Field Visit 5

During this visit, we observed the morning math block again. Ms. H had the students review their math homework from the previous night, which was on multiplication and estimation. The objective of the lesson was to try to get students to approach the same problem with multiple methods, and to understand the underlying concept behind how multiplication works. The teacher explained to us that it is important that students are not just simply going through the steps of an algorithm to solve a multiplication problem, because when they get to higher level problems (with two or three digit factors) they will be lost without having a solid foundation in the fundamentals.

In order to achieve this understanding, the teacher modeled several different methods - traditional algorithm (multiplying each column, carrying over, and adding), estimation (rounding a two-digit number to the nearest ten), using place value blocks, and using graph paper to draw grids and arrays. This was done mostly through direct instruction, the teacher explained each method and allowed for guided practice, then independent practice (during which she circulated around the room and helped out struggling students).

I felt this approach was very effective, especially in the discipline of math where students need a solid understanding of basic concepts and skills before they can move on to higher-level operations and functions. In providing so many means of accessing one particular skill, the teacher is opening up multiple points of access for students with different learning styles. Her way of differentiating instruction allowed for visual/kinesthetic learners (place value blocks), logical/visual learners (graph paper arrays); analytical learners (algorithm method) all reach the same goal and understanding through different means. Also, the blend of group instruction, individual practice, and small group practice allowed each student to learn in an environment that best suited their individual learning needs.

At the end of the lesson, the teacher remarked to us that she did not get as far as she had hoped to; some students seemed to be still struggling with grasping the basics, so she would have to extend the lesson until the next class. She felt that they were not yet ready to complete the homework she intended to give out that day, so she was going to hold it off until she thought it would serve as a good review/reinforcement for the students. I really gained a lot from the teacher's insight and reflection, as well as her ability and willingness to be flexible and sensitive to how students were responding to instruction. It is so tempting to have too much rigidity and structure in the classroom, so I feel that I can learn a lot from observing and reflecting on this experience.

Field Visit 4

Once again, we observed instruction during the morning math and problem solving lesson. This week we focused on student participation, specifically charting each student's participation throughout the lesson.

The class began with a "Multiplication madness" challenge, where the teacher gave each student a different problem and asked them to solve it using multiple methods. This was to test their understanding of how multiplication works, since many students seemed to be going through the steps blindly without really understanding how they reached the answer. The algorithm the teacher wanted them to understand looks like this:

Problem: 64 x 7 = ?
Solution: 60 x 7 + 4 x 7 = 420 + 28 = 448

The students also used estimation to check their answers using estimation (multiplying 60 x 7, which is 420, and understanding that the actual answer must be bigger, since we rounded down when estimating).

In the process of helping students attain an understanding of these concepts, the teacher used practice problems and examples with the whole class, asking such questions as, "Tell me what you did. Walk me through the steps." This forces the students to use metacognition and become more aware of their own thinking processes. The following diagram shows the frequency of participation of each student, by seating arrangement:


The participation was fairly well distributed, with most students contributing 2-3 responses or comments during the 1-hour math block. One student only participated once; he seemed to be struggling with understanding the concepts and was looking down at his own worksheet rather than attending to group instruction. Another student participated four times, he also seemed to be struggling but was more willing to talk through his thought processes and be corrected and guided in front of the whole class. This may be due to a difference in learning styles or personalities, some students are more willing make mistakes in front of their classmates, while others feel that learning is a more independent endeavor. The teacher did well in recognizing and differentiating to these different learning profiles, she does not push any student to participate beyond what they are comfortable with, and she also offers extra help or individual tutoring sessions to students who need one-on-one work. I felt these options were appropriate and effective for the class and the group of students she was teaching.

Field Visit 3

This week I observed behavior management issues in the classroom. This teacher seemed to have a very well-behaved class, with few disruptions and interruptions. When they did occur, she dealt with them quickly and in a way that did not break the flow of instruction.

• One student arrived 8 minutes late to class.
  
• Ms. H: "K, you are way late, we already did mad minute, honey. Go get your math folder and find your seat."
• Another student was playing with a rubber toy during the small group instruction on arrays.
  
• Ms. H: "R, may I have that please, so I know I have your attention?" (then proceeds to take the toy from the student and set it aside on her desk).
• A student who was wandering around before he finished the test.
• Ms. H: "S, do you need something?"
  
• Student: "No..." (returns to seat without additional prompting)
• A student interrupted group instruction.
  
• Ms. H: "I'm talking with Aidan, please don't stick that in front of my face right now."

