The first week of kindergarten is over. And I must say it was a success! This week I spent most of my time observing the students and Laura’s teaching so I could familiarize myself with the schedule and routine. As I observed the students, I realized I underestimated how much they already know. For instance, one moment during a Chinese lesson really took me aback. The Chinese teacher held up a picture of the Great Wall of China and about half the class knew what it was. Some of them even knew some Chinese words. Moments like that really show me that I need to create challenging lessons because the students are capable of succeeding at them. Also in my observations, I was surprised at how quickly the students learned the different routines in the day. For example, after only three days of using a station schedule, almost everyone was able to look at their schedule and know exactly where they were supposed to be. I thought everything went very smoothly!
As I observed this week, I noticed myself closely watching one particular student who happens to be autistic. At the beginning of the week, we were all concerned about having an aide with him at all times. However, I began to notice that when the aides were constantly with him, holding on to him and giving him directions, he acted out more. So today, while there was no aide in the room, I decided to sit back and just keep my eye on him rather than sit with him. As I watched him, I was delighted to see that he sat still through an entire lesson. This made me think that he may not need someone right beside him all the time. I believe that just triggers him more. While I think an aide still needs to be in the room, perhaps she could do as I did and just keep an eye on the student, intervening only when necessary. I believe that would be more beneficial for that student and less distracting for the rest of the class.
Also while I was observing, I started to realize we may need to change the seating arrangement we made before we had the students together. We made our decisions about the seating based on our first impressions of the students from the home visits. Now, as we learn more about their personalities and how they interact with each other, I see changes need to be made. For instance, there are three boys in the back row who are persistently talking, laying down, or moving from their spots. First of all, I believe the boys need to be separated. It may also be beneficial to have them in closer proximity to the teacher, perhaps in the first or second row. Placing them in these rows may also prevent them from lying down and moving from their spots because they would be surrounded by other students.
Finally, as the week progressed, I was really becoming concerned about my role in the classroom. I try to be of as much help as I can, but I feel like I am more in the way than anything. I am not an aggressive person and that is just who I am. I just want the students and other teachers to see that I do really want to be there and do want to have a good experience.
I think you're very observant about the situation with the aides. While I know they are there to be proactive, I think he is more capable of sitting than we think. As we learn his triggers, I think we can adjust. Good call on the seating, too. I think it may take several times till we get it right!
The first week of kindergarten is over. And I must say it was a success! This week I spent most of my time observing the students and Laura’s teaching so I could familiarize myself with the schedule and routine. As I observed the students, I realized I underestimated how much they already know. For instance, one moment during a Chinese lesson really took me aback. The Chinese teacher held up a picture of the Great Wall of China and about half the class knew what it was. Some of them even knew some Chinese words. Moments like that really show me that I need to create challenging lessons because the students are capable of succeeding at them. Also in my observations, I was surprised at how quickly the students learned the different routines in the day. For example, after only three days of using a station schedule, almost everyone was able to look at their schedule and know exactly where they were supposed to be. I thought everything went very smoothly!
ReplyDeleteAs I observed this week, I noticed myself closely watching one particular student who happens to be autistic. At the beginning of the week, we were all concerned about having an aide with him at all times. However, I began to notice that when the aides were constantly with him, holding on to him and giving him directions, he acted out more. So today, while there was no aide in the room, I decided to sit back and just keep my eye on him rather than sit with him. As I watched him, I was delighted to see that he sat still through an entire lesson. This made me think that he may not need someone right beside him all the time. I believe that just triggers him more. While I think an aide still needs to be in the room, perhaps she could do as I did and just keep an eye on the student, intervening only when necessary. I believe that would be more beneficial for that student and less distracting for the rest of the class.
Also while I was observing, I started to realize we may need to change the seating arrangement we made before we had the students together. We made our decisions about the seating based on our first impressions of the students from the home visits. Now, as we learn more about their personalities and how they interact with each other, I see changes need to be made. For instance, there are three boys in the back row who are persistently talking, laying down, or moving from their spots. First of all, I believe the boys need to be separated. It may also be beneficial to have them in closer proximity to the teacher, perhaps in the first or second row. Placing them in these rows may also prevent them from lying down and moving from their spots because they would be surrounded by other students.
Finally, as the week progressed, I was really becoming concerned about my role in the classroom. I try to be of as much help as I can, but I feel like I am more in the way than anything. I am not an aggressive person and that is just who I am. I just want the students and other teachers to see that I do really want to be there and do want to have a good experience.
I think you're very observant about the situation with the aides. While I know they are there to be proactive, I think he is more capable of sitting than we think. As we learn his triggers, I think we can adjust. Good call on the seating, too. I think it may take several times till we get it right!
ReplyDelete