Senior Year Animoto

The following is my Senior Year Animoto that I made over the 2016-2017 school year. Please Enjoy!

Field Trip to SMU and the President George W. Bush Museum and Library

The following blog assignment can be found here. 

Allison and I at SMU

On Thursday, March 30th, our Education and Training Class went to a field trip in Dallas, Texas to Southern Methodist University and the Bush Library. The most interesting thing that I learned at SMU was how augmented reality worked. It was very interesting getting to work with the iPads and the pictures! I think that this would be great for all aged students, and would be very beneficial in teaching lessons to students. I think that the students would be very intrigued in the lesson, and would stay focused and learn a lot while using these activities.

Click here to visit the Department of Teaching and Learning to learn more about SMU's education program.

 After visiting SMU, we walked over to the Bush Memorial Library. Not having a lot of knowledge on the United States' presidential history, I learned a lot about our 43rd president, George W. Bush. I enjoyed learning about President Bush's famous Education Initiative. George W. Bush implemented reforms that held schools accountable for teaching all children and for reducing the achievement gap. After being elected President of the United States, George Bush submitted to Congress a comprehensive education reform plan-No Child Left Behind- to take his ideas on accountability to the national level. The key aspects of this Education Initiative included accountability, local flexibility, systems that work, and meaningful options.

 Click here to visit the President 

George W. Bush Museum and Library website.

Allison, Makayla, Tiana and I in front of the
Education Initiative exhibit.

Allison and I in the oval office.

These were metal posts that were in one of the twin towers during 9/11

The most interesting part for me in the library was the 9/11 exhibit. I learned a lot, and got to see many artifacts about this devastating day. It was very interesting watching video clips of that day, and the exact order of events that happened and their exact time. We got to see all of the names of the first responders, and even got to read the exact schedule of George W. Bush's day. I had previous knowledge on this day in history however, I got to see an inside look on how it affected the Bush Presidency and the whole nation.

Allison, Tiana, Makayla and I in front of
the names of the First Responders of 9/11

Working the Crowd and Room Arrangement (Chapters 1-4)

The following blog assignment can be found here.

In our Education and Training class, the second year interns are doing a book study over Fred Jones's book, "Tools for Teaching". After reading chapters 3 and 4, I have gained a lot of knowledge on arranging a classroom in order to work the crowd the easiest. I am so excited to continue reading this book and widen my knowledge on professional teaching techniques!

Chapter 3- In this chapter, I read about ways to work the crowd, so the crowd does not work me instead. I learned that a teacher's mobility is very important, and it is a subconscious activity. Eye contact is very important in addressing issues in a classroom in order to avoid a disruption or embarrassment of the students. In my field site classroom, I think there are a few obstacles that make it difficult to work the crowd. First, even though the desks are in groups, the walkways are very narrow and difficult to get through without the students having to move their chairs closer to the table. There is also not a good zone to walk to check on all of the students without having to make several figure eights. I think these flaws in my field site classroom allow the students to goof off because the teacher would not be able to address the problem very quickly, each table is difficult to get to, and it can be difficult to check on all of the students in a short amount of time.

Chapter 4-  According to Jones, the teacher's desk should go in the front of the classroom, 5 feet away from the students in the front row. The teacher may feel claustrophobic, but "will soon come to appreciate the intimacy and control that proximity provides".  In my field site classroom, I would probably put the teacher's desk in the back of the room, so the teacher can watch over each of the students and put troubled ones in the back to keep an eye on them. In the back of the classroom, the teacher can do work at his/her desk, but keep an eye on all of the students. The teacher's desk would not be in the way of the white board, and there would be plenty of space in the front of the classroom for activities. In the reading, Jones says that "eight feet is the difference between prevention and remediation whenever you are standing in the front of the classroom," and whenever the teacher is sitting in the back of the room, the teacher can be close to the students without blocking their eyesight by sitting in front of them. I think that this location for a desk would provide the benefits of being near the students, but would not intimidate them with the desk right in the front of the room. The teacher can be as close as 5 feet behind them, in which the students would "cool it" and not goof off.

Click here to view information on this book and the author.