So, all of our class readings and activities in the syllabus will be pushed back one week. However, the due dates for the research paper and blog are going to remain the same. Continue to work on your research papers, and if you have not contacted me about your topic, please do so.
For this week's blog posting, I'd like you to choose two things that interested you about your school visit and share them with the class on this prompt in the comments section. Again, please don't mention any names of teachers or schools, just let us know what kind of setting it was; i.e., kindergarten class, Montessori school, etc.
See you June 20. The readings to prepare for that class will be Chapters 14-18 and we will do a survey of children's literature and discuss the school visits.
And now, let's put all our energy into willing the Canucks to win!!! Go Canucks go!
I visited a preschool class for the school visit. I had a great time and stayed for the entire class in order to see the opening and closing routines. The room the class is in, is used as a multi purpose room. Therefore there are other programs that run out of this room. The room is a medium sized rectangular room, with sky lighting and many windows; therefore there is ample natural light. The room is very colorful and busy; the walls are filled with pictures, words and student work. The room has a door that exits to a playground directly outside of the room. There are no bathrooms in the room, the students and teacher have to exit the room and walk through a short hallway to reach the bathrooms. No matter where you are standing in the room, the children can be seen. The room has a very cozy and comfortable feel to it. There is a quiet reading area, circle time area, couches, tables for eating snack and for projects and a wet project and sink area. Upon entering the room, various stations were set up for the students for free play.
ReplyDeleteUpon entering the program, the students were involved in playing at various centers. The students cycled around the room in a relaxed manner and were given choice as to where they got to play. Only the printing center and the art center were mandatory. After centers the students practiced for their year-end recital. We sang a variety of fun songs. The students appeared to be very engaged. To end the class, the students ate a small snack and then went outside for outdoor play.
The teacher was enthusiastic, positive and very caring. The students and teacher had a very strong and positive rapport. The teacher facilitated most activities using minimal and specific demonstration and descriptions. The teacher used positive feedback and redirection to encourage learning. The teacher also used suggestion to encourage students to experience a variety of learning experiences in the classroom. The students were very open to working with me and including me, which shows that they feel very safe in this learning environment. The class ran smoothly as the students understood the schedule and listening cues. The teacher used procedure as her main method for classroom management.
I had a great time on my field trip. It was interesting to see some of the theory and practices that we have been working on in class in action.
Two things that interested me during my visit to a full-day kindergarten class:
ReplyDelete1: The colour scheme was mostly dark burgundy but was surprisingly calming and almost solid and reassuring. Class was not too dark given the amount of natural light from a large set of windows.
2: I found that these full day kindergarten students seemed leaps and bounds more mature, friendly, outgoing and social than the handful of other half-day k programs that I've experienced. I can't decide weather it is their teacher, them as a group, or (what I suspect the most) that the full day program just pushes students to grow and get along more than a half-day program.
For my classroom observation I visited a kindergarten/grade1 split class. The grade 1s were there for the full day, while the kindergarten’s day started after lunch; on Wednesday’s they are there for the whole day. I came for an afternoon to see the entire class in action. I stayed for calendar, social studies, and center time.
ReplyDeleteStudent Autonomy:
One topic that was a huge part of the classroom is student autonomy. The teacher’s goal for the class is to give them ownership of the room, and become capable individuals. One thing that stuck out to me was the class job board; every student had a classroom job that was to be completed at the end of the day, and they took pride in it. There were handout people, who distributed materials instead of the teacher, students cleaned and recycled juice boxes, and pretty much everything else. And at the end of the day the students cleaned the floor. The teacher made the student’s responsible for the room. I think it is the case that many teachers may deprive children of taking on this responsibility because they are too young or may not do things correctly; but, giving student these jobs makes them feel competent. I have been in other classrooms, where the children do not have jobs, and only clean-up after they have used materials. I have noticed that the teacher’s are more frazzled, because they have to monitor the class and deal with common classroom problems, while they clean-up or hand things out. This teacher seemed calm and happier. These classroom jobs kept the class engaged in purposeful activities, while she helped an individual student, addressed a behaviour problem, or needed to work on something at her desk. Also, in my opinion, classrooms where students do not have jobs are pretty messy; I think this is because the teacher is already busy enough, that there is no time to do a major clean-up at the end of each day.
Reading:
In this class, approximately ¾’s of the grade 1’s are able to read, which is about 7 students; however, there is plenty of time devoted to reading. The teacher reads at least two stories a day to the children, the school participates in Drop Everything and Read, and during transitions at the beginning of the day, after recess and lunch, the students are to read (or look at the pictures) at the carpet. Some of the grade 1’s read to the other students, the teacher occasionally reads with the a couple of children, and the kindergartens read (recite) popular nursery rhymes from the big books. Although many of the student’s are unable to read, creating a love for reading is enforced in the class. Since the teacher takes on more of the low achieving children then other classroom, she realizes that these children are more likely to have difficulties learning to read. She feels that motivation to read will be influential to their reading development. If she can make reading seem fun, she hopes that students who may struggle will have good associations and will be determined to learn. One of the major problems with children who are having trouble reading is that they begin to associate reading with struggling, incompetence, and embarrassment. When they feel this way they are going to begin to hate reading and will stop trying; keeping reading activities positive is one way to mediate against these feelings.
When I first came into the classroom, I noticed right away that it was very colorful, and lively. The room was warm and inviting. In the hallway beside the door, there was a display board with the children’s art work. Inside the classroom there was also more displays of the children’s art work in the art centre. This classroom had its areas clearly defined. There was a carpet area with cushions and a bookshelf with books for the children to grab freely. Beside the carpet area was the listening area two desks, with two cd players, headphones and read-along books. There was also a space set aside for dramatic play. The teacher informed me that in science they are learning about the solar system. She had set up a space ship in the dramatic play area, with two sets of oxygen tanks and masks. She told me that the children often used the ship to represent something else like a school bus or a dump truck. She commented that she found it quiet entertaining to see what they were able to come up with when they were playing together in the dramatic play area. There was an art table with art supplies. In the middle of the class was an open space, in that space were the children’s desks. This is where they did their lessons and had their snacks. The teacher mentioned that she will ask a student to read, draw, color or simply sit quietly at their desk if she found that they were unable to behave in the centers at center time. Sometimes a child would opt on their own to go sit at their desk if they felt they needed a minute to themselves. I found it interesting that the set up of the classroom resembled a lot of the sketches we had done in class. It’s clear that our image of the ideal classroom is formed by what we have seen in our previous work experience, pdp experience, or our own classroom experiences. Personally, I found the set- up the classroom very functional and open. Each area was clearly defined. They were very accessible, which made it easier for the children to transition from one space to the next. The teacher had set up each area to accommodate only a few children at the time, that way the centers were never overcrowded.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I noticed was the schedule of the day was clearly displayed by the teacher’s desk. I noticed that the children came into the classroom in the morning and knew exactly what to do, with out the teacher telling them. They put away their coats, and they could either read quietly or draw at the art table, while the rest of the class arrived. The teacher gave 3 warnings that it would soon be time to clean up and start circle/calendar time. The children seemed to transition from one activity to the next without too much trouble. It seemed that they already knew the drill. Being so that it is almost the end of the year, that tells me that they have had the same schedule for a while now and they have grown used to it. The teacher informed me that at the beginning of the year there were a couple students that often had trouble changing activities. They often got so upset that it would end in tears. She says once they saw that we would return to that activity the next day and they could finish their project the tears stopped. She says that consistency on her part was key along with giving children fair warning of an upcoming transition. The scheduling chapter touched on this also, abrupt changes often upset and confuse children. We need to give children time to adjust to the idea of moving on to the next activity. Warning ahead of time also gives them ample opportunity to finish up the project they are working on. The teacher suggested asking students to put any unfinished projects in their desks to work on next class.
