#4 Engaged Learning

From doing my service learning hours I have noticed that the teacher incorporates many engaged learning strategies. Due to the students being first graders, the teacher uses physical movement a lot. During their morning routine the students review vowels. As the students said them, they did actions that went along with the activity so that they remembered them better. It made the activity more fun and held the students' attention better.

While it may not seem as fun as movement, the teacher also enforced her classroom rules. The students always knew what was expected of them and so when they did something wrong, it was easily corrected. When everyone followed the rules the students learned better because no one's learning got interrupted. It also created a good environment where the students were able to learn safely.

The teacher also involved all of the students. When they did a fun number activity she made sure every student participated at least a little bit. Even though some students wouldn't raise their hands, she would call on them so that everyone shared at least one thought about the activity. This created a fun environment where the students were engaged and supportive of one another. 

One instance where the lesson was not particularly engaging was when a few of the students wouldn't go to the rug to participate in the activity. The teacher could have made this situation better by telling the kids to come to the rug for the activity and then finish what they were doing at their desk if there was extra time after. This way the lesson wouldn't be interrupted and every student would have been participating. Having all the students come to the rug would also show the kids that their participation is important because they themselves are important. 

#3 Safety, Love, Positivity, and Relationships

My cooperative teacher has made the students feel loved and safe because she is a friend to her students. While she does maintain authority over the classroom so that class can run smoothly, she will talk to them on their level and she supports them in what they are doing. She is always smiling and encouraging the kids to do their best.

Going along with this, being a friend to everyone encourages a positive classroom community. Students feel valued and important. Everyone knows that everyone has something to contribute whether it be big or small. And even when a student answers a question incorrectly, the teacher still validates part of their statement and then leads them in the right direction. The cooperative teacher does her best to never make anyone feel foolish and she's always happy.

Making the students feel loved and safe also builds a positive relationship between the teacher and each student. The positive atmosphere also adds to this relationship. The teacher offers each student support when they need it, and she'll praise them on things they do well. She also talks to each individual student as an equal. The students know that the teacher is someone they can always trust.

#2 Learning Theories, Learning Strategies, and Development Levels

Yesterday was my first day doing service-learning in the first grade classrooms at East Meadows Elementary. All of the first grade teachers were doing bench marking so I wasn't able to fully observe how a normal classroom was run but I still got a taste of it. One at a time I gave the students a pretest on their sight words. While doing this I was still able to observe some of the classroom's activity and the learning theory that I noticed being used the most was cognitivism. The teacher started her lesson with a hook that got the students super excited for the day. They started to talk and the teacher had to have them settle down again so she could continue with the lesson. When she continued her lesson, I noticed that she repeated a lot of what she said in various ways so that each child was given an opportunity to comprehend and understand it.

I thought it was nice that she repeated much of what she said. The teacher did it casually in a way that the students wouldn't get annoyed with the repetition but they would still be able to take away the most important objective from the lesson. She also addressed different developmental levels by rewording things when students had questions. She was always sure to clarify and never belittled a student for not understanding. When I left, the class had started doing an activity that addressed the kinesthetic learning style of some kids. Overall, it was an enjoyable first day and I can't wait to go back next week.