About My Placement Experience
To say the least, this experience was one of my favourite things so far about my university career. It allowed me to open myself and mind to the range of possibilities a teacher gets to experience on a day-to-day basis along with a huge variety of diversity within the school and classroom. I really enjoyed this placement because it solidified my choice on becoming a teacher. It felt natural to be in the classroom working with students on accomplishing their academics and building those desired student-teacher relationships. I definitely learned quite a bit being in my placement including classroom management and different kinds of student needs. Overall, I am glad to say that my experience was fantastic and I cannot wait for the next time I get to be in a classroom!
A Few of My Field Logs
Week #1- Students and Learning Environment
This morning I got to experience my first day out in the field. I’m in a classroom that is dedicated to math where my cooperating teacher teaches grades 1-6 throughout the day.
The day started with us going to the younger students’ doors to welcome them into the school with a “hug line”. Every day the teachers welcome the students with a hug which helps set the tone for the day. At first, I was a little shocked because my school never did that but I soon understood why they do it, it is so welcoming! My cooperative teacher has a half hour prep every Monday morning when we arrive so she had arranged for us to be placed into the Kindergarten classroom. I personally love young children and I was super comfortable in the Kindergarten classroom. Like most Kindergarten classrooms it was colourful, filled with toys and educational implementations, rugs, whiteboards, tables instead of desks and lockers for jackets.
The classroom I will be in for most of my placement is right beside the main doors of the school. It is filled with tables for the students, teacher, and teacher aid to work at. They have a section of their room filled with shelves and bins of math games, blocks, cubes, Lego, and other toys to use for creating math games, problems, and working on math skills. They have a cubby area for their tool boxes which they use during class time to help them with their math problems and is filled with pencils, erasers, and many math tools to help them such as number lines, charts, and tables. At the back of the classroom there is a board filled with the student’s names and what tasks they have to complete during that class. The teacher uses an iPad in class to help students with math problems at home. She uses the app Seesaw to create videos, recordings, pictures, and activities to help the students with work at home and to help parents understand the concepts when assisting their children. This setting is so different from my elementary school. In grades 1 and up we used individual desks, whereas in this elementary school, they don’t have individual desks at all, unless requested by the teacher for an individual student who may need that space to themselves. The school has an assigned elementary math teacher who teaches math to grades 1-6 which I think is very different and rare. Most elementary schools, including mine, didn’t have different teachers for different subjects, we just had one teacher who taught everything but gym and music. When I was younger we didn’t have things like iPads or apps so seeing those tools in school is very different than my elementary education. I do think the classroom is a very well-organized learning environment that I would definitely use aspects from in the future.
Today I got to help teach the grades 2/3 and 1/2 classes. I walked around the class and asked questions, provided assistance, and checked work for completion. During the grade 1/2 class a few grade sixes came in to present a math game where we danced and sang to a song about counting then worked on booklets individually. All the students were very kind and really enjoyed the extra help in the classroom. It was nice to be able to help them understand the concepts of their work and help them complete problems they were stuck on. I was really nervous to go to my placement because I was scared that I wouldn’t like it or that this wouldn’t be for me but I definitely think that it is now! I had a great time meeting the students and helping them out with their questions. The school and children are amazing and definitely helped me overcome my nervousness.
Week #3- Teachers and Knowledge
This week I got to experience another day out in the field and I still love it. I learned that there are many ways to teach a lesson or concept so that every student can accomplish the task and understand the concepts of the day. My placement is in a math room so I get to see my cooperative teacher use different techniques and ways to teach the students. Some children need a visual representation of the numbers whether that be a simple number line or the use of manipulatives like base-10 blocks or counters. Some of the other students need one on one time with the teacher or assistance from the EA or my placement partner and I. I did notice that some children won’t ask for help or won’t reach out in class discussions if they are stuck on a concept and that as a teacher or helper you need to keep your eyes out for the ones who need help but wont directly ask for it by asking them if you can assist them. My cooperative teacher has “I can” statements up on a bulletin board for all the students to see that she created from the curriculum. Her goal is to have all the students cover their required skills through math skills and what she calls facts. Fact are just the curriculum broken down into different skills the students work on such as multiplication, counting, representing numbers, and so on. She has created rounds, which I talked about on my first log, where students go to different stations to accomplish and practice their skills and techniques by creating patterns, recognizing numbers, and practicing their concepts on their own and one on one with a teacher or helper. All of these different ways help the many learners learn in an effective way. She does a group discussion and that is where she teaches her lesson for the day. During this lesson time it helps auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners learn the task at hand through her talking, engaging with the students, getting them involved, and demonstrating on the board.