This is some other info I could not fit on my previous post:
ReplyDeleteFor the school visit assignment, I visited a kindergarten class at an independent school. It is a smaller class size, of about 12 mixed race students. The girl to boy ratio is about 8:4 . Being a smaller sized class, I found that it was easier for the teacher to make individual time for all her students, which isn’t always possible in a larger class with just one teacher. I asked the teacher about parental involvement with the students. She informed me that parents sign up to come into class for the morning and work one-on-one with the students. They either read with them, help them with the art activities, math/science lessons etc. The teacher said that she really appreciated that the parents come in and do that, because everyone benefits from it. Children feel proud when their parents come into the class and help them and the other students. We both agreed that since the children are still very young, its nice to have that type of familiarity from home in the classroom. She also remarked that the extra help allows her to spend more time with the children that need that little bit extra one-on-one help from the teacher during certain activities.
For my classroom/school experience I went into an Out of School Care program that is run out of an elementary school. The first thing that I noticed upon walking in was the layout of the room. It was a relatively small room but there were definite separations to it. To the right of the door was an arts and crafts centre that had a large circular table in the middle and a number of easily accessible shelves that contained: child-safe scissors, glue sticks, tape, stickers, a fair amount of coloured paper, water paints, paintbrushes, and colouring pages. On the ground next to the shelves and the table sat a large bin full of craft supplies such as pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, a variety of coloured yarn and string, shapes cut out of coloured foam, etc. There was also a recycling bin for the scrap bits of paper. The next section was a dress-up and pretend centre. There was a large kitchen model (fridge, stove, sink, cabinets, and microwave) and more shelves that contained a number of different costumes, shoes, handbags, and hats. Between the first and second section was a large shelving unit against the wall that was full of books, puzzles, card games and other various games. There was also another large circular table for the children to read or play at. The last section of the room was a “movie theatre” as they called it. It had a large carpet, a chesterfield, and a small television complete with a VCR and a gaming system (Game Cube) that had been donated to the program. I was told that every Friday after school is popcorn and movie day and every Tuesday is electronics day. Those are the only two days that the children there make use of the technology. Otherwise, crafts are organized for Mondays, cooking/baking at the school’s kitchen is organized for Wednesdays, and Thursdays are science experiment days. It is a very structured place, full of activities to both entertain and educate the children after school.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing that I would like to comment on was the way that the staff interacted with the children. The children’s ages ranged from five to eleven years old, and for the most part, everyone seemed to get along well together. The atmosphere was one of mutual respect between the students and the staff, and when there was one instance of defiance (from a student who often creates problems as I was told), the issue was dealt with very well, in my opinion. The child had thrown a ball at a younger boy’s face because apparently the younger boy had been calling the other boy names. When asked about the problem, the older boy confessed to what he had done and accepted his timeout inside with no fuss. Before being allowed out to play again, one staff member got the two boys together and asked them each why they thought what they had done was wrong. After answering that question they (the staff member and the two boys) had a discussion about the possible ways such an issue could be better dealt with in the future. The older boy then apologized to the younger boy. The younger boy was also talked to about calling people names, and once he had been asked if he enjoyed it when others called him names, he apologized too.
Environment:
ReplyDeleteThe daycare I visited had a very open layout. When you first walk into the center there is an area where children can hang up their coats and put their backpacks. Children have their own cubby with a nametag on it. These cubbies are only about waist level high making it easy for the instructors to be able to see inside the cubby area. In this entrance area there is a white board that is out of reach of children where teachers write the shape of the day with any specific details about the activities, or books read for the day. There is a carpeted area with a big round carpet off to one side where they do circle time. Around this carpeted area are different toys all within reach for children. These toys are organized into bins that have the pictures of the toys that belong in that bin on the outside. There is also a play kitchen along the wall that has fake food and kitchen accessories inside its cupboards. There are some toys put away in cupboards like puzzles, tinker toys etc and these are the special toys that are taken out during center times. There isn’t a specific wet or dry area, but there is an linoleum area where there are 4 tables with chairs and surrounding this is materials against the all. These materials are taken out when appropriate. For example, there is an easel and a portable sandbox and rice box. When these are options for play the sandbox and rice box are moved onto the tables for children to play with and the easel is moved out of the corner. There is a sink area off to the side, which is next to the bathroom. The bathroom has 2 toilets with a mini-dividing wall between the 2.
I like the openness of the room, but overall it is a bit too small to have well designated sections. What I really feel is missing is a specific area for dramatic play. Although children can technically engage in dramatic play anywhere it is nice when the kitchen toys are in a separate area so children can really utilize the space. What I saw a lot of was the girls trying to use that space but constantly getting interrupted by other children playing directly behind them. This would cause accidents because they didn’t see the other child behind them and fall or fighting over the area. Children got really territorial about where they were playing, but when there is 12 of them in a small space it makes it difficult for everyone to truly have their own space.
Reading:
Reading was an activity done in transition between new activities and during circle time. For example if children got ready to go outside quickly they could sit and quietly read a book, if they finished their lunch quickly they read a book etc. None of these children are reading yet but they have some books memorized. For example, the book “Goodnight Moon” one of the children was “reading” it to another and knew almost all the words off by heart.
Also during circle time the teacher read a story to the children and after reading the story once recreated the story on a felt board. What I did not like about reading in this center was that teachers would ask children to leave and read a book on their own when they were being disruptive during circle time. Kids would be very upset when they were asked to leave and go read a book. Not only was it not an appropriate punishment for the behavior but it also gives a negative connotation to reading. This is what teaches ask children t do because this center doesn’t believe in “time outs” but this does not seem to be an effective strategy to replace a “time out.”
