Midterm Reflection
Communication, research, technology and collaboration are the four major strands of work. Each of these strands are useful and necessary when carrying out the activities and lessons used so far in our Children’s Literature course.
Open communication has been of vital importance for us up to this point. Without proper communication between one another and the students that we worked with the March 15th performance would not have been successful. During each class discussion everyone was able to share what worked and what didn’t that day. By doing this we were able to fine tune certain aspects of the show up until the performance date. As our communication grew stronger among our own class it also became grew with the students we coached. We were able to create very trusting and accepting relationships with the students in a short period of time. Thus making it possible for us to get more out of them when it came time for them to practice and perform.
Research is a strand that is necessary when working with any age group. One must first have and understanding of the age group they are working with as well as their abilities. The poems that Dr. Vitali provided us with at the beginning of the semester were picked with the students in mind. They were not too difficult for the Heights students to memorize or for the Mesa Verde Students to understand. Research must take place before and during the time one is working with students. The research that is done before is meant to pave the way for getting things started. However these plans and ideas can quickly change if the students are not receptive to the material presented. If the material is too hard or too easy the students might turn off and tune out. Therefore the need for adjustments and further research is necessary. Good research is a continual process in any well constructed classroom.
As we worked with the students from Heights Middle school adjustment were made each week. Using our practice time to evaluate the success of the poems chosen was our continuing research. Adjustments were then made to accommodate those areas that did not work and solutions were introduced the following week.
Technology is a very useful tool for teaching. It can be used in many different ways in the classroom or like in our case a performance. We were very fortunate to have a sound system provided to us to use during the performance time at Mesa Verde. It was very helpful in allowing those students who struggled to project their voices to be heard.
However technology also has its pitfalls. Relying on technology can leave one in a very tight position when it fails to work. During our performance we were able to see a prime example of this when the projector did not cooperate. Thinking quickly on our feet we were able to continue without missing a beat in our production.
The final strand of work and in my opinion the most important is collaboration. Working together is the best way to have a successful classroom. One must work together with their students, colleagues, parents of students, as well as administrators. By mastering the art of collaboration one can make their classroom and teaching experiences more successful.
During our coaching sessions we had to collaborate with one another and the students that we were coaching. By working together we were able to improve the poetry performances each week until they were ready to be performed in front of the Mesa Verde students. Had we not worked together the production would not have been a successful one.
In using these four strands together we were able to achieve a wonderfully good performance. We reached many different age groups and kevels of intelligences. Many of us drew on past experiences when figuring out how to deal with students we coached. While I was unaware that we were using them, these four strands of work are very useful when used together.
Evaluation
As a whole, our class has done a wonderful job thus far in the semester. Everyone has worked hard and did their share to ensure that the March 15th was excellent! When evaluating my own grade, I think that I too have done very well. I hope to continue to do well in the class and to learn more useful skills that I can use in my future classroom. I hope that we continue to learn using the hands on approach to learning that we have so far. I feel that I learn best when working in groups and doing hands on activities. I am eager to see what the remainder of the semester will bring.