I’ve noticed that the teachers in the school, not just my cooperative teacher, rely on each other for input and support with questions or help on a lesson. They have a LRT (learning resource teacher) at the school who helps my teacher and other teachers if they get stuck and need an extra eye or mind. I know that the teachers will talk about their ideas with each other and get a feel for what their peers think as well as provide their insight for other teachers’ ideas. I 100% believe that cooperation between teachers and other staff is a beneficial thing for everyone!
I definitely think that teachers provide their professional knowledge through a) their own experience, and b) through their peers’ experiences. To get a feel and understanding of what kind of teacher you want to be and what works best for you and your classroom or students you need to experience it for yourself whether that takes the first 5 years or takes you your whole career. Teachers also get their professional knowledge through their colleagues and peers experiences as well. When a teacher asks their peer for advice or help the peer can provide their knowledge and experiences to the teacher questioning them.
Mondays are crazy and many people don’t like them but having my placement on a Monday really gets my week going and I love it being on a Monday. This week I helped teach subtilizing strategies to a few of the students and helped them understand the concept of it. I also helped my cooperative teacher prep a few things in the morning which was a nice start to the day and allowed me to see a small glimpse into what goes into the creation of lessons and ideas. Most days are structured the same in terms of routine and the students rounds but there is definitely differences every day through the lessons and the student’s behavior. I really enjoy being at the school and I always look forward to going back in the following week.
Week #7 and #8- The Role of Technology and Final Reflections
Technology is widely used in my placement school. The school has carts of laptops and iPads which is shared among the student body. The teachers use iPads and computers everyday during lessons as well as videos, apps, websites, and other technology. My cooperative teacher uses a timer everyday with every class she teaches to keep track of time. She also uses an iPad during her whole group lessons. The whole school uses an app called Seesaw which allows the students to document and keep track of their work as well as access it all at home and work on it with their parents. Teachers use the app to document lessons and upload information and lessons so students and parents can access it. Parents can use it at home to monitor their child’s progress and use the information and lessons to help and aid their child in homework or any kind of questions they need answered. The iPads are also used in class to complete activities and share knowledge and concepts.
This week was my last week at my placement school. I’m so sad that it is over but I know that this is just the end of a chapter and that there will be more to come. Over my experiences out in the field I was able to watch and observe my cooperative teacher as well as get involved with the class. I picked up skills, tools, and resources to use in my future and have added them to my “toolbox”. When I first went to the school, I was so nervous and scared but my cooperative teacher and the rest of the school and staff were all so welcoming and kind and truly made this experience an amazing one. Although I haven’t taught a lesson yet I was able to teach mini lessons with small groups of students during one-on-one time as well as group work time. I also had the privileged to assess students as well which opened my eyes to the many ways of thinking that is out there. I got to experience a kinder class, a grade 3/4 class, an assembly, reading with individual students from all over the school, as well as the grades 1/2 and 2/3 that I saw every Monday in math class. I learnt a lot about myself and how I like to explain concepts or teach and how I should expand this to cover other kinds of teaching as well. I learnt from the students as much as they learnt from me. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience and I am so pleased with how it turned out. My cooperative teacher was incredible and was beyond nice. She answered any questions I had and was there when I needed a little more help. She commented only positive things to me and my field partner which really encouraged us every week.
I still have some questions and I will always come up with more throughout my journey on my path. I want to be able to incorporate technology into my classroom as well as become a more inclusive educator. I’m excited for the experiences to follow and hopefully can share them with others. This was an experience I will never forget and hopefully can one day provide to another student in this same position as I am in now. I will miss this experience but I am so glad I got to learn from it.