discssion
Field Experience Activities
While completing your Field Experience hours, the following slides are activities you may do to enhance your learning. Please complete at least 5 activities- 1 per column. One activity will need to be selected by your cooperating teacher. Once you have completed the activity, save the document in your One Drive by clicking on “File” and “Save as”, named “First Name Last Name, Block I”. Then color the cells, using the paint bucket, of the activity you have completed. Once this is done, please reflect over your activity on the following slides in at least 5-8 complete sentences. You may not complete the same activities for one block that you did for a previous block.
East Central University
| P Professionalism | R Reading & Writing | I Interactions | D Diversity | E Engagement |
| Read over the school/district’s policies and procedures (eg. handbook, emergency procedures, acceptable use, first aid, etc.) | Observe and assist students using devices (eg. tablets, mobile devices, clickers, computers, etc.) | Interact one-on-one with a student | Observe the use of different instructional formats (eg. digital, print, verbal, manipulatives, etc.) | Assist with grading assignments or assessments |
| Send an introductory email to the mentor teacher or print off an introductory letter to give to him/her | Read with or to a student | Interact with a small group of students | Discuss with the mentor teacher modifications that he/she makes to assignments | Assist with planning or teaching a lesson with the mentor teacher |
| Discuss dress code with the mentor teacher and identified the district’s policy on dress code (if applicable) | Assist students with writing | Teach a lesson to a small group of students | Observe the use of different instructional strategies (eg. independent work, small group, whole class, peer/partners, etc.) | Observe students highly engaged in a lesson |
| Observe a mentor teacher using varying tone or body language that demonstrates support and empathy for all students | Read aloud to the whole class (eg. novel, storybook, textbook, article, description, background, etc.) | Lead the whole class in an activity | Observe exclusion or inclusion of a student during instruction | Assist with a lesson that utilized technology (eg. SmartBoard, Chromebooks, tablets, etc.) |
Field Experience I
East Central University
Example: from Block I
Activity R: “Read with or to a student”
Reflection: Today I read an excerpt from the class novel, The skin I’m in, with a student. The student and I took turns reading. I noticed that while I was reading, the student appears to be looking around the room and was not focused. However, when I would ask him questions about what I read, he got all the answers correct. I wonder if he has read this book or chapter before or if he is that good at paying attention while seeming distracted. As a future teacher, I look forward to reading to students; however, after reading today I realize that I need to work on the inflection in my voice and the manner in which I read so that students will hopefully find the way I read aloud interesting and entertaining.
East Central University
Activity P:
Reflection: Today, I was able to observe my mentor teacher use tone and body language to establish a supportive and welcoming classroom environment. The attitude she exhibited by addressing students calmly and gently at all times enabled her to create a favorable atmosphere. One thing that made an impression was when she knelt in front of a student who was struggling, and she ensured that she was at the eye level of the student. This would put the student at ease and help her, instead of feeling embarrassed. I also observed her eye contact, smiles, and attentive listening, which portrayed true empathy. Consequently, students were not nervous and participated in the lesson. This lesson made me understand that nonverbal communication is as significant as verbal communication. I also intend to apply similar strategies as a future educator in order to increase the level of trust and foster confidence among students.
Activity R:
Reflection: During this activity, I read a short math-related story to students that focused on shapes and number recognition. The lesson was first introduced through visual cues on a screen by my teacher, who is my mentor, and therefore, they were able to draw the attention of the students. As I was reading, I realized that students were more participatory when they could create clear and colorful pictures of the concepts. The drawings of the book, particularly the numbers and shapes with color-coded numbers and color-coded shapes, helped students to keep up. The use of both visuals and reading gives a better understanding and interest to the student. When the verbal and visual components were combined, the students were more active in their response. This experience taught me how essential it is to apply more than one teaching ability in teaching literacy and math. I would use visuals in the future as a way of enhancing the lesson to ensure it will be enjoyable and effective.
Activity I:
Reflection: While working in a kindergarten classroom, I was able to converse with a student on a one-on-one basis. My mentor teacher also showed the ways of supporting students through brainstorming ideas and initiating their work. One of the students was finding it hard to concentrate, and I happened to sit beside him, helping him step by step. This will assist the student to feel more relaxed and ready to engage in the task. When they got personal attention and motivation, the students got more interested. I got to know that individual contact can be more helpful in terms of teachers getting to know the needs of every student and their learning pace. It also contributes to developing better teacher-student relationships. Individual support will also be among my priorities as a future teacher because I refuse to leave any student feeling unimportant and incompetent.
Activity D:
Reflection:During my observation, I noticed my mentor teacher used a variety of instructional strategies to keep students engaged. It started with the instructional lesson, which consisted of a whole-class reading lesson, which was followed by a walk-to-read, wherein the students were more autonomous. This rotation enabled students to absorb the content at their own speed. I participated in a small group task too, when students partnered up to determine and color rhyming words. This exercise promoted teamwork and made the students exchange ideas amongst themselves. Diversity of the strategies ensured sustainability in student interest and assisted with the learning styles. I understood that different methods of instruction are critical in teaching. This is because, as a future educator, I would incorporate various strategies that would encourage engagement and in-depth comprehension.
Activity E:
Reflection: I observed a high level of student engagement during a Spanish lesson in a high school classroom. The presentation was done through a mix of visual aids and audio recordings by the teacher. The students were to listen to the Spanish audio, look at the matching images, and translate the text into English. This multisensory approach maintained the attention of students and engaged them in the lesson. One student, in particular, I found to be completely involved and fully carried out the task, which involved listening and writing. This proved the effectiveness of integrating various learning strategies to enhance understanding and involvement. The application of interactive activities and technology in the lesson proved to be necessary. To improve the learning outcomes and student engagement, I will employ such strategies as a future teacher.
Field Experience Submission
Once you have finished completing the following, coloring the background of the cells for the 5 activities you chose and reflecting over the activities, please click on “File”, “Download” and “PDF” to save your document as PDF.
You will then submit your assignment in your Field Experiences Blackboard shell as a PDF.
East Central University