Journal 4, Domain 4

The class that I happen to be observing uses many different strategies to get the students to understand the topic. The various teaching methods can range from individual work, one-on-one work, small group work, or whole class work. When explaining a topic, it is taught to the class as a whole first. During this time, the children are assessed through questioning. Almost every student gets the opportunity to answer a question, and this is a good way to make sure the students understand the topic as you are teaching it. There are a few children who may not get the topic right away, and those children usually get asked questions to make sure they are understanding the topic. Also, questions are used to keep students on task, so their minds do not wander off.

Usually after the class learns a topic, there is some sort of physical assessment the teacher can have to see whether their children understood the topic or not. This can be something like a work sheet or a small quiz. When students perform poorly on an assessment, they are pulled into an RTI gourp. RTI stands for Response to Intervention. RTI groups allow for either one-on-one or small group instruction from the teacher. I was able to work with an RTI group in my second visit to go over a math worksheet. The goal of these groups is to get students to understand every topic, so they will not be left behind. While this is going on, the other students work on whatever Mrs. Mescino gives them to do. This can be silent reading, writing in journals, or finishing assignments. RTI groups could be a great way for having children feel a sense of belonging. The book does a lot of talking about students accepting one another, but this can be an example of the teacher making a student feel wanted. It pulls the students aside and lets them know that you, as a teacher, want that child to succeed. If you are able to give the children the tools they need, they can feel more confident and hopefully succeed at a higher level.

So, teaching is done in whole class, small groups, or one-on-one. Pairing is also used with teaching. Each students desk is next to a partners, so everyone has at least one person to work with. This allows students to ask each other questions when needed.

I already spoke of some of the ways that the students can be assessed, but another way would be through their own writing. A laptop cart will be brought in, and each student takes one to their desk and can write their paper assignments. This can help Mrs. Mescino know what level their writing skills are at. Their are also online quizzes that the students can take, and their scores are kept for assessing.

I felt like this age group would be the best group to pick because the students would be a bit more mature. I learned that even though they act older, they can still get excited over small things. When I taught my lesson this past week, I brought in lights and batteries for the kids to work on in groups. I don't think I've ever seen people so excited to make a flashlight bulb light up in my life. When the kids do group work, no kid ever sits out looking for groups. People always take them into their group. I'm not sure exactly what Mrs. Mescino did to these children to get them to act that way, but in the classroom they seem to have respect for each other. Once again, this goes with a sense of belonging. When you have people who want to work or even talk to you, chances are it will make you want to go to school more often. Also, if you know the other students will respect your work, it may push you to do your personal best as well. If you try your hardest and know you won't get ridiculed for it, then chances are you will continue to try.

Overall, the students seem to like hands on activities. It keeps them engaged, and at the same time they are not just listening to a boring lecture. Like I said, when I brought in those lights, they all seemed excited. Also, they looked like they enjoyed being asked questions. They might just like to be acknowledged.