Field Experience Essay

Reflecting back on my field experience, I was able to gain quality insight as well as a better understanding of the teaching and the learning process of ESOL in a mainstream classroom. My experience in Mrs. Little’s classroom has shown that the role of the ESOL teacher is to educate students in functional language skills, offer content that is academically challenging, and helps students acculturate to the new language and culture.

My child 's name is Jude Alexander and he is a male. As a baby he is cautious around new people and situations, but warms up fairly quickly to friendly people. In kindergarten Jude Alexander seemed to have made one or two friends and usually played cooperatively and was sometimes reluctant to join in new activities with unfamiliar children. He performed below average on tests of vocabulary, and the ability to retell a story. He had a real knack for the art projects, and really got interested in the pre-math activities involving working with blocks and geometric shapes. In first through fifth grade he worked cooperatively in groups, usually respects the rights and property of others, and usually demonstrates appropriate peer social interaction. He demonstrates strength in art, all areas of reading, and in spelling and appropriate for the grade level in writing. He needs additional help in the areas of speaking and listening and in the content knowledge of social studies, science and music. He was average in mathematical problem solving, understanding of data, number concepts, graphical applications, and arithmetic computation. In the seventh grade, he consistently contributes to cooperative group activities and respects the rights and possessions of others, and shows age-appropriate social interaction with peers. He demonstrates strength in art, reading, spelling and writing. He was average in math and science, and needs additional

The first one was, “What do you like most about your building?”. I was floored by the consistency of the answers to the first question. Overwhelmingly, teachers stated that they love the people they work with and the students they teach. There were multiple comments regarding teachers willingness to assist each other, to excel above and beyond for the students best interests, and sharing a common philosophy.

#1 Please describe how you have prepared for your intended major, including your readiness to succeed in your upper-division courses once you enroll at the university.

The reason I chose the field that I am in today, is because when I was in high school I had no idea what I wanted to be. I just wanted out of my normal classes and found a way to do so. At my High school we had a career center and none of the programs caught my eye until it I saw computer maintenance. I went in with the mindset that this course was going to just be another easy typing class, but on our first day our instructor clearly told us that this is going to be the hardest class you will ever take in high school and that if you were here to goof off you got two weeks to change classes. Within those two weeks we went over course safety and our syllabus. The course caught my attention I really wanted to see what it had to offer and

While every experience where there is an opportunity to engage with potential clients open doors for gaining knowledge, my experience working with the geriatrics population at Angels Convent was uniquely different. This level I fieldwork experience challenged my entire knowledge and understanding of what I thought it is like working with the geriatrics population. While there were many lessons learned, one of the most important lessons was, showing up prepared is essential; nonetheless, being able to think on your feet is mandatory.

The school has many veteran teachers that love their job. In respects to the elementary teachers, they stay late and give their students 100% of them and it shows. Children are smiling and eager to get to class. The walls are filled with student lead projects. I can identify the internal leaders who are outspoken and who resolve issues. There is 5th grade teacher who is team leader and she is amazing. If a problem arises instead of complaining she goes to her team and creates a solution. In 5th grade the team is so influential due to the fact they work together so well. They plan together and share ideas. When looking through data they delve deep to the root of the problem and remediate students when needed. “Educators must promote and build meaningful relationships for all students and stakeholders in the community” (Woody,

In reality, the children move about the classroom independently, choosing the order of their learning activities. There may be 15 or more activities, or ?jobs? as they are called in some Montessori classrooms, occurring at the same time with small groups or individual work, yet the classroom remains quiet, yet busy and productive, sometimes with the soft hush of classical music playing in the background. Many Montessori school classrooms place a card around the child?s neck with the day?s objectives written in the form of a checklist for the students to monitor themselves. This checklist encourages the students to take responsibility for their own learning, as well as discourages prompt-dependence, since the student need not wait for instruction. Some of the activities in a Montessori classroom include reading, pre-reading using phonics, math, discovery science and writing. Children learn skills in a way that he or she is not aware that learning is taking place. For example, a child playing in the sand box with a small rake is not aware that he or she is learning fine motor skills and how to hold and control a pencil. Another observation in a Montessori classroom is that most classrooms tend to span three grade levels. This practice allows to children to become mentors to younger students. Also, the large gap in developmental levels allows children to ?learn at their own pace? (Keller, 2001), which is another important Montessori

