April 21, 2011

Last Thursday I was only able to be in the classroom for half an hour because I had to come back to my own school to register for the AP tests I am taking this year. Therefore, I was only there long enough to watch them grade their homework and help with that. But I do remember from a couple of months ago, the teacher assigned a project as an alternative assessment for them. This project consisted of writing their names in hieroglyphs. They were graded on the accuracy of their interpretations of the glyphs and how creative they could make their posters. Although not a huge project this gave the students an alternative to taking a test and were able to use their imaginations and creativity. I enjoyed looking at all the different ideas they came up with the next time I went.

April 14, 2011

Each day I go to the middle school is a new experience and I learn something new. Yesterday, the students worked on vocabulary words. They basically copied down definitions. This was good for them to learn what all the words mean, however the students were not very focused. It shocked me how much these students just don't care about there work. I worked with one student in particular and the only way he did his work was if I was sitting right there next to him showing him what to write. It was the only way I could keep him focused. This is the new unit they are starting as they took a test last Thursday. They will held accountable for the vocabulary words they learned yesterday and will be assessed on how well they know them. There are different ways to asses a students knowledge. The most common way to asses a students knowledge is to give them a test. This shows a teacher what all the student has learned.

April 7, 2011

When I went to the middle school yesterday they had a test planned. The test was over Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. The teacher said I could just walk around and help students where needed, just you can't give them the answers. I noticed one boy,that she had told me previously is a little slow, was not really working and hadn't gotten very far. So I sat down with him and just read each question for him and he answered them. It seemed like he knew the information but just needed a little help to focus or read the questions. I was really happy I could help him and hope that me reading him the questions helped him to understand and do better than he would have originally. Also there was a new teacher in there today. She is the permanent sub for the special education teacher that retired last week. She seemed really nice. I can't wait until next week when I get to help again.

March 31, 2011

I still enjoy helping at the middle school. It has been a joy to see the way a middle school class runs. The students finished filling out the charts they had made in days previous. Then they studied for a quiz they were about to have. While they were studying I worked with a couple of them helping them to study. This gave me a chance to have some personal interaction with the students. One thing that has become apparent to me through watching this class is how many students don't care about the class and are disrespectful to the teacher and disrupting the class. These students need set structure from the beginning of the school year so they know that there are rules that must be followed. When it comes to students who have special needs there is a second teacher in the classroom who specializes in this. She works specifically with those designated students and modify there tests and quizzes to fit their abilities. However, this teacher retired yesterday for family reasons. This means that the main teacher will have to modify her normal procedures to cover the other teachers duties as well.

March 24, 2011

It felt like I hadn't been back too that class in forever, but at the same time like I'm there all the time. I got to work with a group of students out in the hall yesterday. We read through the article and then went through and answered all the questions. They all put effort into the work and it was cool to work with them personally. Each time I go there the teacher gives me bigger things to help with. This week we talked about teaching methods, what teachers should and should not do. One thing they shouldn't do is grade on a curve. It is not fair for all the students. Rather teachers should grade by percentages and how acurate each individual student is. We talked about facts, concepts, thinking and problem solving, and physical and manipulative skills. We discussed the methods of direct and indirect teaching and the positive and negative sides to both. Another thing we talked about is how teachers should give tests not for the grade but to make sure the students understand the information.

March 10, 2011

Yesterday at the middle school the kids took a CPQ. This means there wasn't really a lesson or objective. However, I thought of an objective that could work. Given a CPQ the student will demonstrate their knowledge of reading maps and charts and recalling facts about religion by answering the questions to the best of their knowledge with 85% accuracy. The class consisted of reviewing for this CPQ then going ahead and taking the CPQ. While they took this quiz I graded their homework. It was actually kinda fun. It was interesting to see which students tried on their homework and who didn't really care. A major difference I've seen between elementary and middle school is in middle school the students are very vocal and have opinions. In elementary school they seem to go more along with whatever the teacher says.

Feburary 24, 2011

While at the middle school yesterday I was more involved in the class. It was a lot of fun. Towards the end of class the teacher seperated the kids into three goups. One of those groups I got to lead. I worked through the worksheet with them and helped them to understand what they were doing. This helped me to interact with them individually. I enjoyed listening to them speak their opinions on the subject they were learning.