Throughout all these incidents, the focus remained on the instruction and the task at hand. Although the teacher's responses were very curt and to the point, the students got the message and quickly returned to what they were supposed to be doing without any additional prompting. In general the teacher seemed to have well-established codes of behavior that all the students respect, so there is little need for disciplinary action during class. For minor behavior issues, the teacher would generally respond with a verbal intervention, which immediately solved the issue at hand. There were not any major problems with violence or resistance that were talked about in the Weinstein text, this was overall a very well-behaved and well-mannered group of students. However, we have not been observing for a long enough period of time to notice any chronic problems with specific students, so there may or may not be underlying issues that we are unaware of. I will continue to be aware of behavior management issues as we continue our observation through the rest of the semester.

We had a chance to discuss our lesson plan ideas for the next few weeks; it seems that with the NSRE testing schedule we will have 3 days to go in to teach - November 9, November 13, and November 16. November 9 & November 16 will be language arts lessons on persuasive writing, and November 13 (afternoon) will be a Social Studies geography lesson on regions of Virginia. Next week we will talk more specifically about her lesson objectives, and find ways to integrate the models we learned in class with these particular topics.

Field Visit 2

This teacher has fairly clear routines for her classroom - they know when to switch tasks, where to find their folders and turn in their work, and where to find reference materials around the classroom. Students rotate through different groups for language block, math and homeroom (between 3 different teachers and classrooms) but by this point they seem to know where they need to be for each subject and time of the day. During the time we observed (from 8:00am to 10:00am), the posted schedule is as follows:

8:00-9:00 Math
9:05-9:35 PE
9:35-10:00 Snack/Problem Solving

The actual schedule came pretty close to this, and is recorded below:

8:00-8:06 settle in, get materials, pass out math folders
8:06 - 8:08 "mad minute" math drill
8:08-8:15 transition - surveying students' favorite pizza toppings, pass out and finish math tests, set up study carrels
8:15-9:02 students work individually on finishing math tests, as they finish they work in small group with teacher on array cards, then bring a worksheet back to their desk to work on individually.
9:02-9:05 transition - collect tests, array worksheets, pack up folders and math worksheets, get in line for PE
9:05-9:35 PE
9:35-9:39 (switch back to homeroom class) students settle in and get their snack and problem solving materials
9:40-10:00 snack and problem solving

The teacher seemed to stay fairly on task throughout the instruction, there were minimal disruptions or behavior problems among the students. Everyone seemed to know the schedule and where to go at what times, so there was no need to spend time explaining every transition. Sometimes the transitions between classes and activities took a little longer than anticipated, but this was very minimal and expected in a classroom of 20 students. In terms of allocated time, the teacher allocated 60 minutes for math, during which 49 minutes were actually used on instruction and math-related activities. The rest of the time was spent taking care of odds and ends, such as finding out what topping to get for a class pizza party, setting up study carrels for the tests, and passing out and collecting materials. During the test, as students finished, they knew to report to the teacher to work on the array problem, so there was no need for additional instructions or transition time there. Overall, this teacher seems to have a very efficient and effective system of time management in place in her classroom.

Field Visit 1

For my field experience, I had the opportunity to be in a 4th grade classroom of 24 students. During this first observation, we were able to sketch a map of the classroom, as well as watch the teacher and students interact during their morning lesson. The class meets for an hour to do math from 8am to 9am, in ability groups - so many of the students in the morning session are not in the teacher's homeroom class. Because there are three math teachers, there are only 16 students per group for math. Today, they were learning about estimation and manipulating variables with addition and subtraction.

The teacher seemed very energetic and connected with her students; she was constantly moving around the classroom and engaging every single student with her questions. Likewise, the students responded positively and seemed genuinely excited when they got the right answer, and very determined to learn to apply the material. The setup of the classroom seemed conducive to a group learning environment - desks were set up in groups of 6; and during the time that we observed there was definitely an emphasis on group collaboration and cooperation. Bookshelves line the walls, with different genres represented - non-fiction, biography, poetry, chapter books, and reference books. There seems to be an organized system of folders and bins on one side of the room - students know to get and return their math folder, and where to turn things in. This seems to eliminate clutter and improve the organization of the classroom. I imagine that it must be very difficult to manage different groups of students cycling in and out of the classroom (this teacher has a different math group, homeroom group, and language block group) - so it is definitely necessary to have a mechanism in place to ensure smooth transitions and overall efficiency.

