Rotation+Discussion

Use this space to share what you are learning from your mentor teacher, successes you have, problems with the rotation, your experiences in the classroom. That way we can have a shared experience of the rotation. We can also learn from each other and have a richer experience.

But if i had to think of a strength I think that I am a scaffolding teacher. When a kid needs help I tell them to sound out the word and give them more time to figure the answer out. For example, if a kid is having trouble with with 5+5 I'll say well, what is 5+4 ? I'll let them think about it so they have a second chance.
 * Ms. Battista:** My second grade rotation has been a little crazy because wednesday was conference day and yesterday (monday) the whole second grade went on a rescheduled school trip. So, yesterday I worked with a first grade class. I found that first graders are very different from second grade. It may seem hard to believe but second graders are actually a little more mature. I thought there wouldn't be a difference at all in matureness but, there was.


 * Miss DuBon:** I believe my strength as a teacher is that I don't get flustered between period changes. As a elementary school art teacher you have to be flexible as students from different grades constanly stream in and out of the room. I don't mind it when something goes wrong or a student doesn't start or finish in the right place. My mentor teacher's calm attitude and easy going dominor helps me to relax and take care of one child at a time.


 * Miss Notholt:** As I spend more and more time in the class room I am beginning to see that one of my strenghts as a teacher is my ability to pick up on the students comprehension of the suject matter that they are learning. When I see that one of the second graders in my class is struggling I can focus more of my attention on helping this sudent to understand.

**Paula-** During my rotation experience with Mrs. Hengel’s 2nd grade class I have learned some of my strengths as a teacher. The first strength I noticed I had as a teacher is that I was very outgoing with the students. When I started, I expected to be a little nervous and have trouble communicating with the students. However, I connected with the students from the beginning. In addition, I believe my ability to encourage students is one of my strengths as a teacher. It is very important for teachers to encourage students, so that they feel like they are learning and improving. Another strength i have as a teacher is, my positive attitude. I think smiling and having a positive attitude is very important for every teacher. Lastly, I think strength of mine is my ability to get students focused. Getting students focused is essential to every teacher.


 * Miss Brosnan:** I am absolutely enjoying the 2nd grade rotation. The kids are so great and interact with me so well for being another new person in the classroom with them. My mentor teacher has given me such good positive feedback saying that I'm even if i don't pursue teaching something that involved children would be a great way for me to go because it comes so natural to me and that definitely was great to hear, especially on our first rotation. It's been a good experience for me so far because I've been able to take a group of kids myself and work with them on their reading, writing, and science lessons and I think my communication with the students has been good as well. Other strengths I think I have are being able to explain questions that may seem confusing to them and put it into simpler terms and also communicating with the students. They come in and say hi to me in the morning and I think they're starting to get comfortable with me in the classroom and coming to me for help if the other teachers are busy.

Leanne: As a teacher, my strengths are that I am willing to take initiative and i'm very creative and outgoing. These qualities are important as a teacher because teachers need to create their own classroom enviroment, be open to new ideas and be fun around younger students. I really try to understand each child so it is easier for me to teach in a way that each student will understand.

Rachel: I loved my first rotation. I have a combined classroom with 6 students that have IEP's and a student with down syndrome. My strength as a teacher would be that i have an incredible amount of patience with the students. For example I don't get frustrated when it takes 3 minutes for a kid to say the word "only" or "caterpillar" when we are in reading time. Words that i know by sight take a little while for them to figure out. The kids need things to be said to them 5,6 or however many times to do somthing, and that all deals with patience as well. Sometimes they don't listen and you need to take control of the situation so they will listen to you.ten

Marlena: I would encourage parent involvement by having a parent day once every other month so they can come in and see their children in their everyday environment and work they've done thus far. I would make sure parents knew they were allowed to e-mail me or call me anytime with any questions or concerns regarding their child. Since my intended grade level in elementary education, the children are younger and I feel it would be a great encouragement to the student as well as the parents if I were to call a student's parent whenever the child does something outstanding in class that I feel the parents would like to know about.

 Rachel: In my kindergarten class, the students are all autistic or show characteristics of being autistic so the teacher manages the classroom differently then I saw in my first grade rotation. My current teacher does not really pay attention to the students when they act out, unless it's very extreme, in those cases the students are closed off from everyone else for a few minutes to reflect on themselves. Sometimes the students are completely removed from the classroom if they are acting out. Otherwise they are not penalized for jumping in their seats or making noise...etc.

Paula :) - Each Kindergarten student has different individual needs. On my rotation, I noticed each student learns at a different pace. Mrs. Elconin does a lot of group work to help meet these different learners. To start with, there are two TA's (Teacher Assistants) and Mrs. Elconin. Mrs. Elconin breaks up the students into groups that contain a teacher each so that it easier to help the individual student. In addition, Mrs. Elconin does a great job by varying activities. For example, if students are learning about the letter ‘h’, all students are working on writing on ‘H’ but in through different activities. I really enjoy being a part of Mrs. Elconin’s class and being able to view her abilities to address every learner.

 Miss DuBon: My experience with my first grade teacher has been a very positive experience. My teacher uses technology as an excellent form of organization. Each morning every student drags and drops their name for attendance purposes and proceeds to sit o the rug. This is great for little kids who may be fidgety during roll call and allows an interactive experience. Each student is organized into four tables of four or five students. The teacher is very conscientious of each learning behavior and boy to girl ratio when switching groups around. Finally every student knows exactly where everything. I asked for scissors and immediately four eager kids were showing me exactly where I can find everything