Field Experience
Service learning was extremely necessary and beneficial because the experiences alone told me whether or not I wanted to become a teacher. Working with the students, for me I found out how I exhibited classroom management and it also helped me realize my true philosophies. Observing the teacher was truly helpful in forming my plan of action in the classroom and once again my philosophy.
These moments in the classrooms were precious to me, and at times I found myself thinking it was my class and I was the teacher.
Image: http://www.free-clipart-pictures.net/teacher_clipart.html
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SPRING 2013
Hartford Sylvia Encinas Elementary School
Grades: 4-6 Resource
Hours: 26.5
This semester was the greatest experience in my service learning because I realized I wanted to pursue a career in special education. I worked hands-on in a resource class specifically for 4th-6th graders who were struggling in math, reading writing. This service learning assignment was for not only my exceptional learners class, but my children's literature class as well. I performed a read-aloud daily and exercised lesson plans that I created while following a theme my mentor teacher wanted me to incorporate. After each read-aloud there was an activity which was always a fun experience. This by far was the best part of my day each time. The students had a blast and were clearly excited to be reading each day. It was amazing to be learning about IEP's in my classroom and in my service learning environment. I felt that with each lesson learned in my exceptional learners class, my service learning experience was putting those terms into practice. I am so thankful for this experience because I realized how much I want to be in the special education field.
http://www.mychandlerschools.org/hartford
Mentor-teacher's comments: "Lauren was an exceptional intern. She learned the students' names within a week. She was always on time, with a positive attitude. She was always willing to help. I have thoroughly enjoyed having her with me."
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Hartford Sylvia Encinas Elementary School
Grades: 4-6 Resource
Hours: 26.5
This semester was the greatest experience in my service learning because I realized I wanted to pursue a career in special education. I worked hands-on in a resource class specifically for 4th-6th graders who were struggling in math, reading writing. This service learning assignment was for not only my exceptional learners class, but my children's literature class as well. I performed a read-aloud daily and exercised lesson plans that I created while following a theme my mentor teacher wanted me to incorporate. After each read-aloud there was an activity which was always a fun experience. This by far was the best part of my day each time. The students had a blast and were clearly excited to be reading each day. It was amazing to be learning about IEP's in my classroom and in my service learning environment. I felt that with each lesson learned in my exceptional learners class, my service learning experience was putting those terms into practice. I am so thankful for this experience because I realized how much I want to be in the special education field.
http://www.mychandlerschools.org/hartford
Mentor-teacher's comments: "Lauren was an exceptional intern. She learned the students' names within a week. She was always on time, with a positive attitude. She was always willing to help. I have thoroughly enjoyed having her with me."
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Diversity Day Event: 5th Grade Humphrey Traditional Academy
Chandler Gilbert Community College
December 10, 2012
Hours: 2
Diversity Day with Humphrey Elementary School involved my group members and I teaching fifth graders about Ireland. I personally had to build a lesson plan for my topic in our presentation. My topic was "Irish celebrities", I chose four in total for them to write three interesting facts about after I give them information on each person. I began with a modern day celebrity that they were familiar with and continued with two older famous faces of the Irish history. I ended the lesson with another celebrity from today's society. They enjoyed this because they knew who I was talking about. Learning about the older Irish celebrities was fun for them because one of them they had heard of and the other was fun to learn because they had done so many things in their life. I made them a worksheet that had an image of each person and three lines for them to write their interesting facts. Afterwards, they had to complete a wordsearch of nothing but Irish celebrities. They were unaware that most of the celebrities in the puzzle that they knew were even from Ireland. We also did a physical activity, as well as arts and crafts. Our classroom management was great because we had the students' attention the whole time. I valued this experience because I had to plan a lesson, research it, and think of an activity to do that the students would enjoy. Then I had to implement my classroom management skills which felt so natural. We were able to have fun and get to know the students individually. I loved this experience because it made me so excited for the future. The moment it was my turn to speak and lead the class, I felt I was home. This is what I was made to do.
