handwritten on December 3, 2013
I recently started taking over a large portion of the classroom including classroom transitions, transitioning to and from the bathroom, morning circle time, afternoon circle time and small group activity time. I must admit that taking over the classroom in the midst of three other teachers was a bit intimidating. Nevertheless, I do think that I have learned many things that I did not expect to learn during this student teaching process.
Overall, taking over the classroom a little bit at the time has greatly improved my classroom management skills. I began my student teaching experience only using a whisper to get the student's attention. However, by watching Mrs. Armbruster, Mrs. Perovich...
handwritten on September 27, 2013
In reflecting upon my experience at the Carnegie Mellon Children’s School thus far, I have come to realize that in four short weeks I have become more confident as a pre-professional teacher and a better problem solver. This confidence stems from the variety of activities I have completed, the lessons I have taught as well as my weekly observations of my two outstanding mentor teachers who have guided me through this process.
It is fascinating how much can be learned by watching another expert in the field.
One of the goals that come to mind when I think about my development as a teacher, is to learn how to use quick and effective classroom management techniques. After teaching 8th graders...
handwritten on September 6, 2013
This semester I have the wonderful opportunity of working in The Children’s School located on the Carnegie Mellon Campus. The Children’s School has three specific programs and classrooms including the Three-Year Old Preschool, Four-Year Old Preschool and Kindergarten. The Three-Year Old Preschool and the Four-Year Old Preschool have both a morning and an afternoon session while the Kindergarten goes for a full day from 8:30-2:30. In order to successfully enroll in the Three-Year Old Preschool program, students must turn three by December 31st of the same year. Similarly, in the Four-Year Old programs students must turn 4 by December 31st and the in the Kindergarten students must turn 5 by...
handwritten on August 30, 2013
This semester I have the honor and privilege of working with the Kindergarten Team of the Carnegie Mellon Children's School as part of my pre-student teaching practicum requirement. Last week, I was fortunate enough to attend three days of curriculum development at Carnegie Mellon. Not only was I impressed by the diversity of teachers, but I was impressed by the willingness of the teachers to collaborate and move as one unit. The first day, the staff discussed their budget plans as well as safety policies and methods. A Carnegie Mellon Campus office attended one of the seminars to discuss the importance of childhood safety and the changes they were making to the Carnegie Mellon Children’s...
handwritten on July 29, 2013
I cannot believe that this summer has come to an end. This week was probably one of the most emotional weeks of my entire life. This week we continued our discussion about racism and also discussed the metaphors and similes that can be hidden within the lyrics of a simple pop tune.
My favorite lesson I taught this week was probably the racism and writing day as well as the letter-writing day. On Monday I decided it would be in our best interest to spend fifteen minutes finishing up the slavery stations from Friday and then discuss the definition of Prejudice, Racism and Color Blindness. The students were surprised that there are many individuals in this world who have come to the conclusion...
