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
Matthew,
I really appreciated hearing the ways your thinking grew about engaging and coaching in the “after-action-report” that you so aptly named. I want to hear more about being “open”. What does that mean to you and does your reading give you any ideas? I encourage you to keep using more explicit language from your reading to think about how you want to change your mentoring / leading persona, and what you notice Ms Sheffield modeling, or the kids doing. Visit 2 was about being a model student, not leading , so you have to think about everything you absorbed in the “prep” for Nest Fest, as well as how you might fit your participation at Nest Fest into the equation. Posing questions, being the one who doesn’t know, or play devil’s advocate. These are all roles you can take on in a leader position.
I really like the “dream On” idea as your culminating activity. Read through the Backwards Design handout I gave you and think about the “enduring understandings and skills you want them to gain, and how best t prepare them so that your team can delegate some scaffolded lessons to take that journey together. I will be in contact with Ms Sheffield and Ms. Staton this week to see how we might play a virtual role communicating with her classroom!
MAJ Hodde
This last visit was a fun experience, I personally enjoyed being able to help the students think about what they really wanted from nest fest. I did this by asking the same questions in many different ways until the students understood what I was asking.