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FALL 2012
San Marcos Elementary School
Grade: 1 ELD
Hours: 20.5
This semester has been an incredible experience with service learning. I was able to witness creative ways to embrace cultural diversity in the classroom and successful classroom management skills. My mentor teacher was a significant role model because she also studied education with Chandler Gilbert Community College and later transferred to Northern Arizona University. This was her first year of teaching and she instilled in me the confidence I need to have as a future teacher.Her class of first graders are extremely bright and are bilingual. She created lesson plans that involved me to be hands on with her students in group activities and individual assistance with reading, writing, and math. I was given time slots to lead the class in reading lessons where I read aloud with the students and we paraphrased using vocabulary words as well as acted out the book. I was nervous in the beginning of my service learning when I was supposed to work with the class while the teacher helped students individually with testing in the back of the room, however, the moment I started the lesson I felt at ease and quite comfortable in the classroom. I gained a lot of knowledge on creating a positive classroom climate, and having successful classroom management. Although there were language barriers for me, I was able to relate with the students. This classroom experience was interesting for me because it was perfect for both my Cultural Diversity class and Classroom Management class. My mentor teacher has a student-centered classroom and what I loved about her was that she was always excited to try different teaching methods. She had a quote posted on the wall that she frequently referenced to the students, "I can do hard things". My favorite moment in this classroom was when the students were doing group work with their math problems and I noticed two partners in the front of the room. One of them said "this is too hard, I don't get it!", to which the other student replied "Yes you can! We can do hard things, remember?" Then she proceeeded to help him with the problem. The students taught me that no matter how young a person is, they can do hard things and that is why it is important to have high expectations as a teacher, so they can feel empowered and try harder each time. I am so thankful for this experience because I came to the realization of how natural it is for me to be in a classroom and how grateful I am to have chosen the right career path.
http://www.mychandlerschools.org/sanmarcos
Mentor-teacher's comments: "Lauren is a joy to have in the classroom and works very well with students. She is not afraid to jump right in to help students individually. She takes initiative and has a natural ability to connect with children. She always maintained a professional demeanor and communicated regularly."
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San Marcos Elementary School
Grade: 1 ELD
Hours: 20.5
This semester has been an incredible experience with service learning. I was able to witness creative ways to embrace cultural diversity in the classroom and successful classroom management skills. My mentor teacher was a significant role model because she also studied education with Chandler Gilbert Community College and later transferred to Northern Arizona University. This was her first year of teaching and she instilled in me the confidence I need to have as a future teacher.Her class of first graders are extremely bright and are bilingual. She created lesson plans that involved me to be hands on with her students in group activities and individual assistance with reading, writing, and math. I was given time slots to lead the class in reading lessons where I read aloud with the students and we paraphrased using vocabulary words as well as acted out the book. I was nervous in the beginning of my service learning when I was supposed to work with the class while the teacher helped students individually with testing in the back of the room, however, the moment I started the lesson I felt at ease and quite comfortable in the classroom. I gained a lot of knowledge on creating a positive classroom climate, and having successful classroom management. Although there were language barriers for me, I was able to relate with the students. This classroom experience was interesting for me because it was perfect for both my Cultural Diversity class and Classroom Management class. My mentor teacher has a student-centered classroom and what I loved about her was that she was always excited to try different teaching methods. She had a quote posted on the wall that she frequently referenced to the students, "I can do hard things". My favorite moment in this classroom was when the students were doing group work with their math problems and I noticed two partners in the front of the room. One of them said "this is too hard, I don't get it!", to which the other student replied "Yes you can! We can do hard things, remember?" Then she proceeeded to help him with the problem. The students taught me that no matter how young a person is, they can do hard things and that is why it is important to have high expectations as a teacher, so they can feel empowered and try harder each time. I am so thankful for this experience because I came to the realization of how natural it is for me to be in a classroom and how grateful I am to have chosen the right career path.
http://www.mychandlerschools.org/sanmarcos
Mentor-teacher's comments: "Lauren is a joy to have in the classroom and works very well with students. She is not afraid to jump right in to help students individually. She takes initiative and has a natural ability to connect with children. She always maintained a professional demeanor and communicated regularly."
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SPRING 2012
Humphrey Elementary School
Grades: 2-6
Hours: 4
Working in the computer lab and library at Humphrey Elementary School with Mrs. S was a wonderful stepping stone for service learning. She was very passionate about teaching and she loves technology. I assisted Mrs. S several days with two 30 minute sessions in various grade levels. Meeting the students was the best part, because I remember being so fearful I would not be able to talk to them, but I was very confident the moment they stepped through the door and we were all engaged in each session. The students were using different applications on the computer in each grade so initially I was not able to help the students as much as I wanted. However, after a day and Mrs. S giving me some tips I was able to adapt to the environment in the computer lab. I was using Kid Pix, a program for building images from a blank document, to the Movie-Maker program with the sixth graders to build a short video on the Industrial Revolution. I was very confident with other classes when their classwork consisted of using Microsoft Word to write essays on the book they chose for their book report assignment. This experience was great to have while enrolled in my computer usage class, BPC 110. Small details on the computer that I learned in class, I was able to demonstrate in service learning with the students. Even though I only spent four hours at this school, I grew close with some students and I will never forget the excitement in their faces as I passed by when they were lined up in the cafeteria. It is amazing to me how much you can impact a child in a sequence of only 30 minutes.