I work 830-430 at a daycare centre, so I had no time to visit another centre. But I shall give my thoughts on where I work.
ReplyDeleteScheduling:
everyday has a very loose agenda attached. There is free play while children arrive, from 7AM until 10AM, when everyone cleans up, washes up, and has snack. During snack time, any announcements are made, questions are asked, and a heads up about the rest of the day is given. This seems to work well because all of the children are in one place and are (usually) quietly munching on their food. After snack, we generally split the group up. The upstairs of the building is an afterschool care center, and there is a play area outside, and of course the daycare downstairs where we are. Depending on weather, we break the group up according to behaviours and moods witnessed thus far in the morning (it's a pretty difficult group currently). During this time, structured activities are offered, no matter which areas are being used, but they are free choice. This could include using bubbles outside, using board games upstairs, or doing baking downstairs. The small groups also give more one on one time with the teachers (there's about 20 children and 4 teachers). 11:45 is clean up, then circle time. Circle time is dictated by the behaviours witnessed. It could be very active with lots of games and songs and dance, or very quiet with sharing, stories, and songs. Then lunch. After lunch, half the lights go out, only 3 centres are open for play, and a mandatory craft or activity is set out (they have 2 hours to come visit it and spend one on one with a teacher). 2:45 is storytime, and then snack. After snack is free play until they are picked up.
Transitions we use include a clapping signal; all the children freeze like statues (we encourage them to pick cool poses). There is no nap time currently as this group is simply too high energy and it caused more issues than benefits. Turning the lights out in the center (there's lots of windows) is also a signal to the children that it is too noisy. The lights stay out until the general mood is calmer.
Demonstrating:
new skills and new toys are always explained and demonstrated to this group. They are a very high energy group and require specific, but brief instruction to effectively work with new things. Unforunately, time to practice is generally not given as there's so much going on at once that there's no chance for a teacher to stay with the new 'thing'. Someone always attempts to keep watch over it, but the shame of it since there's a lot of issues with the dynamics of this group, once something is broken or used improperly, it's often just taken away or put away. None of us at the centre agree with this method, as it doesn't benefit the children at all, nor does it inspire confidence. But sometimes there is simply no way to spare a teacher to do this. Fortunately, it hasn't discouraged anyone from continually attempting to bring in new things or new ideas. Some of them the children really respond to and they work well. The one's that don't work straight away are simply not usable at this time.
The classroom that I visited was an all day Kindergarten in an upper middle class neighbourhood, I was also encouraged to stay the full day so that I could get the best insight into the working and differences of an all-day kindergarten versus half-day.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that really struck me in this teacher’s classroom was how it was laid out, it was a room much smaller then what I was used to working in (perhaps less than ¾ the size) but it was arranged better by far. There was a full wall of windows which was lined with shelving and cabinets for the children to access materials and store projects that they were working on. As well, there were lots of yellow storage trays/bins and other such things for easy, instant access of regularly used materials. The classroom was also arranged in such a way that everything that the children could require was at maximum of an adult’s waist level, and chest level to a child. As well, the storage for the children’s items was brightly coloured and labelled with both words and pictures so that all of the children would be able to recognise what the object in question was. The classroom that I normally volunteer at, has no designated ‘home’ or permanent location for any object in particular, as well, the storage for the teacher seemes to take over the classroom. The storage that was for the teacher in the classroom that I visited, on the other hand, was unobtrusive and did not seem as though it would be something ‘forbidden’ or ‘not for children’; but rather it was bland and uninteresting, something that did not inspire curiosity in the children, especially with it’s bland label of ‘boring teacher stuff’, which was in fact what was stored within. All the spaces in the classroom as well were open, uncluttered, and multipurpose; the independent reading area was also the ‘listening centre’ and the ‘writing centre’. For me this was interesting as the half-day kindergarten class that I volunteer in, is very cluttered (storage, projects, lots and lots of play centres) and all of the spaces, aside from the tables are all single usage spaces. It was how well utilized the space of the room that I visited was that surprised me, and honesty I felt this smaller classroom was laid out better then the larger one that I usually volunteer in.
The next thing that I found to be of interest was how she grouped the children together for paired reading. Each morning, the teacher would have a few sentences written on the white board as a greeting and information for the day for the children. Each child was to read the morning message by themselves, employing whatever reading strategy they preferred, and once they had finished, they were paired with another child who had finished the message. The pair would then leave the carpet and read the message to their partner, and explain what strategy they used and why they chose that strategy (some of which were explained to me by the children with exasperation, as though they were humouring me for not knowing the strategies). For the children who had difficulties reading (one girl in particular who was from a Montessori school in England, a late arrival, could not read at all) were paired with other more adept readers, and they would do the message together. The one who could read would give the letters and the one who had difficulties would sound out the letters as they were given, then both would work on putting a word to the word sounds. Once everyone had been partnered and read the message, they rejoined the circle and read the message together as a class.
I went to a kindergarten-grade 1 split class. The element that struck me right away was the rich literacy environment. There was word pocket books filled with sentences that had the same starter words: “I can hear a cow mooing. “I can hear popcorn popping”. During circle time the children read these sentences together, while the teacher’s special helper pointed at the words. There was a word wall on one side of the room (where the easel was placed), with a list of common words divided by letters, i.e. under the letter b there were words such as: boy and ball. On another wall there were all the months of the year written inside coloured cakes, and in each cake there was a list of all the children whose birthdays fell in those months. On the same wall there were charts with written phonemic combinations that the children were learning at the time: sh ch th/ue ui/ ai _a _e ay. The students also had a name tag on their writing table, designating their seating spots. There were also posters all around the room with written steps and a picture for certain procedures. For instance, one of the posters described the steps involved in “asking a question”: 1) think about your question 2) raise your hand 3) wait for the teacher to call your name 4) ask the question. The teacher also had a list of weekly “target- words” on the white board (get, summer, holiday, people, and know). During circle time the teacher asked the children if they knew what words contained “silent letters” (i.e. the letter “o” in people and the letter “k” in know). There were also samples of the children’s art work on the walls. The floor was vinyl, but there was a big carpet for circle time. The room consisted of one big rectangular room, and a separated cloakroom. There were tables in the middle of the room for the children to do their learning activities, as well as a pretend play area and a craft area, which was located close to the sink.
