TCC Field Experience Form

Trinity Christian College Field Experience Form

Context for Learning

Description of School and Students

About the School Where You Are Observing or doing Field Experience

School Name and City: West Side Christian School, Grand Rapids MI

Type of School: Elementary school, Middle School, High School, or Other:  Elementary

Setting: Urban, Suburban, or Rural: Suburban

Write your responses to the three questions below in paragraph form.

1.    List any special features of the school or classroom setting (e.g., themed magnet, classroom aide, bilingual, co-taught with a special education teacher, pull-out program).

In this fifth grade classroom, there are four students that are pulled-out for reading and math to spend time in the "learning lab" or resource room. In addition to this, there is a student with autism and an IEP. In this classroom, there is also a part-time aide. She is there to help these four students for a couple of hours throughout the day. She makes sure they are on task and she pulls them out for extra help on math and reading. Last, this classroom is filled with Bible verses and posters.

2.    Describe any district, school, or cooperating teacher requirements or expectations that affects the planning or delivery of instruction, such as required curricula, pacing plan, use of specific instructional strategies, or standardized tests.

The only thing that my cooperating teacher mentioned was an RTI program that is being used from early grades on. There is one standardized test that is required each year and she plans her curricula around it.

3.    For special education only: List any educators with specialized expertise in the school/district (e.g., specific disabilities, subject-specific pedagogy, English language development, speech therapists).

About the Students in this Class [Excited about learning!]

1.    Estimated percentage of students eligible for free/reduced lunch: 1 (they do not have free/reduced lunch at this school, but the teacher makes sure to pack extra on certain days)

2.    Grade level(s): 2nd-5th

3.    Number of

a.    students in the class: 21

b.    males: 9

females: 12

c.     English language learners: 0

d.    students identified as gifted and talented: 0

e.    students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or 504 plans: 1

4.    Complete the chart below to summarize required accommodations or modifications for students receiving special education services and/or students who are gifted and talented as they will affect instruction. As needed, consult with your cooperating teacher to complete the chart. The first row has been completed in italics as an example. Use as many rows as you need.

Special Education Category	Number of Students	Accommodations, Modifications, and/or Pertinent IEP Goals
Example: Learning Disability	Example: 4	Example: Close monitoring, follow up, and Resource Room
autism	1	individual aide, resource room, IEP, monitoring, modifications and accommodations
problems with reading and math	4	resource room, monitoring

About the Class You Observed

1.    How much time is devoted each day to instruction in the classroom? Describe the class periods (if applicable)? Choose a content area of your specialty or major. How much time is devoted to teaching that subject?

About half of the time the teacher is instructing the class and the other half is time where the students are doing individual work and learning. The class periods consist of the teacher teaching, the students doing more research on their own, and group work. I specifically am interested in special education, and there is around 2 periods of the day where the students who need help are given it in the resource room. They are given help with speech and other specific subjects.

2.    Is there any ability grouping or tracking? If so, please describe how it affects your class.

There are five students being tracked. Four of these five are being tracked specifically on reading and math. During reading and math time, these four students are pulled out to work on it in the resource room with the aide. The fifth student has autism. He is 15 years old and is at a second grade level in the fifth grade. He has his own aide and is pulled out for a majority of the day. 

3.    Identify any textbook or instructional program you primarily use for instruction. If a textbook, please provide the title, publisher, and date of publication.

RTI is the main program that is being used for instruction at this school. 

4.    List other resources (e.g., SMARTBoard, manipulatives, online resources) used for instruction in this class.

Some outside resources being used in this classroom are TV, Oregon trail game, computer lab, and power points.

5. What do you know about what your students know, what can they do, and what are they learning to do? What do you know about your students’ everyday experiences, cultural backgrounds and practices, and interests?

  

The students in this classroom know a lot about the history of the United States, they also know a lot about the different systems of the body, and they know about animals, seasons, and plants. The students have been tracking a certain area outside through all of the seasons. They have observed the plants, animals, and have learned vocabulary and more to go along with it. The students have made body posters about the different body systems. Last, they have been learning about the Oregon Trail and have done several projects with this subject. The majority of these students come from white-middle class homes. Most are interested in school, sports, and their church. 

