Author Archives: Matthew Jingle

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April 30, 2020

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Partner Inquiry

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I Have Never Thought of Being a Teacher

I have never thought of being a teacher.

I dreaded the idea of standing up in front of people and teach them knowledge that I, myself did not think I knew. I knew that I would not be prepared I didn’t think I would be ready for even an observation of a classroom. Even with all the readings and lessons about teaching I felt like I would not be prepared to walk into that middle school and observe them learning and discussing with one another.

I have never thought of being a teacher.

I was nervous just about being around these kids, I was nervous about talking to them, I was nervous that I would make a fool of myself and they would laugh at me. I know that last part seems ridiculous but that was a fear of mine. As for the readings and understanding of principles I develop a deep understanding of project base learning which give me some hope to lessen my nerves. With my new found understanding I felt like I knew how they were learning which gave me an edge.

I have never thought of being a teacher.

Once I entered the room and meet the eight or nine students, I felt comfortable and I felt at ease. Once I began talking with them, I began to understand them, I began to know each one of them. I felt like it was easy to know them and speak with them. Every time they broke apart from the main group to discuss idea, I was able to speak with them and help them formulate solutions and come up with grand ideas on how to improve their learning environment.

I have never thought of being a teacher.

I felt a connection to them. Although I was observing I felt like I was one of them and was able to shape their minds and help them learn through projects and help them understand the three main W’s to the environment, water, waste and wildlife. One thing I knew for sure is that these kids were smart and knew things ever I didn’t know. Once I arrived at nest fest my whole understanding of middle schoolers changed in one in a half hour.

I have never thought of being a teacher.

Nest fest changed my outlook on middle schoolers. It was my job to sit in on their presentation and give them pointers on how to improve their delivery. I was excited because I knew a lot about how to deliver a presentation. I was able to help the students out and they even taught me somethings as well. I believe these students are smart and the idea of teaching them is now a possibility of the future.

I have never thought of being a teacher.

 

-Matthew Jingle

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March 31, 2020

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Learning Philosophies

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A Source To Add To Your Tool Box

Ma’am this article I found is really interesting and fascinating. The reason for the high remarks is that I have been studying project-based teaching during this entire fieldwork class and the idea of project-based teaching is extremely interesting to me due to the fact that I didn’t have many projects when I was in middle school. I know what you are doing is important and I believe this article will help add to collection of knowledge you have on the topic.

To begin the title of the article is “A qualitative study using project-based learning (PBL) in a mainstream middle school.” It is a study conducted by Scott Wurdinger, Jean Haar, Robert Hugg and Jennifer Bezon all from Minnesota State University. This article begins with identifying a problem with mainstream middle schools and the dropout rate in high school. A lot of the high schoolers who drop out have the grades to pass they are just bored with what they are learning. As this problem is identified by the authors it then proceeds to a solution that some schools mainly charter schools have identified a possible solution to reengage middle school students and that is with project-based teaching. Once it introduces the project-based teaching theory, the authors then proceeded to define the components of PBL, this idea has four steps that the teacher must know and understand in order for the learning process to work correctly. One quote I found most interesting is “Teachers should be cognizant of this inquiry process and attempt to guide students through all four steps; however, learning may be hindered if teachers inform students of the four-step process” (Wurdinger, 151-152). This I believe is a great tip to know as a teacher and ever further down the article I am sure there are more hints and tips that will improve a teacher’s knowledge of PBL. As the article continues it goes into a main theme of methods of PBL highlighting on, problem solving, scope, culture, Project process, and obstacles. Lastly the article dives into the study’s findings and discussion of those findings. The conclusion is that “teachers accepted the project-based approach and that students were highly engaged in the process; however, this approach presents teachers with a unique set of problems” (Wurdinger, 159).

Ma’am I believe this is a perfect article to add to the tool box of knowledge and help sharpen that knowledge to dive into teaching the bright young minds of the future.

Citations:

Wurdinger, Scott, et al. “A Qualitative Study Using Project-Based Learning in a Mainstream Middle School.” Improving Schools, vol. 10, no. 2, 2007, pp. 150–161., doi:10.1177/1365480207078048.