ReplyDeleteThe other interesting fact about this class was the diversity among the students and the high special needs population. Out of 19 students, 12 were kindergarten students and 7 were grade-one students. One student, who was also EAL, was African-American. Two other students were East Indian, and two students were Asian. Among the 7 grade-one students, only three were reading at grade level. The teacher mentioned that there were four students diagnosed with special needs in the classroom, but she also suspected that two other students (who had not been diagnosed) also had special needs. During journal time, the teacher did a great job balancing her attention between the most skilled students and the ones below the grade level. The most advanced students, who finished their journals quickly, got to start a new assignment, an “all about me” package. The students who did not have time to finish the assignment would do so at home. The teacher also had two reading volunteers: one who helped one of the children with special needs individually, and another volunteer who helped the children who were having difficulties with printing.
I was observing in a split kindergarten and grade one classroom in a Burnaby elementary school.
ReplyDeleteScheduling:
The teacher made it very clear that she thinks through the schedule with care and attention. She said that the schedule, which is shown in words and pictures, is always on the front board for the students to reference. Students with disabilities had individual schedules on their desk. They had what are called PECS (picture exchange communication system) pictures and words on velcro associated to the schedule so that it can be changed on the students individual schedule if need be. She said it is very important to try and keep the schedule consistent from week to week as children with certain disabilities have a hard time with change. To sign into class students knew the routine of picking up their name tag and putting it in the appropriate pocket chart. If there was a name left on the table the teacher would know who was away. I thought that this was also a great way of teaching students to read their name while giving them responsibility. Throughout the time I was there the students were mainly on task, but I noticed that the time slot for lessons was very brief. The reason for lessons being so short was because children of this age have very short attention spans so there is no way that your lesson could be more then 10-15 minutes. The teacher stated that reading, writing and math are always done in the morning or early afternoon as their attention spans in the afternoon become very limited. To transition from one task to the other the teacher would sing a transition song. The students knew exactly what to do at that time. There was lots of time scheduled for center or free time during the day where children could decide to play with whatever they wanted.
Grouping:
There was only one opportunity while I was there to see a grouping situation. This was during center time. Students were allowed to choose their play center so they were able to choose their own groups. The teacher said that often times she allows them to choose their own groups outside of center time as well. She implemented a reading program which includes partner and group work and student can choose their own groups. She has a list of steps that students can look at to remind them how to choose groups without leaving anyone out. When asked how she groups students she said that she focuses on personality types and abilities. How a teacher groups their students is dependent on the activity that is assigned.
I visited a very interesting Elementary school with a completely unique layout. This private school in the lower mainland teaches the International Baccalaureate program, and apparently, their original design of the building reflects their beliefs about their curriculum. Their curriculum is designed using the Inquiry Model, believing that students learn best when they are allowed to deeply explore a topic, do some own research on it, and produce a final project that synthesizes their experience with the topic. They also believe that students should be collaborating with one another, even across classes, and teachers should be teaching the same units and collaborating their large summative assessments.
ReplyDeleteTo give you an idea of the building, it is pretty much an open floor plan on two floors where classes of students are separated by partial walls and bookshelves, but no closed in doors. The first floor has the grade 1 (2), grade 2 (2), kindergarden classes (2) and office spaces. The second floor has the grade 3 (2), grade 4 (2), grade 5 classes (2) and staff room/work areas. Teachers and students can see into other classrooms (and, therefore, ‘hear’ into them too). The exception to this is that the kindergarden classes (2) are separated off from the other grades with a full sound-proof wall, but still has an open area into the locker area/hallway. In fact, the only closed off doors in the building are at the front/back exits of the building, and in 3 sound proofed rooms on each floor called pods. Here, students and teachers can have a different work space to do their inquiry, supported by smart boards and speakers attached in each pod. Students also work at tables, not individual desks, and have easy access to student laptops that are portable and provide flexibility in their learning activities. There are 25 student laptops in total that teachers can sign out for their kids, more than enough for 1 for every student with a maximum cap. of 20 students/class. Another interesting element to the school is that the student cubbies have installed curtains to hide the students’ belongings. I wonder what their purpose was for this: in drawing attention to neatness and tidiness for their students or protecting their belongings, or in advertising a certain status to new potential families?
For my elementary school visit, I went to a Grade One classroom. Two things that interested me from this visit were the environment, the colour scheme and design in particular, and the use of grouping.
ReplyDeleteTo start with the environment, I found the classroom to be quite bright, with yellow paper up on many of the walls, and children’s artwork displayed all around the classroom. I thought that there was also a noticeable absence of neutral colours. Since the classroom is a normal school district classroom, they didn’t have the extra space we did when we planned out our idealized classrooms. Due to this, the classroom appeared pretty busy to me, with lots of different things, tables, desks, cabinets, etc., taking up a lot of space. I found that this translated to the circle time/morning activity area. On the side shelves were places for different assignments and activities to be handed in, there was a book shelf, and a wall with the numerous morning activities. The children then had taped lines to sit on at the carpet, separating them by their desk groups. Even though this separation appeared affective for minimizing between children disturbances, I found that the children were very fidgety, playing with or touching different things in the area, or just appearing distracted.
The children were also taking part in their special theme activity book, where the teacher read through some information about Canada. The teacher did this reading at the morning activity/circle time area. The children then took their theme books back to their seats to complete the activity, filling in some blanks and colouring their pictures. Based on their desk groups, the children could ask each other for help and worked through completing the pages they were working on. Then as children finished, they paired up with each other to read the activity to each other, and check their partner’s work. I found this to be quite a beneficial way for children to practice their reading and assist each other. It also allowed the teacher to prepare the next activity with the children taking care of themselves.
For my school visit, I observed a full day Kindergarten classroom. I have been volunteering in this particular classroom once a week since September so even though I was not able to observe in on a new environment, I have come to know the students and the daily routine of the day very well. There are many aspects about the visit that I would like to comment on but the two things that interested me that most would be the environment, particularly the layout of the room, and the use of questioning in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteThe layout of the room is what I always imagined a typical Kindergarten classroom to look like. The walls are mostly white but they contain many bulletin boards which are filled with the artwork that the children have made. A lot of the work that the kids do is generally very colourful, so when you walk into this classroom the room is very colourful, fun, and inviting. There is not too much colour, however, which would seem too distracting or over-stimulating; I find it to be just the right amount. I like the arrangement of the different areas or stations as well. There is a carpet area used for circle time and on either side of the carpet you will find the house area for socio-dramatic play and the reading/books area. There are also two easels for painting located close to the sink and an area used for blocks, lego, etc. All the materials available to the children are very easily accessible to them. Recently, the teacher of the class changed the seating arrangements so instead of having individuals desks put together in little groups, there is now two large tables, both of which are made from natural wood, with benches on all sides that the children do their work on. One main concern I have about the layout is the cubby area which is located in the hallway outside of the classroom and cannot be seen from inside the class. There have been many times when children come in from recess and are slow to take their coats off and change their shoes or during center time some kids may go to their cubbies without telling the teacher, In both these instances, I find that not being able to see this particular area from within the classroom can be a very concerning issue. Also, I like the idea of having lots of natural light come in through the classroom; however, there are only two small windows in the class so unfortunately the amount of natural light is minimal.
