very good relationship with most students. This teacher started by going around the room and asking how each students day had been and starting them off by giving them a high five. This routine helped the students to trust her and to look at her as more of a friend than a teacher.

2. What clear routines are established in the classroom?  How do they support a productive learning environment? One routine I noticed in the classroom I was in was that the students had all been taught to raise their hands with a different amount of fingers to say what they needed. For example if a student needed to use the restroom they would put up a number 1. The teacher would then go over to their desk assess their work and let them go to the bathroom, or do  whatever they needed. This routine established order and kept the classroom calm. This also established a productive learning environment because they were silent while doing this and knew that before they could go do the thing desired their work would be assessed. Another routine the teacher had was saying a phrase such as hey class, and the class would stop what they were doing and answer hey teacher. This routine helped when it was getting too rowdy and also helped so the teacher could explain assignments and other things.

  
3. What has your cooperative teacher done to make students feel loved and safe?
 To make students feel loved and safe, the teacher established a good relationship with the students and was able to establish classroom rules which helped the students to know what was and wasn't acceptable. The teacher also has set emergency rules to help the students know what to do in case of emergency.