Seven year old me loved getting together with friends and spending hours drawing up ideas for our outlandish inventions. Once we were done, we’d even spend another few hours thinking of the best ways to present our inventions to our parents. Fast forward 10 years to when I attended the National Student Leadership Conference (NSLC) in Chicago, and I realized that I still loved doing that. I was particularly good at the presenting part, and anything in the business world would allow my inner seven year old to flourish.

As I entered Skyview Elementary School, I immediately felt welcomed. The school is very bright and colorful. The music room is immediately next to the art room, so the hallway has student artwork on the wall. It is noticeable that the school is student-centered and the environment is positive. I was not expecting the music room to look the way it did. When I was in elementary school, our music room was also the art room, and we did not have a large collection of instruments. I remember we just sang the majority of the time and lesson plans were not used. However, this music room and class was the complete opposite of the experience I had. I walked out of the room after my first visit wishing I would have had an experience like that because I think I would have learned to

During our visits for our field experience at Rachel Freeman School of Engineering, I have been able to get a glimpse of what it is like to be in an elementary classroom at two very different grade levels – second and fifth.

Along with my BS degree in biological sciences, I have gained experience by taking laboratory courses in college as well as working in a Marine Biotechnology lab. I am familiar with collecting data, writing reports, and using variety of instruments. I can also say I am comfortable using equipments, such as, pipettes; and performing laboratory techniques including aseptic technique and microbial identification test. Moreover, I have the ability to be precise when performing laboratory techniques in order to create great results. In addition, I have worked 8 years providing customer service at a restaurant. Through this experience, I developed excellent communication skills and excelled at multitask. I am a team player who listens attentively;

I began to gain experience technical expertise starting in high school at the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology. There was a gap between the technical skills that I obtained over time, including that of AutoCAD and Revit Architecture, and a true sense of design. For the most part, I learned through self teaching and trial and error. There was still a gap between what I was able to produce digitally and physically, and the design intent. Working with the Lawrence Design Group firm during my Senior year of High School, I gained an understanding of how the workplace functioned in the Architectural Field.

I have been teaching for the past fourteen years, and it has not been until these last three that I even had exposure to visually impaired children. As a homebound teacher, My student caseload has included a mixture of students with varying levels of educational backgrounds and abilities. For example, the students would range in disabilities of being identified as intellectually disabled to very high functioning. Teaching in the homebound setting would count as my first experience with the visually impaired. I had assumed from that experience that all students with visual impairments were either taught in the home or at a residential setting. Field practicum experience I and II of the Trevecca Nazarene Vision Program gave me a totally different perspective of the role of teacher of the visually impaired. These observations have given me new insights and strategies to use with the students I currently serve. More importantly I have an understanding the implications of having a visual impaired importance of providing experiences for students to interact with all appropriate environments.

There are many aspects to teaching and as a teacher it is necessary to understand the most important aspects of teaching and how they should be incorporated into the classroom. A teacher’s most important job is not to teach specific material but to build relationships with the students and ensure they feel safe and cared for. Once the teacher is able to ensure this then they should focus on teaching, however teaching is more than listing off facts and sharing information with the students. As teachers it is essential we try to engage our students. There are many ways to engage students and each teacher as a specific way they get their classroom involved in learning. During my field experience I have learned the importance of being able to engage students and I have seen what a classroom looks like when students are not engaged. My field experience has helped to reflect on student engagement and how I would place the experience in my philosophy of education.