Knowing the Classroom

Smart Board

Table for Small Groups

Computer Station

Marquetta Strait February 06, 2013 CU L.I.F.E Dr. Hicks

Teachers storage Students Desks

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Marquetta Strait February 06, 2013 Claflin Universitys Life Improvement for Future Excellence (CU L.I.F.E) Knowing the Classroom Essay

Knowing the Classroom

Having the proper experience in your future career is very important. It allows me to gain knowledge on what to expect in my future career of teaching. Often, future teachers daydream that their classrooms will be large, have ample space, and their students will all be highly successful and willing to learn. Although, as teachers, we would all like to foresee our class as such, realistically, our classrooms may lack ample space and our students will have a variety of learning styles. As a teacher, our main job is to positively reach every student, no matter their educational background or other factors. My field experience this semester took place at Mitchell Math and Science Elementary School located in Charleston, South Carolina.
Mitchell Math and Science Elementary School is a magnet school that has a student-centered curriculum. The students learn math and science concepts and engage in hands-on activities. The school has a yoga program, a climbing wall, robotics, a Green Heart (agriculture), and sports teams. While there, I was placed with two amazing teachers, Ms. Black and Mr. Wingard. Ms. Black teaches a third grade class. Her class has 15 students that are all AfricanAmerican. I enjoyed the structure she had within her classroom. The classroom has ample space for the students to walk around, which is great for students personal space. When the students were copying their notes from the Smart Board, they were able to stay at their desks or sit on the carpet in front of the Smart Board. She would remind the students to make sure that they maintained proper

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carpet behavior, such as not being sprawled out on the floor. She uses a microphone to instruct the class during her lessons. This is a great way for students that may have hearing challenges to comprehend what the teacher is saying.

The students keep their belongings, such as book bags in their cubby area. Having cubby areas in the classroom allows for the classroom to remain tidy and avoid hazardous situations, such as tripping or falling. In addition to their cubbies, each student has their own desk sack, which stores extra supplies, such as pencils and erasers. By having a desk sack, the teacher is preventing the unnecessary walking and distractions in the classroom during instruction. The teachers desk is located towards the front of the classroom, which enables the teacher to be more observant of students behavior. It is obvious that Ms. Black is very

organized. On the back wall of the classroom, she stores her educational materials, such as math manipulatives, thermometers, glass jars, etc. Keeping a classroom organized is associated to the teachers preferences or style. For example, if a teacher has his/her classroom filled with bright colors and decorations, that teacher may prefer for his/her students to be more free-spirited and active, whereas, if there is a classroom without colorful attractions, the teacher may be very traditional. In Ms. Blacks class, she tries to make up for the fact that the walls are beige by having colorful educational posters around the room. Classroom arrangement is a large factor in the discipline of the class. The teacher has placed the class in two rows. Each student has their name, neatly, labeled on the front of their desk. The teacher has ample space in the front and because of his classroom arrangement; there is ample space to walk around. This is a positive for everyone in the class because it prevents people from feeling cramped and it provides personal space for everyone.

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Every classroom at the elementary school must have the basic classroom expectations visible. Ms. Black is more so a backbone teacher. She does not appear very stern or strict, but the students know when they are displaying misbehavior. She will correct them or question their actions. In observing both the females and males, she has to reprimand the males more because they can quickly get off task. In contrast, the females are more apt to converse in class. When her students misbehave, she disciplines her students by having them move their level down on the behavior chart, have silent lunch, or no recess. The students really try to avoid getting their privileges taken away. This is a positive for teachers because if a teacher knows the interests of students and what they enjoy, they could use that for their reinforcement in making sure that the class displays positive behaviors.
My other mentor teacher, Mr. Wingard, teaches a fourth grade class and is acknowledged as one of the best teachers at the school. He has been teaching for twelve years at this elementary school and it was his first job after obtaining his education degree, which shows that he loves the school and is doing a fantastic job. He teaches 20 students, 10 males and 10 females that are all African-American. He uses this strategy where he gets students to write questions about the lesson that they would want to ask their peers on Post-It Notes. The students are seated in groups with comfortable chairs. To me, comfortable chairs are important because the students are seated longer, engaged in their learning, and not fidgeting around. Mr. Wingard praises his students for working together on their worksheets and using reasoning when trying to obtain the correct mathematical solution.

The students keep their belongings, such as book bags in their cubby area. The students sit in groups at hexagon tables. These groups change periodically, which is a great way for teachers to get students to develop a great community of learning with their peers. In addition to their cubbies, each group has a plastic storage container, which is stored underneath their table.

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This container stores their daily materials, such as handouts, textbooks or workbooks, journals, pencils, or erasers. By having this container stored underneath the table, the students are more prone to be organized and there are less hazardous situations. Mr.Wingards desk is located towards the front of the classroom, which enables the teacher to be more observant of students behavior. Being that his desk is small, he is often seen walking around the classroom and observing his students within their groups. On the back wall of his classroom, he also stores his educational materials, such as math manipulatives, balance beams, globes, etc. Overall, I believe that Mitchell Math and Science Elementary School is a great location to complete my field experience. I truly enjoy my classes and my mentor teachers. The experience is more essential because it allows me to take in consideration certain aspects that will affect my class. These aspects can range from the dynamics of the class, the culture of the youth, the community, the schools objectives, the classroom arrangement, discipline style, and reinforcement. My main goal, as a future educator, is to comprehend what works and what does not work in my classroom.