Erin shared that her teacher is really good about using worksheets that does not directly say they are learning fractions, but she is building them up to fractions. She uses steps to get to the concept of fractions.

Jessica said that her students are working on making decimals into fractions. Some groups were able to find it, and some were struggling with the main concepts about decimals and fractions. Some students needed support at first before they could go off on their own.

Brynn shared that in her classroom they do math worksheets in different groups. At first they go to the small group and they do on example from a certain page and talk about it, they then finish the worksheet individually. Brynn then has them explain their answers to her so that they can scaffold their own learning. 

Brittney shared that her teacher manages the classroom structure well. She will tell the students what they need to be doing if they are off task. Sometimes, the teacher has an assertive teaching style, which may scare the kids. 

Jessica shared that the teacher does not really have formal lesson plans. She emphasizes the essential knowledge. She does a lot of small group interactions, so she does not really govern. Everyone has their own group, and she facilitates the learning. Today, there was an incident where the students were rowdy, but the teacher handled it well because she sat the class down and told them that this is not how they should be acting.

Brynn shared that for the most part the classroom is very well behaved. The teacher has never yelled, and he never seems to get mad- he’s very patient. He holds them very accountable and seems to have a lot of trust in his students. She said it seems to work very well and the students are great. 

Brittney shared that the students were writing persuasive essays, and they got to choose what topic they would write about. They were excited and seemed passionate about the topics they chose.

Erin shared that in the students art class, the teacher gives the students guidelines, but mostly, the students have choice on what they can create. The teacher gives the students the basics, but the students actually choose.

Jessica shared that in her classroom, they were writing fictional essays, and they got to choose what they wanted to write about. In the library, they get to pick out any book that interests them. Also, the students had an angle activity where they got to go around the school and take pictures of real-life angles.

Brynn shared that she hasn’t seen much choice but they do correct their own work and if they get a certain number of problems wrong they were to go see the teacher, so it’s basically their choice if they want help or not. She said they also get some choice in what they want to review for the MCA tests. 

In Erin’s classroom, the students are very focused on working together. When they work well together, they are rewarded. The teacher has high expectations and there is positive feedback when students are socially developed at their age.

Jessica shared that the teacher is kind and respectful of her students. She gives them freedom to walk around and trusts them. If she sees something out of order, she will confront the problem, so she is modeling good social skills and behavior.

Brynn shared that the students go to “Todd Time” where they watch videos, discuss, talk about bullying, social issues, and how to be accepting of others. She said she can tell that they have learned a lot and can tell that it makes them more happy when they come back. 

Erin shared that there is one girl in her class that's negative about fitting it. She does not think anyone likes her and that she does not have any friends. She has negative feelings about how her peers view her.

Jessica shared that most of the people in the classroom groups are “cliquey.” The groups are split up by ability, so they tend to stay within the same learning ability. Most students interact well with each other, and get along fairly well. Some students are still egocentric.

Brynn shared that one of the girls in the class goes to special ed classes and she came back to the room and it happened to be her birthday. They surprised her by playing “Happy Birthday” and they all crowded around the table and it made her extremely happy. She says they are also very willing to help one another. It almost made Brynn cry. 

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

7:00-8:00pm in Gilmore (dorm)