What's Happening

I believe that current events are an integral part in the learning process. Even younger students should be kept up to date on what is happening around them. Knowledge is power, as the saying goes, so the more students know, the better off they will be as individuals taking on this journey called life. 

In my Social Studies classroom, I plan on using current events as much as possible. Students will have the ability to share anytime a current event that they find to be interesting. Based on the content, I may even have the students complete an activity in class on current events. Students will research and look up articles that pertain to the content of the lesson. Students will then share with the class or with a partner what they have learned from their research. By doing this, the students will spread knowledge to the other students. I will then have my students form an opinion of the events and share with the class what their opinion is. This is an important skill for students to learn that can be used for the rest of their lives. 

The Journey Has Come to and End...

I can't believe this semester has just ended! It flew by. This semester in Social Studies was definitely a tough one, but it taught me a lot about myself. We had a lot of work throughout the semester, but in the end I learned so much about myself and who I am as a teacher. Our fieldwork experiences have allowed us to teach to a fourth grade classroom at Sacred Heart in New Windsor. I have always believed that learning is fun, so getting to show that to  the fourth graders was exciting for me. Each activity and lesson that I made made me that much closer to my dream of becoming a teacher. I am looking forward to the future and to see what it has in store for me. 

Who will be Hired?!

Today, we all came to class prepared to take part in an interview. When I walked in, the administrators were lined up in the front of the classroom. They then introduced themselves individually and what style of teacher they are looking for that would be a great fit for their school. After, the administrators spread out and conducted short interviews with each of the five groups. They asked questions such as: "What is your teaching philosophy?" and "How would you incorporate collaboration into the classroom?" 

All of the questions were well thought out and put together. They were real life questions that truly made me think. I pretended to be in an actual interview just to see how I would actually respond. At the end of it all, they hired five new teachers and I was one of them. All in all, I thought it was a great experience and a great way to end the semester!

Did the Students Truly Learn Anything?

Just like a pretest, post tests are just as important in the learning process. Post tests help determine what the students have learned and what they still struggle with. As educators, it is important for us to know what works best for our students. If the results come back saying the whole class got a certain question wrong, then that means I probably did not do a good enough job explaining the content. However, if the whole class got the question right, then that means that the majority of students understood the content making the educator not feel obligated to review or continue to teach that specific content. This helps with the assessments for the students and how to gage the difficulty level of the questions. 

All in all, post test results are crucial both for the educator as well as for the students. 

Judge Archer Needs Your Help!

Today is our last day of teaching and of fieldwork with the fourth graders at Saint Joseph's. On this day, we had a lot to setup so we wanted to get there at least 45 minutes early... but it didn't work out in our favor. The students all week were state testing and because this was the last day of their state testing, there were a few still testing when we got there. The front desk had told us that we weren't allowed to stay in the building, so we had to leave until most of the students were finished. We finally were able to come into the building (10 minutes before the lesson was supposed to start) and ad to quickly set up everything in the gym!! The gym is a tough place to teach because of how much it echoes, but worked with what we had at the moment. Someone ad brought us a computer screen to use and then the lesson began... with four students total. We carried on and eventually more and more students came into the gym, just in time for us to complete our activities that involved groups. The lesson was completed on time and everything really worked out. I was proud of not only myself, buy my whole group too. I couldn't have done it without them. One thing I learned from this day is that as a teacher, you've got to learn to roll with the punches because not everything is going to go as planned. 

Here We Go!

The day has come for our time to teach. We started off the lesson by introducing ourselves and reviewing their prior knowledge of the middle ages. Our lesson was based on the "Law and Order" of the middle ages. It was our direct instruction lesson. We started off by introducing Peasant Peter who stole a loaf of bread from the market. The students then learned about the different ordeals and trials that took place in a medieval court. 

All in all, the flow of this lesson went very well. The teachers and I rotated around the room which made it easier to keep on eye on the class while one teacher was teaching. We taught at a good pace and had just enough time for the students to start and/or complete their independent practice. I had a wonderful time teaching the fourth graders and they seemed to have had a great time learning the material we taught. 

Assessment is an Integral Part of Learning

As a future educator and as someone who grew up always being tested, I now understand the importance of assessment. Assessment determines whether or not the goals of education are being met. Once they aren't met, the goals of instruction change to help meet the needs of the student and/or the educator.

A pre-test measures what the students already know about the subject, however a post-test shows what the students have learned and understand after the lesson is completed. Post-tests are more so for the educator to see what needs modifying for next time or to see where he or she can help the student struggling. The tests help to pinpoint where the students need help the most. Having this information is key for continuing with the learning process.