Blog Entry  #3   

• Describe a time your cooperative teacher has offered choice to students.  
• What has your cooperative teacher done to make students feel loved and safe?
• What clear routines are established in the classroom?  How do they support a productive learning environment?

This week in my service learning with the first grade class, I was able to accompany them on a field trip, walking from the school to the public library. Before we left the school, the teacher Mrs. Holden, gave the students a choice of who was to be their walking buddy. When one boy was left alone, she gave further options of him walking with her in the front or he could walk with another teacher at the back of the line. 

Some clear routines that are established in class are when they are crossing the street. Each child is to raise their hand and touch their lips to remind them to keep quiet. This is connected to our learning of Maslow's Hierarchy and the level of safety. Mrs. Holden wanted to keep the children safe, and have them appear taller and larger by raising their hand so cars can be aware that people are crossing the street. 

Along with helping them feel safe, she made them feel loved by using technology and taking pictures of them along the way. This helps the students to know they are important and she wants to remember these times.

Another routine she has established is when they have returned from recess, after they each get a drink, they immediately return to their desk, allowing them to be productive and ready to learn. They know that they are expected to sit down and pull out their math books. 

Blog Entry #2

The teacher in my service-learning placement seems to use Behaviorism the most. She has a rug that has spaced apart dots for the children to sit on during different parts of the day which include giving instruction, reading stories, going over math problems. This rug controls the environment that the children are not in too close proximity, which is an example of her controlling the environment. She does not call on, or even acknowledge student's questions until they have raised their hand. She reinforces not having negative behavior by immediately having the students sit at their desk, with their heads down for 1 minute when they have acted out negatively. 

She address the developmental levels of the individual learning preferences by explaining the activity they are working on, such as counting the dots on dominoes. Then she walked around to see what learning level the children are on, and spent extra time at the desks of those that were struggling. She did a great job of verbally explaining the activity, letting the kids handle the papers and dominoes, and visually giving them an example of what they should do by her doing it two or three times. One student has autism, so she slows down the process for him to grasp what is expected, but at the same time expects him to do the assignment.