Journal Revisit

This week, I decided to take a second look at a journal that I posted after two weeks of my pre-internship. I noticed that I was extremely negative about the environment of the classroom and the lack of collaborative learning.  I tend to use this blog as a way to vent when things are going wrong in the classroom, instead of trying to find the positives out of every situation. So, I am going to try to revisit this journal entry and try to see what I can do…

“ After being in a fifth grade class for two weeks, I have noticed a huge change in the style of teaching and the classroom environment compared to my previous practicum experiences in younger grades. Although I am not comfortable with the traditional method of teaching, I should respect that it is the only way that my teacher feels like she can get everything done. I am a strong believer that every grade can find time to do collaborative work, but sometimes the teacher values different aspects more. Since I was in younger grades, I was used to the students doing centers and always working in groups. Now, that I am interning in an older class, I need to realize that the focus has changed and the teacher is trying to prepare her students for FCAT. For this week, I read chapter 3 of the Dana book. It discusses all the reasons why collaboration is so important. The three reasons that struck home for me were “teacher talk is important,” “there is safety in numbers” and “there is strength in numbers.” I absolutely love this idea. These reasons were targeted more for teachers who were collaborating for inquiry projects. But, I also feel like it applies nicely to a classroom setting. At first, I felt like my teacher tends to “baby” the students too much and spoon-feed them information. But, it is so incredibly important to acknowledge that all grade levels need guidance and structure in the classroom in order for them to be successful.  Although they do almost everything out of workbooks, it is still crucial to go over the directions and explain what we expect from the students. Therefore, my teacher does a very good job doing this and has started to train us to do this as well. Another reason why students like to collaborate is because they feel “safe.” They feel more comfortable speaking up and bouncing their ideas off of one another, rather than doing individual work and stressing out that they are not doing it correctly. So far, I have noticed that the students have so many more questions and are much more anxious when we expect them to do work individually. It is incredibly important for students to learn how to work on their own, but we shouldn’t restrict them from working with their peers. The desks are now in groups instead of rows and I feel like this has truly helped the students work with one another, but problems still arise. I understand now why my teacher was so hesitant to make the change, but I think she has finally noticed that having the students at least sit in a group together has shaped the dynamics of the classroom.  The students get to use their peers as a tool for whenever they need help.  Lastly, I have always liked the idea of collaboration because I strongly believe that knowledge is power.  So, more brains at work produce a greater generation of knowledge (strength in numbers). I feel as though my students are not reaping the benefits of collaboration to the fullest. Like I just stated, the transformation of the desks has been a huge step in the right direction. But, I still feel like the students are not entirely given the chance to do fun “group work” if you will.  Yes, the desk in groups allow for collaboration. But, the students have not had the chance to truly collaborate and have fun with each other. Again, I used to blame this on my teacher. But, now I know that she is stressed out about the FCAT (which they do individually) and does not think collaborative learning is a priority. So, my new goal for the next two weeks before the FCAT is to try to find ways to work in a group setting on skills that will help the students on the test.  Therefore, my new wondering focuses on ways that I can do just that. What are some ways that my partner and I can experiment and find ways for our students to collaborate and fit the needs of my teacher?”