Engaged Learning

Some of the activities that I have observed in the classroom that were particularly engaging include the use of technology in the classroom, group projects, and some kinesthetic learning.  During the reading centers, the students are allowed to use the chromebooks to  play reading games.  They love this center and always seem to be excited to have their turn there.  The teacher did a collaborative group art project for science.  All of the kids were put into groups and had to work together to make a poster that taught about the different seasons of the year.  Each student had to make a contribution.  It was really fun to see the creativity that the students came up with.  Another thing that I have observed is seeing the kids use their spelling words while in PE as they did jump rope.  They had to spell the words as they jumped.

The time that lacks the most engagement seems to be the transition times.  They can be sitting there for quite a while in between lessons waiting for the next assignment or activity.  I think that the teacher could be more aware of transitions and if something comes up that needs to be taken care of, that she should have something for the students to do so that they are not just sitting there.

Creating Productive Learning Environments

The cooperative teacher that I have been working with establish a positive relationship with each student by getting to know them personally and making sure that they know that she sees them and knows them.  In the mornings, she is in charge of the outside duty by the entrance to the school.  She makes it a point to greet every student when they come to school, but you can definitely tell when one of her students come in.  She has a beaming smile and greets the student with their name and asks them how they are and what great things the student plans on accomplishing that day.  you can tell that she really knows what is going on in the children's lives and that she really cares.

The routines are very clearly established in her classroom.  Each day run through the same schedule.  If there happens to be an assembly or anything going on that might alter the schedule, she makes sure to write the information on the board and discusses the changes so that none of the children are caught unaware.  Her reading groups are timed exactly to the minute and the students know that as soon as the chimes ring that they are to move to their new center.  She rarely needs to interfere and it goes very smoothly.

The teacher recognizes students skills by allowing the students who are excelling in a certain area be able to help the students around them.  She also highlights a student each week and encourages them to share their talents with the class during this time.