Today was a very hectic day! We started with “I Mom” breakfast. This was an optional activity that the students/mothers could participate in. It was exactly what it sounds like, mothers coming to school to eat breakfast with their children.
Every first of the month (according to my CT) the entire school participates in a school pride assembly. The assembly starts with the pledge of allegiance, followed by the national anthem. For the rest of the assembly, employees/educators/administrators were announcing accomplishments (attendance, reading logs, etc.).
Following the assembly, the students went to specials, which flew by! My two CTs and I went to a third grade “data chat” meeting. During this meeting the entire third grade team met with the reading coach and discussed the FAIR test scores that recently came in. Throughout the meeting the team discussed how to interpret the scores and what instructional decisions should be made. It was an amazing opportunity to see the process that teachers go through while evaluating how to better suit the student. During the meeting I learned that there are fifteen students (out of thirty-three) in my intern-classroom that are on tier three intervention (not official). We got a new student earlier this week, which scored a one percent on the word recognition portion of a test (I believe it was the FAIR test, but I am not positive). This was extremely surprising to me, both the scores and number of student needing RTI plans.
After our “data chat” meeting, I went to a kindergarten classroom to see my focus student for Emergent Literacy. During this time I administered the “Primary Spelling Inventory (PSI).
The rest of the day went past quickly, until around 1:30. During this time, I completed my first lesson. There were a couple things that I would have liked to do differently but overall I was satisfied with the lesson. For two out of the three students the gears started turning, and I plan to follow up with the third student. The lesson was on repeated subtraction to divide. Although I had the lesson very well planned out, a couple last minute changes were necessary. It was not ideal for my first time completing a lesson, but it gave me the opportunity to learn that it is always necessary to be flexible and make last minute necessary changes.
At the end of the day, I touched base with my focus student (for the rest of my courses) Y.V. to see how he was doing throughout the week, and give a couple words of encouragement. Last week I had the opportunity to talk with my focus student and learned quite a bit about him.
It is very interesting to tie in my observations with some of the concepts discussed in Educational Psychology. Erik Erikson proposed the only theory of development that extends over an entire lifespan. My focus student falls within the fourth stage (industry versus interiority), which is a time period that students are learning mastery of many skills and teachers/peers become increasingly influential (Bohlin, 2012, pg.48). The text suggests that teachers should become aware of activities that emphasize competition (which could lead to a feeling of inferiority) and to emphasize mastery of skills over competition (for example: “You are at the reading level that you need to be in – one that is right for you”) (Bohlin, 2012, pg.48). This is extremely important in regards to my focus student because I have observed him exhibit a sense of inferiority (especially in math instruction), which causes him to shut down.
This time period that Y.V. shuts down ties into his emotions and temperament. “Temperament affects how students engage in and respond to classroom activities and also affects students academic achievement” (Bohlin, 2012, pg.62). This concept is important to know and remember when it comes to teaching these students. The students emotions and temperate may be tied to their genetic underpinnings. For example, families in (or from) Mexico, Japan, or India are more likely to encourage students to be reserved and obedient (Bohlin, 2012, pg.62). Y.V. reports that he is a Mexican-American, so his genetic underpinnings may be tied to his emotions/temperaments.
Ethnic identity is important when the students are discovering their self-concept, self-esteem and identity. Although my focus student is in third grade, and development typically occurs during the high school years (Bohlin, 2012, pg.51). The three ethnic identity stages include: diffusion/foreclosure – individuals who have not yet examined their ethnicity, moratorium – those who currently are exploring the components, and achieved – those who are committed to their ethnic group membership (Bohlin, 2012, pg.51). I would consider Y.V. to fall into the moratorium stage because I have observed him exploring/talking about his ethnicity with his peers, in the classroom, and with me.
Overall, it was a crazy, fantastic day! I was also invited to attend conference night coming up this month, which I am defiantly looking forward to. I cannot wait to go back.
Reflective Questions
1. How can I use my knowledge of the industry versus interiority stage to better assist my focus student (and other students) in developing academically?
2. Through my understanding of emotion and temperament, how can I help my focus student (and other students) remain engaged in the lesson/activities?
References
Bohlin, L., Durwin, C., & Reese-Weber, M. (2012). EdPsych: Modules (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.