Reflections on being an Observee

   Observation is such a necessary component to learning about a person and/or environment. As it is important for teachers to observe the children that they teach, it is important for professors to observe the teachers they guide. I have complete understanding of why it is so difficult to ignore an observer and “be yourself”. There is someone who is standing over you or near you just watching you. This is one reason why children behave differently when they are being watched. It is a funny dynamic and adults are no exception to being more wary when they know they are being observed. The way I teach is to try to be casual and relaxed. Sometimes this is more difficult to do when you are wary of making mistakes or feeling that a mistake or mishaps cannot happen.

   I hope that for the second observation, that I am able to put my mind more at ease and be accepting and even welcoming of some curves. Teaching in the classroom hardly ever plays out as we imagine or expect it to in our lesson plans. Although being flexible is an important component of teaching, The one aspect of the lesson that went well was that the children were engaged and wanted to try out the wheel. A goal was to help them make the connection that if they can read a word like “cat” they can read many more words because they know the phonemes of the letters of the alphabet.

   As social and emotional development is such a big factor for the children at the GO project, it was important that they felt that this task was achievable. I was very proud when some of the children began to make up their own pseudo words and traded word wheels with their friends. The most important outcome would be that the children realize that they have the tools to be readers and make connections between Fundations work, spelling work and reading. They were attentive and engaged. I had to laugh when Maria pointed out that I did not start from the beginning of the book. It showed me that she knew the principles of reading and that she way paying attention. It was also a funny moment when I held up the word wheel and Angel said very certainly, “Oh, that’s a circle.” (It is a great reminder of how literal children are.) He was correct, I guess I should have clarified to them that it was a word wheel and engage the children by asking the children to show thumbs up or down if they know how to use a word wheel. Then demonstrate if no one knows or have a volunteer explain how a word wheel is used. The main objective was to be able to hear the children sounding out the words in their word family. This would enable me to assess whether the children were familiar with their letter sounds and their ability to put the sounds together. I was able to hear Calvin sound out the words. I was also able to see that he inverted his “h” and “s” when he wrote the words down. An additional benefit of having the children list their words allowed me to see their writing as well as who was able to generate their own pseudo words. I was satisfied with the way the children were engaged. They followed along and were seated on the rug very well.

   For future lessons, I believe it could have been strengthened with clearer and more thorough instructions when I want the children to perform a task in the whole group, before transitioning to small groups and as needed within the small groups. Remembering to do so will only help by letting me know that my instructions were clear and if not, to clarify further. It would also benefit the children as they would not sot idly waiting for the allotted time for the lesson to be over and not be engaged and immersed in the lesson.

   A strength I had was using some strategies I would normally use with preschoolers such as reading a fun book by Dr. Suess to tie into the lesson. Also using the word wheel where the children can touch and manipulate on their own engages them more than if they only had a word sheet and an alphabet chart. One of the personal goals I had was to try to incorporate more arts into their learning. It works so well with the younger ages and I believe the children in KC would also enjoy. Kindergarten is such a hard transition grade because so much of what they were familiar with in preschool is not present. In the two short weeks we have had tests and assessments by their new teachers and a slew of specialists. The children are very aware that GO is not a summer camp for fun until first grade comes in September.

   If I could teach this lesson again, I would have begun the lesson by emphasizing the sounds of the word family and reiterated this more. I would have also liked to have reacted quicker to children who were struggling or just needed clarification so that they do not lose confidence in their ability to complete the task. There are times when it is difficult to gage when is a good time to allow the child to think or to assist them so that they do not feel discouraged by limiting their “unsure” moments. I also did my best to account for the varying developmental levels the children within KC were on by having word wheels that the children could self-check with a picture opposite it or that would give them hints as to the word the wheel created. I would have also provided tasks or assignments for the rest of the children who are not currently assisting me so that their minds are not idle. For example, while a student is helping me circle the two words that are in the same rhyme family, the rest could see if they could come up with other words that rhymed with “hop”. A strength in my teaching is that I enjoy having organic conversations with the children. This helps me try to think of ways to relate the educational concepts I am trying to teach to them in different ways. It has helped that we ask a lot of questions to try to get to know the children I can strengthen my teaching by being able to divide my attention to the rest of the class without making the individual children feel neglected. Perhaps by paying attention to points where I can give myself an “out” by prompting the children to finish their words and ensuring them that I will come back to check on how well they have done, then going to each table and checking in as well. It would be an additional pro if I mapped in my mind which children needed more checking in and which work well independently.

   In future lessons, I believe that I would throw out a challenge to the whole class before they transition to working independently. I would have posed the challenge to see how many children can create new words within their word families and encourage them to share their wheels as well. In my second observation, I hope to feel more at ease and just focus on making sure the children understand the lesson and the objectives I have set for them. As we head into our third week of school, I have been able to take advantage of the writing prompts and transitions to learn about the children more. The more I know about the children, the more of their personalities show and I can use these as tools to reach them when I am trying to teach them lessons.