www.mychandlerschools.org/humphrey
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SPRING 2012
Kyrene De La Mirada Elementary School
Grade: 4
Hours: 32
I filed a self placement with a fourth grade teacher I knew from Kyrene's De La Mirada. This was the greatest training tool for me as I become a future educator. Everyday spent in the classroom involved me actively working with the students. The teacher allowed me to have a rotation each day with different students for math and reading groups. This was the best part of my day because I loved listening to them absorb new information, and ponder on different methods for specific problems. Every minute was a learning experience and I felt so comfortable in front of the classroom leading a lesson, or giving a spelling test. I did a lot of observing, but thankfully I was able to act more as a mentor to the students rather than an observer in the back of the class. My introduction to education class, or EDU 221 was perfect to have while in this situation because we were discussing "classroom management" and the different philosophies of teaching during my actual sessions where I was exhibiting classroom management and expressing my philosophies through my methods of teaching. I learned that I am able to keep control of the class environment, and I also realized that at the moment I have a very progressive approach to teaching in the classroom. Of course, with time, change and reflection my philosophies and methods will change, but this was wonderful to find out about myself. I will never forget those kids, they validated my desire to become an educator.
http://www.kyrene.org/schools/mirada/Default.asp
Mentor-teacher's comments: "Lauren will be a wonderful classroom teacher. Each visit Lauren worked with students in various settings- showing her love for children. She also brought a positive and energetic attitude to class. I appreciate her willingness to learn from me and embrace collegiality."
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Humphrey Elementary School
Grades: 2-6
Hours: 4
Working in the computer lab and library at Humphrey Elementary School with Mrs. S was a wonderful stepping stone for service learning. She was very passionate about teaching and she loves technology. I assisted Mrs. S several days with two 30 minute sessions in various grade levels. Meeting the students was the best part, because I remember being so fearful I would not be able to talk to them, but I was very confident the moment they stepped through the door and we were all engaged in each session. The students were using different applications on the computer in each grade so initially I was not able to help the students as much as I wanted. However, after a day and Mrs. S giving me some tips I was able to adapt to the environment in the computer lab. I was using Kid Pix, a program for building images from a blank document, to the Movie-Maker program with the sixth graders to build a short video on the Industrial Revolution. I was very confident with other classes when their classwork consisted of using Microsoft Word to write essays on the book they chose for their book report assignment. This experience was great to have while enrolled in my computer usage class, BPC 110. Small details on the computer that I learned in class, I was able to demonstrate in service learning with the students. Even though I only spent four hours at this school, I grew close with some students and I will never forget the excitement in their faces as I passed by when they were lined up in the cafeteria. It is amazing to me how much you can impact a child in a sequence of only 30 minutes.
www.mychandlerschools.org/humphrey
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
SPRING 2012
Kyrene De La Mirada Elementary School
Grade: 4
Hours: 32
I filed a self placement with a fourth grade teacher I knew from Kyrene's De La Mirada. This was the greatest training tool for me as I become a future educator. Everyday spent in the classroom involved me actively working with the students. The teacher allowed me to have a rotation each day with different students for math and reading groups. This was the best part of my day because I loved listening to them absorb new information, and ponder on different methods for specific problems. Every minute was a learning experience and I felt so comfortable in front of the classroom leading a lesson, or giving a spelling test. I did a lot of observing, but thankfully I was able to act more as a mentor to the students rather than an observer in the back of the class. My introduction to education class, or EDU 221 was perfect to have while in this situation because we were discussing "classroom management" and the different philosophies of teaching during my actual sessions where I was exhibiting classroom management and expressing my philosophies through my methods of teaching. I learned that I am able to keep control of the class environment, and I also realized that at the moment I have a very progressive approach to teaching in the classroom. Of course, with time, change and reflection my philosophies and methods will change, but this was wonderful to find out about myself. I will never forget those kids, they validated my desire to become an educator.
http://www.kyrene.org/schools/mirada/Default.asp
Mentor-teacher's comments: "Lauren will be a wonderful classroom teacher. Each visit Lauren worked with students in various settings- showing her love for children. She also brought a positive and energetic attitude to class. I appreciate her willingness to learn from me and embrace collegiality."
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