Receiving Placement

I was in the 9th and 10th Grade AVID classroom for my placement. There was a sign-up sheet
that went around class in order for students to sign up to be an AVID Leader. I chose to do this
because I had heard many people talking about having issues with placements. I work two jobs,
have lots of classes, and did not have a car at the start of placements. Based on the stories that I
had heard from other students about having placements 30 minutes away, signing up for a
placement time and being placed within another one, and being placed in a content or
educational level that is different that their desire I decided that AVID was the best option for me
because I could sign up for the times that I wanted, would be in the high school setting, and
would be placed at Winona High School. I did not follow the normal placement process because
I was worried about having lots of issues.

Clinical Experience
My clinical experience was a very collaborative environment where students would ask each
other questions in order to get the help they needed in spots that they were stuck. My role in the
classroom was managing behavior, keeping students on task, and guiding the discussion in spots
that all students were unable to help any further. My group definitely had some challenges it was
me, the peer tutor, 2 students who barely talked, 2 students who were constantly talking, and 2
students who eventually were removed from the class for their behavior. This provided some
struggles, as well as a great learning experience. There were many things that I liked and disliked
about this experience.

What I liked
In this setting I liked that the students were encouraged to work together and ask questions in
order to help the student presenting reach the answer instead of just telling them how to do it. It
was interesting to see all of the different levels of learners that were present in each group and
just because some students had never taken the class before did not mean that they were unable
to help the student with the question find the answer they needed. It was an interesting
environment for me to be in because all of the students in this class are the ones that are not
failing all of their classes but they are also not getting very many A's or B's either. This was a
little bit of a culture shock for me because I have never been around students in that situation,
including in my own high school experience. It was also very nice to be with the same small
group of students for the entire clinical placement time. This allowed me to build a connection
and understanding with each of the students who were in my group.

What I disliked
This was my only option for placement due to my distrust in the the clinical placement process
and it would have been nice to be in an area that focused specifically on math content.