-Jingle

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March 7, 2020

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Classroom Participation

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My Role in a Middle School

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

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February 13, 2020

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Classroom Observation

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The Environment of the Young Future

I have officially conducted my first class room visit. This was a huge eye opener for me. I never thought as myself as a teacher and I never thought I would be in a class room as an observer to see how a classroom operates. These kids are our future and I enjoyed having the chance to see a classroom and see the techniques these teachers are implementing. I never had a class in middle school nor high school that was based on the project-based teaching idea.

Even before we entered the room the teachers made the students set up the tables in a huge square to allow everyone to face each other and discuss just like a typical business meeting. These students created an environment that allowed for discussion and debate. I looked around the room first and there were posters that the kids created and there were specific goals for the class but what I didn’t know is that this room was for an English class not the specific leadership class I was observing. However, there was one poster that I saw in the corner that was a recycling project that I knew this specific class worked on. I knew it was just one of the project-based learning projects that the teacher created for these students.

I was able to observe and listen to the students when they were tasked to create a charter that would end up being their rules. This was amazing! The teacher broke the students down into groups to come up with ideas about what kind of environment they wanted. They all wanted to create a fun but serious environment. After discussing their ideas each student had to define the terms such as, fun but serious, including each other, in their own words. This whole charter idea I actually read about in one of our readings to prepare us for our visits and being able to see this in action was remarkable. I will never forget this experience.

What even happen that was even more mind blowing is that the teacher pulled us to the side and waited for the room to clear and she told us with the biggest smile that all these kids had trouble with reading and some didn’t want to do their homework but with this new idea, project based learning, each of these troubled students became all stars and conquering each project with confidence and happiness.

HR: None

-Matthew Jingle

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February 11, 2020

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Expectations and Inspirations

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Hoping to Comparing Techniques with a Middle School Teacher

For this blog I will be focusing on my expectations for the upcoming visit to the classroom. I am kind of nervous since this will be the first visit but I do like the idea and take comfort in the fact that all I got to do is observe and introduce myself. I have gain valuable tricks and lessons in my public speaking classes that will allow me to prepare for the introduction. I know they are just middle schoolers but I do have a hard time with younger kids, they seem to like me and I do well I just don’t have the courage inside to actually believe that I do well with young ones. I know, with the help of my partners, all will go well on our first visit.

Back to the expectations, I read chapter two in our textbook about “design and plan” for a project. This was a full chapter, it contained lots of advice and even showed a template on how a simple project about finance was planned out. I hope to expect to see a plan or notes about how the teacher plans to teach their students. I would like to jump in tomorrow for the visit and be in the middle of a project that the students have been working on, in order to gain experience and see the mechanics behind a working project about a topic related to the class. I would love to be able to talk to the teacher and get any advice that was not in the chapter reading or even to see if a lot of the designs and plans coincided with the chapter. I would like to compare all the techniques provided by the books with the techniques I hope to learn about from an actual teacher of middle school leadership.

-Matthew Jingle

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January 23, 2020

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Learning Philosophies

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Me? A Teacher?

I have never thought of myself as a teacher. I have never been good with my peers in helping them understand a topic or subject. I have only understood ideas in my own way. If I even try to teach someone something, I will end up taking over and showing them how to do it or even just filling it out myself. I knew one day I would never teach anyone but my life has taken a one eighty on me and now I have been given the chance to explore the idea of teaching. With this field work class, I will be able to fully understand the elements involved with the profession. There are principles that I have covered in a packet that I was given that allowed me to begin my journey. I hope to conquer them and with confidence in myself, my peers and my instructor I will hope have the tool necessary to gather learners together and give them great knowledge I have acquired through my life experience.

EL Education has laid out some principles for new beginners and even for some experts in the field of teaching. These principles showed me areas in myself that I will definitely need to work on if I expect to teach students. For example, one of the design principles is empathy and caring. The description states that there must be mutual respect between the student and the instructor and that every student must fell physically and emotionally safe. This a huge area I need to improve on, although it is not mentioned in the description it allowed me to think about having empathy for a student and give deep concern and care for those who are struggling. I have a tendency to leave those who don’t understand behind because I believe that I need to keep moving get the job done.

John Dewy wrote many statements that I as a student agree with. For example, the biggest statement made that I sole agree on is “the only true education comes through the stimulation of the child’s powers by the demands of the social situation in which he finds himself” (Dewey 93). This I believe is the truest statement made throughout the entire packet due to my own personal experience. I have learned more through being thrown into a social atmosphere that I don’t fully understand than being in a room getting taught on a white board.

-Matthew Jingle

HR: Readings