JeLisa Ashby Field Experience Reflective Essay During my field experience at Whittaker Elementary, I gained a more concrete vision

of how I would like to organize my classroom, what instructional strategies to employ when it comes to mathematics education, and I witnessed how important it is to establish a holistic relationship with the supporting staff of the school. Ms. Anthony was an outstanding mentor teacher. Although I disagreed with some aspects of her strategies, whether disciplinary or organizational, she was always helpful and encouraged my input and questions. She made a number of suggestions before, during, and after my lessons which I greatly appreciated. In Ms. Anthonys class she had her students in groups of three, in six tables around the classroom. I like the fact that the students are grouped, but I would prefer groups of desks to promote organization and respecting the space of others. If students have their own belongings, I feel as if they will build a sense of responsibility and ownership that will transmit through to their learning process. Perhaps it was due to the lack of space, but the math center was not well organized or highlighted. It was fairly cramped and in addition to only one storage space for math materials. I would prefer a slightly more spacious area with my materials organized with the corresponding manipulatives. Ms. Anthony admits that her teachers desk was not ever adaquately organized and during her observations she was frequently deducted points. I feel that organization as a teacher is essential and sets an example for the climate of your classroom and launches a sense of high expectations of students. When I conducted my teacher interview at the beginning of my field study, Ms. Anthony told me that she had a 82% proficiency score in her math scores. Some of her instructional strategies that I witness her use on a daily basis are, direct instruction, probing questions, and classroom discussions. I plan on incorporating all of these strategies in my classroom. During direct instruction she asks probing questions, has the students pause and reflect after new content is introduced, and asks questions at the

JeLisa Ashby end of the lesson lecture for review and clarification. These strategies help mold a problem-solving based environment where students create their own learning rather than the traditional, drill and algorithmic methods that have been previously used. These methods are vital for fundamental skills that all students should possess; such as critical thinking, note taking skills, and gives the students a chance to enhance their mental dispositions. I liked the way that Ms. Anthony facilitated her classroom discussions. For example, during the completion of the guided notes on parts of a circle, she asked questions along the way for a class discussion as the notes were being completed. For closure, she highlighted the key points in a game/review session that was also open for any questions and or clarifications of the subject matter that was covered in the lesson. Also when beginning a lesson for the first time, Ms. Anthony would probe the students, yet again with questions for stimulation. For example, the class had already covered perimeter, when the parts of a circle lesson was introduced, Mrs. Anthony asked what the distance around a square was called and compared that to the circumference of a circle. After observing Ms. Anthonys class I witnessed how pivotal it is to maintain a relationship with the fellow educators of the school. Whether that educator is a resource teacher, a fellow classroom teacher, or the reading resources teacher. Whenever a behavioral situation arose, Ms. Anthony would get Ms. Keitt (her neighboring teacher) whether it be a change of classroom for a few minutes, a oneon-one session, or a simple stand-in as the other instructor when to handle a task. The resource teachers were also very helpful. For example, for PASS prep for math, Ms. Charley would take three students and review their math assignments for the week as well as play games, and help with their comprehension of word problems. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Ms. Anthonys class at Whittaker. By far my most enjoyable field experience assignment to date. She demonstrated qualities of a high-quality educator, day in and day out. The way that she organized was not my style but I was able to take from that and solidify what type of organizational pattern I wanted to infuse. My teacher also

JeLisa Ashby displayed different types of instructional strategies and assessments that presented an array of diversity in the classroom which is essential for the development of every type of student. Lastly, Ms. Anthony gave solidification on the notion that it take a village to raise a child by forming an open-communication relationship with the other educators that were responsible for the betterment of the students. I appreciate everything that I took from this experience and will gauge closely have to infuse these traits and tasks into my classroom.