At this point in the year, students already seem comfortable with the schedule. They know when math ends, when PE begins, when they need to be ready for snack and problem-solving. This eliminates a lot of transition time, as students are moving smoothly from one task to another. Towards the end of their math time, the teachers had the students work on a measurement and geography project, where they apply what they have learned about scales and maps by planning a trip under 10,000 miles. Although the teacher was clear in her instructions, she said that she would assign the partners - but she ended up asking many students to choose their own partner. I felt that although she was giving the students ownership of their own learning, it was hard for some students who did not have friends in the class - these students asked the teacher to assign them a partner, which may have been socially awkward.

The general classroom environment was one of openness, where students were not afraid to take risks and ask questions or share their answers. During the problem solving, even though most of the students arrived at the incorrect answer at first, the teacher had students come up and engage in an interactive demonstration to push them towards the correct answer. This way, students could feel mastery and fulfillment at finding the answer themselves, with appropriate teacher scaffolding. The teacher was also very sensitive to differences in learning styles and readiness, and repeated important points several different ways to ensure that all students got the point. I look forward to continuing my work and observation in this classroom.

Autobiography

I was born in Shanghai, China on October 26, 1986 in the year of the tiger. My parents and I moved to Washington D.C. when I was two years old, so I have hardly any memories of my early years in China. We had a happy and cozy life together, the three of us. I started kindergarten in Mrs. Hetherington’s class at Horace Mann Elementary School. My life changed when we moved to Dale City, Virginia after I finished kindergarten. I had to adjust to a new house, a new school, and new friends. Fortunately, there were many children in our neighborhood and I became acquainted with them at the community playground. Our next door neighbors had children about the same age as I was; Gloria was in my grade and Anthony was a year younger. We would often carpool to school and do homework together.

In 1992, when I was in second grade, my younger brother Erwin was born. I instantly became a proud big sister, who clamored to hold him and feed him after school. He was lavished with attention and care from my parents and I during those early years. I remember being there for his first step: my initial feeling of pride and excitement, then the subsequent agitation and concern when he faltered and fell a few steps later.

My favorite teacher in elementary school was my third grade teacher, Mrs. Hammond. She was genuinely concerned for each of her students, and made an active effort to learn our interests and strengths and implement them in the learning process. When she discovered that I loved playing the piano, she invited me to a concert where she was playing the tuba. I had never had a teacher who cared about our interests and passions outside of the classroom; she truly touched me life in a deep and profound way.

In the middle of fifth grade, our family moved again to Fairfax, Virginia. It was easier this time for me to adjust to my new school, because I immediately became friends with a girl named Katie who was in my fifth grade class. We bonded instantly and grew to become best friends. Together, we moved on to middle school. Elementary school seemed like a bubble compared to what we were exposed to in middle school. Katie and I managed to stay close and maintain our strong friendship, even as we met new friends and acquaintances. We had many classes together, so we would usually do homework together after school and ride our bikes around the neighborhood.

Naturally, you can imagine our dismay when we had to go to different high schools after eighth grade. I had been accepted to the governor’s magnet school in Northern Virginia, and I was anxious about the reputation of stress and the high expectations that it held. It was a difficult transition, but a necessary one. By going our separate ways, we both were able to mature and become independent. In high school, I learned to make new friends and step out of my comfort zone. The pressure to excel was just what I had expected, but I managed to stay afloat with the support and encouragement of my parents and close friends.

During high school, I became actively involved in the French Honor Society and discovered my interest in foreign languages. For my senior thesis, I integrated my love for music with the technology laboratory requirement for my high school. I designed a project where I modeled the cast-iron plate of an upright piano on a computer program called AutoCAD. It was a wonderful experience to discover how my interests and talents can overlap, and that learning is never strictly compartmentalized.

The college decision process was a difficult one for me. It was at that point that I really had to consider what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Though the decision was an agonizing one, in the end I finally chose UVA, because I was impressed by the strong programs offered across a wide array of disciplines. During my time here, I have had the chance to explore and get a taste of many different subjects and fields of study. I decided to pursue my undergraduate degree in French Languages and Literature, as well as Linguistics. These majors allow me to explore and pursue research in the study of languages. At the same time, I chose to apply to the Curry School of Education and obtain my master’s degree in Elementary and Gifted education. I know that even though my future career as a teacher may not be as glamorous or prestigious as a successful medical or law practice, this is what I was meant to do. I know that in teaching I will find joy that triumphs over the agonies, laughter that outshines the tears, and love that is worth all the pain.