I just spent a full day at my field placement. It was very interesting; I finally got to see behind the curtain of public school teaching. I graded 5 sets of exams, formatted an answer key for ScanTron, ran results, observed, asked lots of questions, and learned a lot about different tracks & ability levels. My mentor teacher has to teach the curriculum chosen by the school. I am hoping to learn UbD well enough to craft engaging lessons based on the school’s requirements. I was intimidated by the volume of work; however, by the end of the day, I felt like I could handle it. My mentor teacher told me that “official observations” require the submission of lesson plans. I’m glad we’re working on that now; I know I have my work cut out for me.
They have 80 minute blocks; this gives the teacher a large amount of flexibility for getting things done. The students have to use school laptops; they turn them in after each use. We are lucky at Millersville to have such easy access to computers and technology. They have to take turns and plan ahead for technology use.
I was surprised that I enjoyed the rhythm of the day so much. I thought 80 minute sections would drag. It was actually quite productive to be able to work on a few main tasks in depth. The students were pretty cool. I especially enjoyed the honors English class; their responsiveness and participation was great. The lowest ability level track (I hate using that word) was challenging, but they were respectful. They needed direction and reminders to stay on task.
A great first day: I look forward to the coming weeks; it looks like I will be getting the opportunity to facilitate a Shakespeare discussion.
Good luck to everyone; I hope you enjoy your field experiences.
John
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