The second aspect of my visit that I would like to comment on is the use of questioning in the classroom. Before reading the chapter on questioning in the text, I hadn’t really thought about or paid close attention to what kinds of questions were being used in the class. After really observing the interactions in the class, I noticed that the teacher used a good balance between open and closed ended questions. For example, after recess the teacher began to read a book to the children about animals. After seeing different animals on different pages, she would ask some closed ended questions like “What’s the name of that animal?” or “Do you know what this animal is called?” With the same book, however, she would implement many open ended questions as well like asking the children, “What is your favorite animal and why?” or “How do you think this animal was feeling that happened?” Even though close ended questions are used more commonly in classrooms, I feel that the benefits of open ended questions are undeniable so I find myself asking the children many open ended questions now, especially during center time, to really make them think deeper and be more imaginative and creative.
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ReplyDeleteFor my school visit I visited a kindergarten classroom. Having not spent much time with this age group, I found it very interesting as my practicums were in 6/7 and 3/4 grades. During my visit the students returned from recess, had their snack time and participated in centre time. The first thing I found very interesting was the way the students transitioned from snack time to centre time and then to clean up. The teacher had a song that notified transition time, she just sang the song quietly and the students knew when to move on. The first song was a Shhh shh song which the students repeated what she had sang and sat on the carpet. The next one was a cleanup song that she sang quietly as she rotated around the room. I was amazed, she never verbally told them to clean up, or join her at the carpet they just knew.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing I found really interesting was centre time. After snacks the students sat on the carpet and the teacher explained which centres were open. I inquired about how many centres she has in total and she explained that she has a sand box, and different tub centres that she uses when there is not as much time. She also changes up the centres to engage the students. That day she was adding a finger puppet centre. This was a huge hit for the students. The special helper chose his centre first and the teacher drew the remaining student’s cards at random. The cards have the students name and picture on it. I thought this was fantastic. What a great thing if you have a TOC. They not only have the students name but a picture they can identify students quickly. The students knew by looking at the centre board how many could play at each centre. They chose their centre and off they went to play. When they were done they came back and placed their card in another open centre. The centres were set up in sections. Each centre had its own area for example the library was set up as a living room with a table and couches. The book shelf was the fourth wall to give it a quiet room affect. The drama area was next to that, it had three walls built and the front open to extend play to the carpet area. The painting and puppets were in their own area as well. The carpet area and desks were in the middle of the classroom so the room still has a very open feel to it.
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ReplyDeleteThe class that I observed was a class that I had toc’ed in a few weeks prior. Since I needed to observe a primary class, I left a note for the teacher asking if it would be possible to observe her classroom for a day. The teacher called me the following day and welcomed me into her classroom. We arranged for me to come in the following Thursday. The kindergarten class was composed of 18 students- 10 girls and 8 boys. Out of the 18 full day kindergarten students, 7 were considered ESL, 0 special needs students, 3 behavioural, 1 receives speech and language assistance and 2 of the students take part in ‘our turn to talk’ which helps them build speaking confidence. What I noticed about the school was that it was an inner city school and had a heavy First Nations population.
ReplyDeleteThe layout of the classroom was consistent of that of an open layout classroom. There was an open view of the entire room except for the coat room. There were clear boundaries between the work and play areas and everything was easily accessible to the students allowing easy freedom of choice for activities time. Although the class was painted in a neutral beige color, there were lots of natural light coming into the classroom as there was one large wall of windows. I noticed that the teacher had brightened up the classroom walls by displaying the students’ work all around the room. One of the walls that was never in use was covered with white paper and the kindergartens along with their grade 5 buddies redrew the school using coloured popsicle sticks (the school is closing after this school year and will be renovated as it is a heritage school). Then all of the students left their hand print along the border of the page using different coloured paints. The childrens’ artwork and bulletin boards changed to reflect the units being studied.
One thing that really interested me while observing this class was that in the afternoons, both of the kindergarten classes came together. The purpose of the team teaching was to expose the children to different teaching styles and also it encouraged collaboration between two different teachers. Another reason why the two kindergarten classes came together in the afternoon was for the integration of different children. Both teachers agreed that it was essential for the children to get to know one another and make friends with people that they normally would not be friends with. Although the afternoons usually consisted on activities such as singing using sign language, gym, and activities time, the work that they did do was additional themes from the inspirations program. Some of the themes that they had covered throughout the year include occupations, farm animals, pirates, butterflies, and parts of their body. Despite the fact that at times combining both classes together was extremely chaotic, I found the two kindergarten teachers worked well off of each other and was always able to make the afternoon fun and entertaining for the students.
For my observation, I visited a kindergarten classroom in a low socio-economic neighbourhood. The class has 5 girls and 11 boys. 7 of them are ESL students. 1 has special needs (mental and physical disability).
ReplyDeleteEnvironment:
The classroom is a fair size classroom and is spacious. There is lots of space for the children to move around and bring out the toys during center time. The furniture is placed well in the classroom. Students work at two large tables and sit on benches. There is also a small round table for the teacher to pull the students during center to work on art projects. There are large windows on one side of the walls and lots of natural light comes in through the windows. On another side of the wall, students hang up their bags and coats on the hooks and cubbies. The classroom is colourful. Things are well-organized in its places. The carpet area where the students gather for learning has a calendar, other calendar related things, numbers, letters and other pictures. Chart paper and chalkboard are placed in this area as well. During noisy reading, students read on the carpet and also at the tables with their parents. Students’ work are displayed on the bulletin boards that are around the classroom and some of the students’ art projects hang from the ceiling. Materials are easily accessible. There is a shelf for books and other books are also kept in the bins. The books are organized according to different themes. Toys are kept in bins that can be easily pulled out during center time for the students to play with. The toy and book bins are kept along a wall on the shelves. Children have their snacks on the two large tables when they are not working. There is a sink inside the classroom for students to wash their hands before snack and lunch. A washroom is located inside the classroom as well. There are cupboards lined up on one wall where the teacher can store all her materials. Several garbage cans are located in the classroom for the students to throw away any garbage. There are also recycling bins for paper and juice boxes. Outside the classroom door, there is a water and sand table. Students can play with those materials during center time.
