The Style of Teachers

      The teacher that I have been shadowing for my service learning hours teaches Kindergarten and mostly uses the learning theory cognitivism.  Cognitivism focuses on repitition of the different lessons and focusing on how best to put that information into the brain. Mneumonic Devices are a great example of cognitivism. 

         The teacher that I have been shadowing demonstrates cognitivism by coming up with songs that the children memorize to. There is a song for the months of the year, counting by tens, as well as many others. Also, she has them write in a journal everyday so that they have the repetition of how to form sentences. It was really great for me to see this in a classroom because cognitivism is part of my teaching philosophy that I completed for this class.

     I have talked to the teacher quite a bit about the students in her class who learn at different levels and who maybe aren't necessarily at the level they should be. She deals with this by giving the whole class an assignment and then helping those few students with it individually. The past couple of times I have been in the classroom she has had me work with some of these students so I have been able to see the learning differences.

 Through my experiences in the classroom I am becoming better informed about learning styles.

Service Learning

     I am completing my service learning hours at Deerfield elementary. I believe that service learning hours will able me to see what it is truly like in a classroom and how a teacher handles the students. I am able to help with whatever the teacher needs and assist the children with their classwork. Service learning can help you decide if you truly want to be a teacher or not.

      Deerfield is a school with a variety of students. The surrounding neighborhood is mixed with some gated communities, along with town homes, and open neighborhoods with house size differences. I went to Deerfield when I was in elementary school and it has not really changed since then. In fact a lot of the teachers that I had are still there. The student population is varied. You have kids who come from wealthy families and are well off, but you also have kids from a lower end of the spectrum. I believe that this allows me to see the difference in how well prepared they are for school in Kindergarten. Also, I am able to see the difference in learning preferences if there is any. 

I believe that I am becoming more prepared to be an elementary school teacher!