Field Placement Top 10
1. Never disrupt student discussion because it will discourage students from sharing their ideas.
While observing Mr.Marsh’s class at CCMMSS he often had the students have discussions in the chat. He allowed all students to comment and respond to others and waited until his students finished to pick back up the conversation. I really liked this because it helped me see an example of one of my classroom philosophies in action. This philosophy is students lead their discussions in the classroom and are the center of the classroom. This idea relates to a Humanistic classroom.
2. Always encourage your students to pursue their dreams.
While observing an ATLAS video of a School Counseling Career presentation, the teacher talked about all different kinds of careers. I think this important because doctors and lawyers should not be the only good job out there. Encourage all students to pursue anything they want to be. I think that learning about what your students want to be when they grow up and reminding them of that is a great tool to build a relationship with them. That is the first step in creating a welcoming environment.
3. Group work is beneficial and important when working in a school.
While observing a 6th-grade PLT as well as when working with my own PLT I learned this skill. As a teacher (or student) you only really get to see your classroom in full swing so hearing about other classrooms can provide new ideas. When you are struggling with a task, student, or situation you can reach out to your team, and they can provide you with a new perspective which is very beneficial. In my Classroom Environment Philosophy, I stated I would like all of my students to have a classroom buddy so they are able to ask questions and do work together showing that group work is not just beneficial for teachers but students as well.
4. Always do About Me projects in the classroom.
While observing an ESL this semester at CCMMS, the students shared an About me project which I loved. This is something that I would love to use in my classroom because it allows everyone to understand each other better. When completing our SLP which focused on Creating a Welcoming Classroom Environment my PLT used this as a solution to help better build relationships.
5. Flexibility in the classroom is crucial.
With classes online, in-person, or both this is a crazy time for students and teachers. It is important to understand that not everything will go as planned so you must be willing to come up with different plans. While being apart of the Students Advocating for Youth village when working with our elementary students we would come up with multiple plans for each day in case something went wrong.
6. Bring in guests who are experts in their field to talk to your students.
This idea allows students that math is in the real world. I learned this lesson when I was about a leadership class at CCMMS and was interviewed by 7th-grade students about college. This also gives you the opportunity to bring in mathematicians of color or are females to show your students that there are people like them in math fields today. This is a great tool to keep your students encourage throughout school because it shows people like them are still present in math fields.
7. Teach your students with Social-Emotional Learning.
It is important to teach you, students, how to feel, share, and deal with emotions. Students should feel your classroom is an open, safe space where they can share how they are feeling and build positive relationships. This type of learning is also very important for students who struggle with sharing emotions or expressing them because of the trauma they have experienced. Students deserve to understand what it is like to have goals, feel, and show empathy and build relationships.
8. Never yell at your students.
For some students, school is their only safe space and it is important that you make it safe. When something happens in your classroom you don’t like, have a conversation. This goes along with my Classroom Environment Philosophy of the communication theory- assertive communication. This idea is that both parties get to share their side of their story and how it made them feel, this improves social-skills and is something that my students can take further into life. I also believe that this will connect with Social-Emotional Learning, one of my other lessons.
9. Partake in mindfulness activities each week.
We learned that mindfulness activities are something that is useful for all students in the classroom. This provides stress relief, increase focus, and helps regulate emotions. This idea is especially used in Social-Emotional Learning classrooms and Trauma-Informed Care classrooms, both of which I hope to implement in my classroom.
10. Have an attendance question each day.
When observing an advisory class at CCMMS, the day was started out by having the students answering a question so they could be counted for attendance. I believe asking an attendance question each day is a great way to have your students speak in class and build connections in the classroom. While this was not added to our solutions to our SLP of Creating a Classroom Environment that Welcomes All Students, I think it is a great way to show that your classroom is an open environment.
While observing Mr.Marsh’s class at CCMMSS he often had the students have discussions in the chat. He allowed all students to comment and respond to others and waited until his students finished to pick back up the conversation. I really liked this because it helped me see an example of one of my classroom philosophies in action. This philosophy is students lead their discussions in the classroom and are the center of the classroom. This idea relates to a Humanistic classroom.
2. Always encourage your students to pursue their dreams.
While observing an ATLAS video of a School Counseling Career presentation, the teacher talked about all different kinds of careers. I think this important because doctors and lawyers should not be the only good job out there. Encourage all students to pursue anything they want to be. I think that learning about what your students want to be when they grow up and reminding them of that is a great tool to build a relationship with them. That is the first step in creating a welcoming environment.
3. Group work is beneficial and important when working in a school.
While observing a 6th-grade PLT as well as when working with my own PLT I learned this skill. As a teacher (or student) you only really get to see your classroom in full swing so hearing about other classrooms can provide new ideas. When you are struggling with a task, student, or situation you can reach out to your team, and they can provide you with a new perspective which is very beneficial. In my Classroom Environment Philosophy, I stated I would like all of my students to have a classroom buddy so they are able to ask questions and do work together showing that group work is not just beneficial for teachers but students as well.
4. Always do About Me projects in the classroom.
While observing an ESL this semester at CCMMS, the students shared an About me project which I loved. This is something that I would love to use in my classroom because it allows everyone to understand each other better. When completing our SLP which focused on Creating a Welcoming Classroom Environment my PLT used this as a solution to help better build relationships.
5. Flexibility in the classroom is crucial.
With classes online, in-person, or both this is a crazy time for students and teachers. It is important to understand that not everything will go as planned so you must be willing to come up with different plans. While being apart of the Students Advocating for Youth village when working with our elementary students we would come up with multiple plans for each day in case something went wrong.
6. Bring in guests who are experts in their field to talk to your students.
This idea allows students that math is in the real world. I learned this lesson when I was about a leadership class at CCMMS and was interviewed by 7th-grade students about college. This also gives you the opportunity to bring in mathematicians of color or are females to show your students that there are people like them in math fields today. This is a great tool to keep your students encourage throughout school because it shows people like them are still present in math fields.
7. Teach your students with Social-Emotional Learning.
It is important to teach you, students, how to feel, share, and deal with emotions. Students should feel your classroom is an open, safe space where they can share how they are feeling and build positive relationships. This type of learning is also very important for students who struggle with sharing emotions or expressing them because of the trauma they have experienced. Students deserve to understand what it is like to have goals, feel, and show empathy and build relationships.
8. Never yell at your students.
For some students, school is their only safe space and it is important that you make it safe. When something happens in your classroom you don’t like, have a conversation. This goes along with my Classroom Environment Philosophy of the communication theory- assertive communication. This idea is that both parties get to share their side of their story and how it made them feel, this improves social-skills and is something that my students can take further into life. I also believe that this will connect with Social-Emotional Learning, one of my other lessons.
9. Partake in mindfulness activities each week.
We learned that mindfulness activities are something that is useful for all students in the classroom. This provides stress relief, increase focus, and helps regulate emotions. This idea is especially used in Social-Emotional Learning classrooms and Trauma-Informed Care classrooms, both of which I hope to implement in my classroom.
10. Have an attendance question each day.
When observing an advisory class at CCMMS, the day was started out by having the students answering a question so they could be counted for attendance. I believe asking an attendance question each day is a great way to have your students speak in class and build connections in the classroom. While this was not added to our solutions to our SLP of Creating a Classroom Environment that Welcomes All Students, I think it is a great way to show that your classroom is an open environment.