Day 7 (Sept 28 Thu)
The day went by very fast today. I arrived about 7:15am as usual and found Karen sitting at her desk already. She said that her kids were asleep when she left - that was why she was earlier than usual. It was a good time because we shared a little about the expectations of the advisor's role. She mentioned about Matt having to want to talk to her and how she dreaded additional time needed for those meetings. I wasn't too sure what she meant or what Matt had in mind but she told me at the end of the day that they cleared up and Matt had only wanted to check-in with her.
I didn't teach much today but played did a lot of observations. In my own class, I played the role of a 'scribe'. I found that Karen was always talking and asking the students to take down notes themselves and rarely does she go to the blackboard to write. I felt that it was a disadvantage for students who were visual-learners and decided to take it upon myself to try to accomodate to the visual-learners. Went to the blackboard and wrote down the things that Karen was teaching the class. I drew up the axes for coordinate graph and labeled the 'ticks' and 'intervals', as well as wrote out the meaning of what each of these represented. It was hard for the kids to understand the concept of plotting a single point to represent two variables but they definitely picked it up at the end of the day. Thumbs up from a large number of students indicated that most students did. If I could do the lesson again, perhaps I would discuss with Karen the possibility of including pre-drawn charts and arranging such that the blackboard was not occupied with the schedule for class 310 so that students had better visual aids and the teacher would have better spacing with regards to "scribbling" on the blackboard.
A second visit to Ms. Callen's class today proved that those double doors that separated the AWCs and the regular ed sheltered a totally different environment and set of students. They were all 6th graders but the way things were taught and the atmosphere of learning differed from those of the AWCs. Students seemed unwilling to pay attention and the teachers (and teacher interns) had a hard time getting everyone to be on the same train of thought. There were in total 5 adults in the classroom (including me) - a special ed teacher, a para-professional, Ms Callen and a teacher intern. Everything was structured. Each student knew his/her responsibility and knew what was required every time the lesson began, during the lesson itself and at the end of the lesson. Students in the classes I co-teach with Karen were given the automony to go to the bathroom (they also knew of the procedures) and knew that they needed to raise their hands and wait to be called upon before they could have their questions and concerns put forth in class. Here, the students called out answers and have a harder time listening to the teachers' instructions. I do find that these teachers and para-professionals alike, share a common trait - patience. If there was anything these teachers were capable of, it was that they displayed a larger heart and love for children.
I didn't teach much today but played did a lot of observations. In my own class, I played the role of a 'scribe'. I found that Karen was always talking and asking the students to take down notes themselves and rarely does she go to the blackboard to write. I felt that it was a disadvantage for students who were visual-learners and decided to take it upon myself to try to accomodate to the visual-learners. Went to the blackboard and wrote down the things that Karen was teaching the class. I drew up the axes for coordinate graph and labeled the 'ticks' and 'intervals', as well as wrote out the meaning of what each of these represented. It was hard for the kids to understand the concept of plotting a single point to represent two variables but they definitely picked it up at the end of the day. Thumbs up from a large number of students indicated that most students did. If I could do the lesson again, perhaps I would discuss with Karen the possibility of including pre-drawn charts and arranging such that the blackboard was not occupied with the schedule for class 310 so that students had better visual aids and the teacher would have better spacing with regards to "scribbling" on the blackboard.
A second visit to Ms. Callen's class today proved that those double doors that separated the AWCs and the regular ed sheltered a totally different environment and set of students. They were all 6th graders but the way things were taught and the atmosphere of learning differed from those of the AWCs. Students seemed unwilling to pay attention and the teachers (and teacher interns) had a hard time getting everyone to be on the same train of thought. There were in total 5 adults in the classroom (including me) - a special ed teacher, a para-professional, Ms Callen and a teacher intern. Everything was structured. Each student knew his/her responsibility and knew what was required every time the lesson began, during the lesson itself and at the end of the lesson. Students in the classes I co-teach with Karen were given the automony to go to the bathroom (they also knew of the procedures) and knew that they needed to raise their hands and wait to be called upon before they could have their questions and concerns put forth in class. Here, the students called out answers and have a harder time listening to the teachers' instructions. I do find that these teachers and para-professionals alike, share a common trait - patience. If there was anything these teachers were capable of, it was that they displayed a larger heart and love for children.
posted by sarabel @ 4:16 PM
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