I visited the Middle school every time and was able to get close with the students and began to learn how a teacher feels when their students understand the situation and really learn about the topic. For the second visit it was sadly not all that good. We still played the role of observers and listening to the students but mainly the teacher because they needed to understand the plan for nest fest that would happen next week for them. I still took my notes and listened to the teacher describe what will happen and what activities and learning opportunities will be presented. The third visit on the other hand was amazing! This one just happened today 3/5/20 and I have to say this was really fun. I did play a role as a scribe but I felt like I kind of led a group of kids in an AAR or after-action report about the Nest Fest and what the kids liked, wished, and wonder about this event. I enjoyed listening to the students and building a sense of culture between them. I was able to manage activities with them especially this AAR activity and it was really fun and I learned a lot. I did learn that I need to be more open with the children and have fun I felt like I was kind of cold and just doing my job I need to lighten up before I take over and manage the next activity.

I do have my own idea for what learning activity I would like to lead and teach the kids in the class. With the collection of my field journal notes and observations I have decided that the best activity would be more project-based learning. Since I discussed with the teacher who is leading the class it seems that one particular student encountered difficulties with the normal class lessons but once she was introduced to projects her entire view on school work has improved. With this major note and observation, I want and wish to device a plan that will include pieces and main theme of their previous project on water, wildlife, and waste. I would like to use the idea of “dream on” which is design plan for a project that I learned about in “guide for planning a learning expedition.” This plan I hope will allow me to design a plan in phases which allows for better organization and if necessary, ease of changing along the road. Basically, with a plan broken down into phases will allow me to develop a suitable activity that will, I hope, allow the student to enjoy as well as continue their learning on the main theme of the project they already have been working on.

-Jingle

Having previously discussed some of mine and Mason’s experience within the classroom of Mr. Simms Psychology class to include much of our participation, I’ve been thinking about why PBL principles and in-class projects work in Mr. Simms psychology class.

At once the students seem to be near peers to Mason and I and yet much younger than ourselves. Nevertheless, I believe in the 3 visits to their classroom we have diminished any awkwardness between the disparity of our ages. I think they respect us and our opinions based on what I have personally shared with them in the classroom.

I think it is important for us to remain accessible to the students. Even though we don’t know much about what they’ve been learning, we can see how Simms is trying to get his students to learn especially through PBL when he has them working together in groups and discussions.

Our issue is that we lack perspective in the class and have only seen several projects and it is difficult to see where they fit in with the lesson plans. Given the dynamic of the class the students enjoy Simms class. He keeps them interested and engages their minds. His in-class projects are simple and easy for us to join. In a psychology class, or any class in general, it is important to allow students room to adapt and shape how they learn. Simms lets them choose topics to research or interests that they have which influences the direction their study moves. The students may not outright control the lecture, but the discussions in the class and their research is controlled by the students.

Independence allows students to feel in control of their learning. To a great extent, it is my observation that students feel more free and engaged and will most likely encounter concepts of learning faster and more readily when they are in control of their study or allowed certain freedoms to choose their topics or presentation type, for example.