Alright to kick things off, a week late, in all my glory, this is my first blog post of all time?
Anyways, I volunteered at an elementary school for the first time (this year) on sept. 24th. I really liked it, the building was a newer school, and it was very clean, and very easy to navigate. The school is literally right off of the highway and extremely easy to get to. That was one of my biggest fears, it that I was going to get lost. But I feel like I have a decent sense of direction and it worked to my benefit. When I first got to my school I had a little difficulty finding a parking spot, seeing that there is some kind of facility connected to the school. So I finally found a spot gathered my things and headed in, and signed in, pretty easy no big fan fare. I met my teacher, Mrs. Smith, and we walked together up to her classroom and told me what the day’s events were and how her classroom functioned. I noticed the room was a fairly large room but it was very cluttered. A few of the tables were stacked high with books and other supplies necessary to a 3rd grade classroom. When the kids finally came, they all gave me weird looks, and as usual, they asked their teacher what I was doing there. After the morning announcements, we hopped right in my introduction. All the kids were pretty excited that a college kid was going to be helping them with math, and a few came up to ask me some questions. The 3rd grade mind is very inquisitive. After a quick little lesson my teacher gave me a few children that were having trouble with standard to written form of numbers. For example. 400+40+4=444, which is also written as four hundred forty four. So this little lesson had a little reading, and a little math. Some of the kids I worked with caught on really quickly, and had some fun with it, I gave the 4 students a little game the teacher gave me, and they played, reading the numbers and covering up the corresponding square. One student, had a very hard time with reading the numbers in written form. Actually, he was even paying attention, but once he got a little focused I walked him through a few easy problems, he had some fun with the game once he was capable of showing me that he could do it.
Helping children is so cool cuz they catch on soo quickly =D
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Hi Matt,
ReplyDeleteYes, helping children "is so cool cuz they catch on soo quickly." It's also cool, however, to help children when they don't catch on quickly. That's the real work, right?
So, what do you think was valued in this space and how do you know?
Dr. August
Hey there Matt!
ReplyDeleteKudos right off the bat for tackling the subject of math, even at the third grade level I don't know how stable I would be! haha
Did you like working with students individually better or in a group? I had experiences with both, and I found working with my Reading Buddies (a group of 5 students that were at a "Critical" level, meaning they were below standard) in a group was often very difficult. Instead of focusing on the task at hand the students would poke and prod each other, distracting themselves and even sometimes distracting me!
Although the group seemed unproductive at times, the sense of competition and challenge associated with playing education based games ended up pushing the students to "do better" or "score higher" than their fellow group mates. I think a bit of competition is healthy and necessary in order for a student to truly prosper. Do you agree? Or did you find it more beneficial to work with the students one on one?
The thing I did like about working individually was that I could tune my teaching methods very specifically to the student I was working with. One girl, Susie*, who was really inattentive during group sessions opened up to me individually and expressed that she had no idea what I was talking about and it intimidated her. I was able to break down the sentence structures and give her easy directions that I overlooked when working with the bigger group, because I thought they all understood. Never assume, I suppose!
Hi Matt,
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I can tell you is math is not my favorite subject lol. I also got the same reaction when I walked into my classroom on the very fist day. The students were asking their teacher why I was there, who was I but at the same time they had big smiles on their faces because I was new person to them and I would be helping out in their classroom. I am a “reading buddy” and tutor second grade students. I help the students with reading, spelling, how to pronounce words, and so fourth. I work with a small group of students and walk around the classroom and help individuals when they raise their hand and want me to assist them with their work they are having trouble with. When I have my small group of five students there are only two out of those five students who actually pay attention and follow directions. The other students just seem to goof around and have no interest on the activity/game we are playing, it’s almost like they thinks is a joke. When I help the students as individuals or it’s a one-on-one thing I have realized that the students are more focused and understand the material they are learning. Also, when I am helping a student one-on-one, the students seems to get all their work completed. It almost seems like the students want you to guide them step by step. I think a student pays more attention when they are working individually with a person guiding them than as in a group. What do you prefer? How is your VIPS tutoring experience going? Hope its still going well like the first day went!
Hi Matt,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that the thrid grade students warmed up to you quickly and appreciated your presence. When i first walked into my classroom all the students looked at me with a curious expression and seemed thrilled that somebody new has come to help them with their work. I even had a few students give me compliments on my outfit and jewelry, which made me feel welcomed and glad to be in an friendly environment. The students in my classroom also thought that it was cool that a college student was in the classroom. Several kids approached me and asked how come they werent assigned me as a tutor and asked what they would need to do to have one on one time with me.
While you were working with a group of four did you find it difficult to hold their attention? From my experience i realized that students are very well behaved when one on one but when i have them in peers they tend to not listen and joke around with one another. That has made me realize that i have to claim authority and cannot allow the students to feel that it is okay for them to be disobedient. Do you think that the student who had a slighly difficult time learning the math problem was distracted by the other students? Perhaps this student learns best one an individual basis as opposed to group activities. I hope the rest of your tutoring experience goes well and that you learn alot from the children.