I have been learning a lot through my main placement and cooperating teacher. It was a crazy switch though. I originally was supposed to be in a Kindergarten classroom but a week before school started, my cooperating teacher decided to teach a fourth grade class in the Highly Capable program. I of course, decided to move up with her. Going into this classroom, I was a little intimidated because I had never worked with the intermediate grade level, let alone a high-cap class.
After being in the classroom for a month, I absolutely love it there! I love working with the students and learning from my co-teacher on how to manage and teach the students.
I absolutely love the way she manages her classroom. She emphasizes the reason why the students are at school. She makes it known to them that they are here for their own benefit. She shares with them that disrupting the class causes them harm. It hinders their learning and those around them. When she does this, the students, most of the time, tend to listen and focus back on their work. She uses a lot of group discussions and allows each student to speak. She also has magnets with the students' names, in which she uses to let every student have a chance to have a turn. It is quite amazing how her classroom runs. Many of the lessons are discussion based and it allows the students to think further. She does a great job in allowing for engagement.
Another concept that stands out is that she has no desks. She has 3 long rows of tables instead. This is great in that the students are not distracted by the things in their desks. They just have what they need in front of them and this eliminates other distractions. It really seems like she is preparing them for older grades, all the way up to college. In doing this, she mentioned how there are no personal desks in college. She really looks to the future when she manages things, and it is very apparent.
Learning a lot.
i'm glad to hear that you are enjoying the 4th grade experience. it is interesting how we look at similar environments from such different perspectives. your "moving up" was as intimidating as my feeling like i was "moving down."
ReplyDeletei am interested in hearing more about how the students react and respond to the teacher's approach throughout the year. i have a high regard for her style. i like treating students like young adults and making them accountable for their own learning. i wonder however what is too young? are 4th grades feeling too much pressure or will they respond positively moving forward. but she sounds like she is really laying the groundwork for their future success. and isn't that what we should be striving for as teachers?
I am glad you have been learning from your cooperating teacher. It sounds like she has a nice classroom management style. Are there tools or strategies in particular that you can see you will use in your classroom as well?
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that she has tables instead of desks. My cooperating teacher received an email from a student the day before school started asking if they were going to have tables or desks—so it is on some students’ minds apparently. Teachers can use keeping their desks neat as an ongoing lesson in organization—which is a skill that the students will benefit from also.
Also, I am curious, when you say she has three long rows of tables, are they in three separate rows or are they in a “U” shape? Do students face each other or the front of class? What does the set up look like?
The desks are in rows.. well I guess that they are more tables. There are 3 rows of tables and so the students are facing each other. It's a quite interesting set up but it works really well!
ReplyDeleteMy main placement teacher has tables so the students do not have anywhere to store their supplies or books. They each have a pencil box on their desk and a stack of papers. This gets very cluttered, so it is a way for my teacher to teach about organization.
ReplyDeleteMy teacher also treats the 4th graders like they are young adults. She tells them that they are their to learn and that is what school is for. My teacher spends a lot of time talking about their future success including how this year will prepare them for middle school.