Field Experience
Final ECS Field Placement Reflection
As this semester draws to an end, so does my field placement. I am thankful for my cooperating teacher and his grade 3 class. They demonstrated what an inviting and hospitable classroom should look like and always made me feel welcome and part of their learning experience. Someday I hope to provide a creative and inviting classroom that my students and future ESC students will excel in.
For the last 9 weeks, my mentor has demonstrated calm collective teaching instructions while remaining engaging to the grade 3 students. I am thankful to receive an opportunity to learn and be a part of this teaching process in a hands-on environment. I believe the teacher’s influence on the classroom greatly affects the children’s academic outcomes. Working with the students at their academic level and providing a respectful and nurturing classroom will allow their confidence to grow. I will work to encourage success within the student’s development socially, emotionally, physically, and cognitively. I now have a better understanding of why attendance is so important to the retention and success of academics. I believe the integration of technology into the classroom can positively affect the students. The aid of educational applications and programs allows for more opportunities in academic subjects like literacy, science and mathematics. I like how technology interacts with the whiteboard, allowing for hands-on learning. I hope in the future I am granted the opportunity to become a Connected Educator. For now, I learn how to become a connected educator and connected classroom.
From this field placement, I learned that they are so many more sides to teaching than just shared knowledge. There are shared experiences and developmental milestones. Collaborative teaching with your peers and other professionals, providing shared knowledge and experiences. By working to meet the diverse needs of children in the classroom socially, cognitively, and physically, I can work to change the future for the better. This teacher and his classroom taught me more than I expected. The classroom environment is always adapting and with it so must the teacher, and therefore so will I. I look forward to continuing my education as an educator and look forward to bettering myself so I may better the future.
ESC 100 Field Placement Blogs
Week 1 – My field placement takes my learning experience to a grade 3 classroom of a community school within the city center. The learners I witnessed there are children. Simply put, they are the future. They are children, innocent by nature, and constantly absorbing their environment. The school is very large and aesthetically pleasing. Having been recently built, the building is very modern and offers high-tech learning throughout. The classrooms are very large, with shared learning areas connected by classrooms. I was fortunate to have field placement on a day there where we were scheduled to attend “Intro to Powwow” at the University. The children invited me and they were already talking about who would get to sit with me on the bus. How could I refuse? In truth, I chose to join them because I wanted more experience with the children.
Week 2 – I believe that the environment in which children are raised in will greatly affect their education process. If the teachers are given support from the staff and community they will have the greatest effects of enriching the lives of the students they teach. This school has been part of the Regina Catholic School Division for 91 years now. The school was rebuilt in 2017 and “they did their best to capture the traditions and culture from the original school, while been blessed with a beautiful new learning environment with the latest in technology.” (rcsd.ca) As an educator, it is important to know that the environment in which the students are being raised in better helps design a supportive structure to aid in their education. The staff is made up of roughly 60 individuals, all adding their style to the school, encompassing teachers, supportive teachers administrators, maintenance, nutrition staff, and community liaisons. The staff that work in this environment must have patience and a big heart for I believe they are making a huge difference in the lives of youth within the community.
Week 3 – I offered to take down last month’s display in the hallway. It delighted me to see all the students take on what a scarecrow should look like. The cooperating teacher had explained to me that even though the craft was a basic cut and paste project many students struggled on it. Reminding me that although they are all on the same developmental level, they have different stages of learning and producing their understanding of that knowledge. My cooperating teacher explained to me that, “the student’s outcome needs to come from the Saskatchewan curriculum, and that teachers need to adhere to the curriculum. How they meet those outcomes is based on the teachers and their use of professionalism in the field.” I was told that there are many resources provided to the teachers through the Saskatchewan curriculum, as well as information shared among colleagues. They are also many resources that teachers create to aid their profession like “teachers paying teachers” which provides a platform for teachers to purchase ideas and templates from other teachers regarding lesson plans, popular books, topics, crafts, and D.I.Y projects.
Week 4 – I have been fortunate to observe and partake in this grade 3 classroom. The students within the school offer a plethora of culture, race, and cognitive diversity. But not all diversity can be seen so easily. The students are unique and should all have an opportunity to be treated with kindness and respect the same. I believe having a welcoming and accepting environment is important when dealing with cultural and racial diversity. The school provides the students with class time set aside for sacred learning. Next week there is no class for ECS students. The students were heartbroken to find I would not be coming to spend the day with them. So, I have agreed to come in on my day off to show them that I care. I am absolutely enjoying my field placement and I hope you all enjoy your week off.
Week 5 – My morning was unexpected, both my co-operating teacher and accompanying ECS students were not in class. The teacher’s absence was unexpected so although he had left a lesson plan for the sub to work off of, the sub did not appear in the classroom until 10 mins before the class began and struggled to find papers and learning resources in the class. Slowly starting the class, moving the furniture and setting up the class dojo app, etc. The classroom flows differently when the classroom teacher is not in. The children were semi-happy about being back in class, they seemed overjoyed to see me. It was nice to share stories about our weekends at home with our families. The children are so kind to make me feel welcome in the class.
Fall Break 2019 – Hello classmates,
So there was no school at university this week. I choose to attend my field placement on Wednesday as regular this week. The children asked me so nicely to come in. I had a productive week as I ran the teacher station in the guided reading and had one-on-one time with the students. The teacher also ran a time slot of “ketchup and pickle”. This time was used to catch up on assignments and projects and if they were done then they had an opportunity to pick an app to play with on their laptops or read. I had a fun class with the kids this week. They had a hot lunch and it was nice to see how another school operates hot lunch other than my children’s schools. So this week I tripped over a shin-high table 3 times. I bruised my shin. I joked around that in my classroom when I was a teacher I would have to wear shinpads for all those low tables. The sweetest thing though was when one of the little girls came up to me and shared a story of when she tripped over the table and told me that it happens to everyone and not to feel bad. Children can be so sweet.
Week 6 – It was teacher conferences this week. I imagine that would be a busy time with all the extra grading and uploading things to seesaw and making portfolios etc. I enjoyed my time in the class this week as I usually do and I was glad I was able to help out. The children were organizing their portfolios getting ready to share their work with their families. I went around the room helping children understand their self-evaluation questions. Attendance plays such a key role in how the class learns and absorbs knowledge.
Week 7 – Technology is a big part of the classroom I am placed in. My cooperating teacher is part of the Connected Educator Project, which grants him electronic devices for every student in his classroom, enhancing technology in the curriculum. Helping the classroom learn alongside the digital age with academically appropriate games, electronic apps, and reading resources. The devices accompany the lessons, providing faster information to the students. He starts by sharing information and concepts, then demonstrating the desired outcomes on the board. Opening up the floor to a brief Q &A and working together to answer the questions. The children then attempt to work on their own or in groups.
Photos from the field
