Blog 6
May 29th:
Started the day at Colegio Roosevelt. Students started with reading their book club book and went to special after this. Following their special, they started their new inquiry unit, “How the world works” and for this unit they are creating airplane models only using paper. Students created an airplane and then hypothesized how far their plane will go (in meters). After three trials, they will research what variables they can change to make their plane fly farther and then apply this to their next model. As Mr. Stevens and I were talking, he mentioned how he wished there were more science incorporated. I thought this was interesting because, for me, I would think that all subjects would be equally implemented in the curriculum. With this science experiment, this allows students to apply the scientific method. Following snack break, they went onto their math unit. They continued with fractions and decimals but this time with word problems. The day ended and we headed back home.
May 30th:
Day 7 at Colegio Roosevelt. Today students will be continuing their science inquiry unit. Today, students will go outside and throw their planes. After three trials, students will research what variable they can change to make their plane go farther. Students were not able to finish their new model or research so their ‘Home Fun’ (homework) was to bring their new model tomorrow. After this, students had snack break and then continued with math. They are still working on fractions and word problems. Also, students were going to start focusing on building their fiction story. Mr. Stevens focused on storytelling rather than summarizing. After school, we got the opportunity to visit El Agustino again. We took part in the soccer practice. In all honesty, it was much needed, considering all I have been doing on this trip is eating. I really enjoy going to El Agustino because this is a neighborhood that is filled with wonderful people. The soccer coach is not your ordinary coach. I have noticed that he focuses a lot on the values rather than winning or losing. He focuses on teamwork, communication, and respect for one another. He seems to genuinely care for each of these kids and wants them to grow as a person. Something that I enjoyed about this practice is the fact that these kids didn’t treat us differently. Not because we are girls, and not because we are older. They all made sure to include every one of us in their game. This is something that stood out to me because not many boys would do the same.
When I think of reflection, I think about the idea of seeing things in another perspective. What I mean by this is once you have completed an action, its thinking about not only that action but what you could have done differently and why did you did it. Its asking deeper questions. Reflection is not only about thinking to yourself, but it’s also through dialogue, interaction, and writing. Most of the time, we reflect without knowing that we are. It’s more of an unconscious thing that everybody does every day. Dewey emphasizes the importance of reflection as teachers. As a future teacher, I think it’s important that what I am teaching is appropriate for everyone. What I mean is that what may work for one student, may not work for another and this is the part that is crucial to reflect on. What is it that, me as a teacher, must do to assure that my lesson is for each and one of my students?
Critical reflection is important for students in the way that it helps them understand the world around them. Without reflection, they wouldn’t know what’s going on in the neighborhood next to them or wouldn’t think about why the lesson is important. They can use their reflection in the outside world. I’ve seen in my fifth-grade classroom that Mr. Stevens has his students reflect on a lot of their things. For example, during the innovation fair, once we were back in the classroom, he had students take out their writing notebooks and reflect on a certain solution they had seen. This reflection allowed students to take a step back and look at the real solution that they had observed. Another example, their weebly websites. As I mentioned in some of my earlier blogs, these students had set up their own weebly and they upload a few things. I remember Mr. Stevens had the class upload their best math test and reflect on it. Reflections like these allow students to think about their work and ask themselves “What did I like that I did?” or “What could I have done differently?”. Reflection is both important for the teacher and students.
Smiles,
Liz
