Reflection - Capstone Course My experience during my capstone methods course was quite rigorous.

It took a lot of time and effort to complete the assignments, especially the portfolio, but I feel very proud of what I have done in this course. Until this class, I had only made assignment handouts twice, and did not receive much feedback. After the assignments in this course, I feel much more prepared to make creative and detailed handouts to give to my students. I have also learned a lot about the types of differences I will encounter in the field. Never before had I given much thought to the interest differences between girls and boys. Yes, it is well-known that boys will be more into certain topics than girls will, but I hadnt thought about how that would affect the types of novels chosen for school. If given the chance, I will be sure to pick a class novel that will hold the interests of both the male and female students in the class, or will be sure to address the different interpretations each gender will make of the book. I also feel more prepared to discuss the variety of socioeconomic statuses and ethnic backgrounds of my students. Because of this capstone course, I now have access to different texts, and the best ways to approach these topics in my classroom. Overall, I feel more prepared to go into the field now that I have taken this methods course. It has opened my eyes to the different types of readings that exist and how they can be addressed in the classroom. I also feel more comfortable making handouts for assignments, which is something I had been worrying about. Thanks capstone course has allowed me to improve in areas of instruction that I had not realized I was lacking.

Reflection - Field Experience My time at Warren Elementary School was different from what Ive experienced before with other observations in the field. I have been placed in this area before when I was at Marietta Middle School, but the atmosphere at Warren was quite different. The middle school in Marietta contained only three grades - 6th, 7th, and 8th. The school in Warren was an elementary school, and housed grades K-8. The class size of each grade was much smaller, as was the staff. The teachers who taught 7th grade also taught the 8th grade classes. As it is a fairly poor area, the school was not in the best shape. The classrooms needed repair, and the technology was scarce. Each classroom had one computer and projector for the teacher, and a computer lab that contained about 30 computers, a printer, and a scanner. This was all the technology I observed. The demographics of the students was similar to Marietta, in that the student body was almost entirely white. During my time at Warren, I saw only one African-American student. I do not know if the lower grades in the school were the same, but I got to see some glimpses of students of different ages, and still saw only white students. I would say my experience was a kaleidoscope - it was different each time I looked at it. My first few days at Warren I was shocked at how the students misbehaved so often. Mr. Williams, my cooperating teacher, did not punish the students. He would call them out by name and tell them to be quiet, but would very rarely execute any further punishment when the behavior continued. Occasionally he would ask the student to see him during the intervention period at the end of the day, but I only saw this happen twice. The behavior of the students did not get any better during my 20 hours at Warren. But

looking at the experience from a different point of view, I have no learned how important classroom management is. It is important to establish rules and expectations from the start of the school year, and it is especially important to follow through with consequences. Mr. Williams had a poster of classroom rules and expectations hanging up on the wall, but nothing about consequences. Just having the physical reminder of rules does not mean they will be followed. As often as the students misbehaved, there were times were it was obvious they had been paying attention, or were engaged in the class novel. With a twist of the kaleidoscope, I saw a different side of the students. After they finished reading A Wrinkle In Time, the class was rewarded by having them watch the movie version of the novel. There were a few differences between the novel and the movie, and the students were quick to point them out. They got excited each time a new character was introduced, because they were able to identify the character immediately. When the Block 3 class had to stop the movie for lunch, they begged to keep the movie going a little longer, as an important character was just about to be introduced. For students who frequently talked out in class and did not pay attention to the teacher, I was really surprised at how much they wanted to keep watching the movie. It wasnt only their eagerness, but the fact that they paid attention to the characters and were able to spot differences so quickly. Even though they hadnt appeared to be engaged in class when they were reading the novel, they obviously were. It gave me hope for the students, that they were able to connect with the material somehow. With another viewing of the kaleidoscope, I saw another teachers view on teaching. Mr. Santini, the 7th and 8th grade social studies teacher, ran his classroom very

differently from Mr. Williams. The students in Mr. Santinis classroom did not talk during the entirety of his lesson. They paid attention and were clearly engaged in the lesson. Mr. Santini is an intimidating figure, with his football coach persona, but when I talked to him after class he was very kind and soft-spoken. His teaching persona is one that gets the kids attention and keeps it. Mr. Williams approach is more soft-spoken to begin with, and there are clearly some students in his class who learn from it. However, I believe he does not to be more strict sometimes so that all students will behave in his class and he can reach all of them. Although I was only at Warren Elementary for 20 hours, I learned a lot. I got to witness multiple approaches to teaching, and how each one works in its own way. I also saw the different levels of student engagement, and how that affected them at the end of the unit. Although the students appeared to not be paying attention, they were able to answer questions and point out differences between the novel and the movie of A Wrinkle In Time. At first I was wary of this experience, thinking I hope my classroom is never this out of control, but upon further thought, I realized that this experience was exactly what I needed. Up until this point, I had very good field experiences, getting to observe capable teachers and how they handled rowdy behavior. Not to say that Mr. Williams isnt capable, but he was clearly still in the mindset of teaching high school students, rather than junior high. I believe this was a great last field observation for me to have before I begin my student teaching. I needed to see the importance of classroom management, and that it is not always easy. Rules and expectations need to be established early one, and the teacher must follow-through with the consequences for bad behavior. I enjoyed Mr. Williams, and I was glad I was able to observe his classroom.

He taught me a lot even during my short time there. My experience at Warren was like a kaleidoscope - I viewed something in a different light each time I looked. After my time at this school, I feel better prepared to begin my student teaching and set up my own classroom.