Scheduling:
The timetable is set up in the carpet area with strip labels. Students can view each label to know what the day is going to look like. Each label has a picture to show what kind of activity is coming up next. The picture serves as a good guide for students who cannot read the words. In the morning, the teacher takes attendance after the students come in and are seated on the carpet. For transitions, the teacher would usually sing a song or have students imitate actions to get them ready for the next activity. During recess, students have their snacks and lunch during lunch time. They also play outside during recess and lunch after they have eaten. For the first half of the day before lunch, the students would be working. They will have Language Arts, Socials Studies, Science or Math. In the afternoon the students mostly have centers and free play. Sometimes the teacher would pull the students aside for some art projects during centers. Also, right after lunch, the students have some quiet time and can read, colour or play with playdough.
Environment:
ReplyDeleteI visited a kindergarten/grade one classroom that was connected by a glass wall with another kindergarten/grade one classroom. This arrangement was genius, because it allowed the two teachers to work together. The students could be separated into kindergarten and grade one if the teachers wanted to instruct one grade level, or they could combine the two classrooms by opening the glass doors. The teacher in the room that I visited told me that they would open the doors during centres, at which time, the students could travel to either classroom. The classrooms also had very large windows that looked out onto a paved courtyard. The teachers would also create a centre on the courtyard where the students could choose to play (when the weather cooperated). The teachers were able to view the students playing outside from their classrooms, or one of the teachers could be outside supervising. I really appreciated this type of teacher collaboration.
The teacher was also telling me that by having the classrooms split with kindergarten students and grade one students together allowed the kindergarten students to learn from their grade one peers. She has been a teacher for many years and she felt that she could see a visible difference with this group of kindergarten students writing and reading abilities compared to previous kindergarten students that she has taught in the past. She also felt the full day kindergarten was making a difference on their abilities.
Scheduling:
I noticed that this teacher had the shape of the day posted on the white board. She also had some items to discuss for that morning on the white board. I noticed that she transitioned the students using songs. There was a song for carpet time. There was a song for lining up at the door and there was a song for how to behave in the hallway. I really enjoyed the feel and the energy in the classroom. The teacher created a calm environment. The students knew what to expect and they knew the transition cues.
I visited a morning kindergarten class in a local elementary school. The class had 22 students. The classroom had mostly white walls with the students' artworks placed all over the pull down bulletin board. The different play stations were scattered around the classroom and the circle time area was at the front of the classroom with the reading area placed beside it. There are big windows right beside the entrance where the students come from in the mornings and lots of sunlight shines through the windows. Right by the entrance are the cubbies where students hang up their jackets and put their backpacks. The classroom is an ideal size with lots of space to move around. There wasn't a washroom in the classroom so the students would have to wall down the hall to access the washrooms. An interesting observation I noticed was how different a montessori-based preschool classroom was. When I had visited a montessori-based preschool before, I noticed how there weren't many toys in the classroom and mostly all the materials in the classrooms were for educational purposes only. If there were any toys in the classroom at all, it would all be for teaching purposes and not for free play.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed visiting the classroom. I went to a half day Kindergarten class. I paid a lot more attention to the layout of the classroom this time compared to when I have visited classrooms before. One wall was all windows with shelves underneath at kid height filled with games, puzzles, and toys. Next to that was the class library and beside that was the dramatic play. In the other corner was the carpet area with the calendar, a smart board, and some more books. Behind that was another shelf with blocks on one side and books on the other and behind that the teachers desk. The student's desks were in the middle of the room and the sinks and sand station and light table behind the teacher in a corner. The cloak room was at an outside door along with the bathroom. The classroom was a strange shape and so the teacher had to work around that while designing her classroom layout. She placed her desk so that she could see the whole classroom except for the cloakroom. Except for going outside, the children are not in the cloakroom much so that works. The classroom flows pretty well because the children come in and it’s fairly open and so they can spread out and they have a lot of room to do their own activities. The school has started a recycling program and so the classroom has bins for recycling, garbage, paper, and composting.
ReplyDeleteThe schedule is displayed on the board every day. The teacher has squares with clip art on them and magnets on the back. The children know what each picture means and so they can be prepared for what happens each day. The day usually begins with the children coming in the classroom; they put their coats away, change their shoes and turn in their agendas. Usually they have some seat work right away or reading. The day I was in they were colouring their shape books. After their seat work, they have circle time and they do the calendar. Then they do some reading with the teacher or some songs. Then they have recess, after recess, they do more seat work. On the day I was there after recess they broke into small groups with a teacher or volunteer and do the Talking Table program. After that they usually have center time. The teacher sometimes takes a student or two aside during center time to do a special project. After that they clean up and get ready to go home. The schedule alternates between high and low activity. They have center time every day which lets the children play and learn on their own too.
I really liked going back into a classroom after we learned some more things about ECE and so we could apply them.
In the kindergarten classroom that I visited, I found the transitions from one activity to another to be exceptionally interesting. Throughout the morning, indications that it was time to clean up the current activity and transition to a new one were communicated through the flickering of the lights in the classroom or through the ringing of a tambourine. As I had never encountered those transition techniques when working in other classrooms, these techniques were a pleasant surprise. I think that these types of transition techniques are vital in the classroom, especially during times where noise levels are elevated, because it allows the teacher to successfully communicate to the children without having to yell and compete with the noise level. Furthermore, these techniques pose benefits for ESL students as it brings consistently to the classroom and allows the child to know what comes next for the schedule of the day. By understanding that sound of the tambourine or the lights flickering means that it is it time to clean up, it offers the child security because they know what to expect through these signals; thus preventing the child from being confused during transition time as they may not to fully understand the teacher when they simply state that it is time to move onto the next activity.
ReplyDeleteAnother aspect of my visit that I found especially interesting was the teacher’s encouragement of parental involvement. As the parents dropped off their children at the classroom, the teacher encouraged the parents to stay in classroom and read with their child. I found this tactic amazing because it not only encourages parents to be involved within their child’s classroom, but it also brings the child and the parent together through literacy; which in turn may further encourage the child to become engaged in reading. In addition, by having parents read to their child at school it ensures that the child receives that special moment where their parent reads to them. I was unaware of the extent to which children cherish the moments where their parents read to them, until I facilitated an exercise with the children that I tutor. When I asked the children to raise their hands if their parents still read to them, only about 5 hands out of 30 went up. Then I asked the children to raise their hands if they would like their parents to read to them; which resulted in most of the hands going up. Moreover, some of the older kids admitted that some of their fondest childhood memories were present when their parent read to them. Therefore, I think the way that the teacher, to which I visited, incorporated parental involvement into the daily schedule is profoundly astounding because the children will receive significant benefits through this action; not only as literacy is encouraged through parent participation, but as fond memories are developed for these children.