6. Describe one teaching event. What best practices in teaching were used?

One teaching event I really enjoyed was Outdoor Math Measurements. This was an activity where the teacher reviewed all they had learned about measurements in math and how to find the area and perimeter in class. Once the instruction was done, the students were able to pick a friend and go outside and try to complete a worksheet. This worksheet had the students estimating the perimeter around the school in feet and then having them actually calculate it. Also, it had them measuring parking spaces and finding the area and perimeter of them. This was awesome! It gave the students the freedom to choose where to go and what to measure. It was hands-on and was fun! It also helped them work together to solve problems like how to change the yards into feet and the feet into inches. It was a great way to be outside and make learning fun.

Module 1- Observations from Gulf Shores, AL

My first blog post for Educational Psychology was supposed to be the "Trinity Christian College Field Experience Form", but due to NAIA Nationals for track, I am unable to start my aiding this week. Instead of posting my form, I plan to sum up what I read in Anita Woolfolk's book Educational Psychology, how it has related to some past experience I have had, and how I plan to apply it to my life. 

First of all, I thought I would share a little bit of the sunshine,beach, and ocean from Gulf Shores with you all. (I am trying to do some homework to distract me from being nervous for the steeple chase that I will be racing in tomorrow evening.)

In chapter one of Woolfolk, she gives us an idea of what the classrooms look like today, what good teaching is, and the role that educational psychology plays for us all. In addition to this, this chapter summarizes the No Child Left Behind Act. I specifically liked the section on what makes a teacher a good teacher. On page seven it says, "The effects of teaching were cumulative and residual--that is, better teaching in a later grade could partially make up for less effective teaching in earlier grades." The reason why I share this quote with you is because it hit home for me. When I was younger, I really struggled in school and felt like I was slipping through the cracks. When I was in middle school, I was given extra help and was caught up. I sometimes ponder how different school would be for me now if I would have been given help earlier. Good teachers can help catch students up to where they should be, but it can never fully make up for what was lost in the earlier grades.

As a future teacher, I plan to be a good teacher, who makes sure each student is being given a chance to learn to their full potential. This entails pushing those who are doing good a little further and helping those who are struggling. I experienced this in one of my placements this past year. I was in a first grade classroom and there were quite a few ESL students. When students were given reading and writing time, these students never knew what to do because they did not even know their alphabet yet. I helped my teacher by pulling these students out and working on their alphabet with them all and trying to get them caught up to the rest of the class. This was an awesome opportunity for me to help my teacher and these students succeed.

In chapter two in Woolfolk, she talks about different types of development. Some of these types are brain, cognitive, Piaget's Theory, and Vygotsky's Theory. Piaget was a psychologist who studied children's thinking and helped us form what we think about cognitive development today. He claimed that there are certain ways of thinking that are quite simple for an adult, but not so simple for a child. He also said that there are four stages of cognitive development, sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete-operational stage, and formal operations. On the other hand, Vygotsky recognized that culture shapes cognitive development by how and what the child will learn about the world.

Both of these psychologists help us future teachers better understand how to teach our students and how their brains are developing. I plan to continue to keep in mind these stages of development and culture habits that help my students learn in the best way possible.

Finally, in chapter three, she talks about physical development, identity, and moral development. In this chapter, I specifically liked the section on self-concept and identity. On page 95 it says, "For adolescents, both their overall academic self-concept and their subject-specific self-concept may influence their actions and motivation."  It is important for students to be able to find that they can do things and do it well. If they feel like they do something well, it will help them find motivation to do it because they feel confident.

In my future classes, I hope to encourage my students and find what they are good at. In addition to this, I plan to find what they struggle with and help them realize they can be good at those things too. If they feel like they can, then they will. The difficult part is figuring out how to show them they can. I plan to do this, depending on the situation, through one-on-ones, extra help, class games, encouragement, and observation.

As I get involved in my field experience placement next week, I plan to keep an eye out for how to apply these three chapters to what I am doing and observing in the classroom. For now, I continue to be nervous for my race, enjoy the sunshine and ocean breeze, and read Woolfolk's book on Educational Psychology.