The preschool I went to observe is a small Waldorf inspired home daycare/preschool. This is the school which my son attends and I have had many opportunities to observe the classroom in the past as they have an open door policy for parents, welcoming them at any time of the day. I love this method of offering open door for parents both as a parent and as a teacher, I like being able to discuss what’s happening with my child or with the child who am I teaching in order to solve behavioral issues or let parents know what went well thought the day. Waldorf is a philosophy based on building strong social relationships and has a philosophy of having children participate in as much of a process as they can. Cari, the teacher/caregiver and I discussed her frustration at not having space for a garden so that students can not only take part in shopping for and preparing their own food but having the opportunity to grow their own too. Cari has been working in early childhood education and childcare for over 15 years and has a wide range of experiences with children. She set up an after school care program at MacDonald Elementary, one of the poorest of the inner city schools in Vancouver, and has worked in daycares in Dunbar and Kitsilano.
ReplyDeleteWhen I came into the daycare the first thing I notice is an art project on one table in the kitchen – paints, different kinds of brushes, sponges and a bowl of fruit on the table. This is an area Cari says is set up for Gross Motor skills. On a table in the main play area is a large marble labyrinth, its three dimensional and many different levels of play and places for children of different heights to get access to different marble paths – this Cari explains is the fine motor skill area. In the room is also a permanent socio-dramatic play zone but this zone is completely static. For a few weeks at a time it will be a shoe store, dress shop or library where children practice being polite customers and customer service representatives – practicing scripts initially laid out by Cari but sooner than later morphing into their own play and experiences in these places in real life. This week it’s a sushi restaurant and the children are serving one another or being the customer. They try to draw me into their play but Cari reminds them that I am not there as a mommy today but as an observer and the children need to help me get my homework done. There are, this morning six stations set up around the room. This is more than most programs and they are continually changing. The children are always engaged with their environment because it remains the same only as long they remained engaged with the stations themselves. All of the massive amounts of storage are accessible at children’s height and are in opaque sliding containers easily accessible for little, and big, hands. The space is colourful but not overwhelmingly. All of the children’s art is displayed in the hall, the “gallery”, for parents and other visitors to admire at any time. Overall I would say the space is inviting, engaging and well thought out.
Sorry I had to post this over two because it was too many characters!
ReplyDeleteAs I watch the interactions between Cari, the children, and parents I see Cari easily slipping in to remind children of the expectations of the centre. Cari has a way of not being drawn into the need for praise, not much more than a smile anyhow. I see over and over again throughout the day interactions where expectations are set and then a gradual release to ensure understanding and how she encourages her students to help one another, empowering them. This group is definitely multi-age, as you might find in this situation. The youngest child here is around 18 months and my son, Garrett, is the oldest at 4 years old. The children are all very supportive and helpful with one another. We begin to get ready to head to science world, the outing of the day, when Cari begins to call the students to the kitchen to make their lunches for the outing. Cari has older siblings make lunch for the children who are too old to do so, has the older children keep a helpful eye on those younger children who might need some extra care while she is helping others in the kitchen (the space is open so she can see at all times). There are only three children there when we begin to make lunches but soon “An” one of the younger students arrive. He makes his way to the Marble labyrinth and takes marbles away from “F”. Cari comes from the kitchen and quietly reminds “An” that “F” is allowed to play with the marbles (perhaps he was too young beforehand?) and that there is one marble for each child. The expectations of “An’s” behavior are made very clear and he quickly falls into the expected behavior and plays on his own exploring the different paths the marbles can take. She gives the students the tools to solve their issues and intervenes when necessary, continually reminding them of expectations.
I talk with Cari about the purpose of the outing to Science World today, I ask if there is a specific show or exhibition they are going to see. She says that today’s visit is more for social development than anything else. So I decide to make that the focus of my observation upon arrival. I see the five kids fan out, obviously having been here before, each going to a piece of equipment of their choice. I watch the kids help each other out, move onto play with new “friends” they don’t know all with amazing success. I think its due to Cari’s clear expectations at the centre before we arrive and the continual reinforcement of these. When necessary Cari’s uses proximity to manage those who she anticipates might have some troubles. The outing is enjoyable for all the children and there are no problems overall.
I found the use of expectations and reminders, as well as the focus on positive social interactions to be helpful for my own teaching practice. Cari’s rarely uses praise but focuses more on encouragement thoughout the day and different activities the children undertake. Everyone feels safe to explore, supported by one another and the caretaker
I went into a K-1 split class for this assignment. I stayed from the first bell to lunch with the class. Walking into the classroom, I heard a lot of chatter, noise, and the little ones walking around and some in different corners of the classroom with books to read, while others were still arriving and settling in. I noticed the tables were low, and the classroom set up was very busy (a lot of key words on the boards, cue cards on the wall, centers at the corners of the classroom) and that all the tables and chairs were really low, even the dividers between centers (so the teacher can see the kids over them of course). I was surprised to see that there wasn't a smart board or even a white board in this classroom, I found a very primitive chalk board instead. My classroom experience comes from the intermediate grades, so walking into a primary classroom I was prepared to expect vast amount of differences. I noticed the washrooms were attached to the classroom for the kids. There's also a couch and a sink area.
ReplyDeleteTwo things that really stood out to me would have to be: the scheduling of a primary classroom (morning to lunch routine), and the amount of disruptions (and how they are redirected/managed in the classroom). The schedules were made so that the students did not have to sit and listen to instruction for more than 10-15 minutes, which is perfect because as I was watching this lesson, I saw how short of an attention span most young kids have. The morning routines incorporated: reading time (out-loud), share story time (students would talk about the books they read, and read a piece in front of the classmates), show and tell (by one student each day as I was notified), word wall (teacher bring attention to keywords), worksheet, recess, some more extra time outside for run/walk around the field, centers, and then lunch. When the lessons are simple with explicit instructions like the ones the teacher gave, a lot of repetition isn't required. The teacher notified me that she has a volunteer coming in everyday and sometimes two a day! And she also has a SEA that helps out after recess. So, I got the feeling that to keep order and to make sure the students are getting their needs and attention, it is essential to have extra help in a primary classroom, especially because younger students have more questions and require more assistance in the earlier years. Another thing I noticed was how the students kept chatting amongst themselves during carpet time, so the teacher had the cue cards on the board to show them “good listening” and “good sitting” but there were times that one student more than once was being disruptive, and the teacher instead of pointing toward the action cards, physically moved the students head towards the front. This was surprising for me to see, because none of the intermediate teachers I worked with used physical contact to redirect student behaviour. The way the students are disciplined is quite different from what I was used to. The teacher used a soft and consistent voice to give directions, and if there were some students that just could not manage to keep their hands to themselves during carpet time then the teacher simply moved the kid over.
“I was in a full day ELL kindergarten class in the Surrey district. Our morning started out with a “noisy greeting” where the parents come into the classroom and read with the kids. It is the kids responsibility to sign in by taking their name card and placing it under the appropriate answer for the morning question or statement (“I am wearing pink today”, “yes” or “no”). It was a busy morning as the kids had swimming lessons shortly after arriving at school. Before leaving for the pool we sang three songs together and did some of the calendar activities. This was the first time that I had heard of a class having swimming lessons together. I asked the teacher why she does this and she said that many of the kids would not otherwise get swimming lessons and she thinks that it’s a really important skill to have, plus the kids love it! Getting the kids involved in swimming often results in the parents continuing to enrol their children in lessons and the kids are able to build their strength and confidence in the water. The kids get 5-10 lessons usually near the end of the school year. I thought this was a really thoughtful experience that the teacher was providing for the students, it teaches them really important life skills and they have fun doing it.
ReplyDeleteThe classroom that I was in was half carpeted and half linoleum, which was separated into the dry and wet areas. The dry/carpeted area had the calendar, a play house area, the teacher’s desk and kid’s tables, a listening station and many shelves of books and manipulatives. The wet/linoleum area had the coat room, washroom, kitchen, painting easels, a sand and water table and storage. The room was set up in a really open format with the shorter shelves used as dividers. Student artwork was all over the walls and also hung from the ceiling to brighten up the room. There was one wall that was pretty much all windows which helped in providing natural light, but there were blinds so that if the room needed to be a little dim it could be. I thought the room had a really good layout, for the most part it was easy to move around and it was very easy to see where everyone was.”
I wanted to post a little about my class visit, but I am a tad late. Here goes though..
ReplyDeleteI visited a toddler center daycare. The toddler center is a licensed group daycare for children 14 months to 3 years. Most of the children were in the almost 2 to 3 year range. The center is designed specifically to be a daycare center. The tables are low with small chairs. There are 2 nap-rooms. One for sleepers and one for non sleepers. Each child has a muddy buddy (rain suit) that they wear on rainy days since they go out everyday rain or shine. They go for long walks daily for about an hour or more. There are lots of areas for free-play. Climbing structures indoors, dress up clothes, blocks, lots of books and table toys. Each day the first shift staff puts out activities to draw the children into the center. Some days it is an art activity, some days puzzles, games, toy phones... The toys are rotated regularly so that they maintain the interest of the children. The outdoor space has sand, climbing apparatus, a slide, an upper lookout area and an area to ride bikes. There is a water table for use during the summer. There is a great deal of art done at the center which is proudly hung at the children's level before being sent home. Photos of the children are displayed around the center along with photos of the children's families to help them feel secure. I am quite impressed with the layout of the center, its child orientated feel and look and the way the staff interact with the children. A lovely place to be.
I visited a grade 1 classroom. The two things that interested me the most from my classroom visit are:
ReplyDelete1) At the beginning of the year the teacher got the students to work together and create classroom rules. These rules were written on a poster board and hung in the classroom for all of the students to see. Before the poster was hung up, the teacher got the students to sign it to show that they understood the rules. I think it is great to get children to help create classroom rules.
2) The second thing that interested me was a word wall that the teacher had set up. The teacher put words on a word wall that the students had trouble with, or had recently learned. She organized them into rhyming sections. This was extremely helpful when the students were trying to write things down. If they had a question about how to spell something the teacher would direct them to the wall to find the word. If the words were not up there then she would add it to the word wall so that they could use it in the future.
I visited a full day Montessori Preschool/Daycare located on the field of a public French immersion elementary school. The preschool is mixed age (30 months to 6 years). The school offers a private Montessori kindergarten, but also currently does kindercare for students attending the elementary school. The school is located in a middle class neighbourhood with most students having two working parents. Two things that interested me were the mixed age grouping of students and the preschool work period.
ReplyDeleteThe school building is a wide portable divided in to two classrooms with a shared cloakroom and kitchenette. Students are divided in to two classes and generally stay with the same teachers and class for their 2 to 3 years of preschool. There is some combining of classes for early morning daycare (before 9 am when preschool starts), outdoor time, and music classes. However, the classes are kept separate for the preschool program which runs 9 -12. Each classroom has up to 16 students in one day (not all students attend every day) with two teachers and an assistant. Teachers are each assigned to a group of children whose development they track throughout the year. The teachers and children really seemed to know each other. If the children and caregivers/teachers are a good fit, I can see a real benefit to the consistency. During my visit I saw an older child reading to a younger child and it seemed that children were working at their own level rather than a level predetermined by their age. During playtime, however, I did notice that most children seemed to be playing with others who were of a similar age.
The preschool time is a long uninterrupted work period where children mostly choose their own activities. Transitions from one activity to the next are dictated by the child, not by the teacher. They are responsible for collecting their own materials and putting them away. Activities I saw students doing included playing with building materials, using tweezers to sort beads, using the pink tower and using a spray bottle to clean glass. Teachers did some one-on-one work with students. Although I was told that students can work in small groups for some activities, most children I observed were working by themselves. The social hub of the classroom appeared to be the snack table. Snack time is not set, but children get their snack when they feel like it. This is where I noticed the greatest social interaction between students.
The classroom I visited was a kindergarten/grade 1 split in Burnaby. The classroom had an interesting layout. The teacher told me she had a reason for how she placed everything in the classroom. The number one reason she had places the furniture in the room as she did was so the students could not run around the room. Interestingly enough there was not any room besides the carpet where students could run around. All the furniture was scattered around the room.
ReplyDeleteShe separated the kindergarten and grade 1 desk areas into separate learning stations. The sand table separated the two learning spaces. There was also a separate wok table where art was usually done that separated the cloak room from the rest of the classroom. The SEA’s desk was also right beside the work table creating a small walk space in between so students could not run out of the classroom when using the washroom. It was interesting how she organized the room, since I had never thought about creating a space where students would not be able to run around making the classroom a safer place to learn and play.
The scheduling of the day was similar to many classrooms, however because I had never experienced a split classroom before I was interested to see how the teacher taught it. When the bell rang the students came in took off their coats and hung their belongings on their hooks. They moved straight to the carpet and took a book out to read while the rest of the students came in and made their way to the carpet area. The teacher asked them to clean and sit at the carpet. They sang a good morning song and moved on to calendar which was lead by the day’s special helper and assistant. This took about 15 minutes. Next the kindergartens lined up at the door to go to the other kindergarten classroom to play centers there. Meanwhile the grade ones sat at their desks and worked on reading with their teacher. I thought that was a great idea because the grade ones could easily focus on their reading in their group of 10 students while the kindergartens had a chance to interact with the other kindergarten students in the school.