In the End

 

We have reached the end of the semester, which means my R2P posts are coming to an end. So, that means that it is time for reflection on my process, improvement, and where there is room for more improvement. In that, I will review all of my posts and make observations. However, first I will reflect on the observations I have made in the classroom.Image result for observations

Observations

Through my observations, I have learned a lot this semester. First and foremost, the amount of work that goes into running a preschool classroom. In a preschool classroom, the only “downtime” the teacher gets is when the students take a nap. The teacher is constantly monitoring and managing the classroom because the students are so young. It is amazing the things these teachers do, and I am very grateful that I could learn some of these things. Another big take away that I have learned from observations, its that the students’ learning is subtle. Most of it is discovery through play, but there are so many small moments of learning for these children. The classroom I was in had children of ages three to five. At this age, children are constantly learning all of the small things that adults take for granted. For example, days of the week, the concept of a daily schedule, and the letters that go in their name. The teachers in the classroom use every one of these subtle opportunities to teach the students these concepts. Through things like carpet time and letter stamping, the teachers introduce these consistent concepts into the students’ lives.

 

Question

You may have noticed that most of my posts were centered around one or two questions. That’s because a big theme of my future classroom will be inquiry-based learning, so I did some of my own. At the beginning of my postings, my questions were kind of…. Generalized. There was not much depth to them, and they could go in many different directions. However, in the end, the questions became more specific. They had a specific direction for research, and more specific questions to be answered. In my last post, I focused on the benefits of brain breaks in the classroom. My question was more focused though. I wanted to know the scientific-based reasoning behind the benefits of this in the classroom. Through this specific question, I was able to go more in-depth into the process of what I was researching.Image result for questions

Research 

When looking back on the research I definitely improved on the type of articles I found, but I feel like I could have done more with them. I did learn from them, but I struggled to find a way to make that information flow in my posts. I feel research, for me personally, is easier presented through more formal writing like a research paper. However, I feel like I have adapted and improved a little bit on this front through my writing.Image result for research

Reflection

In the reflections of my blog posts, I have kept them pretty short. I feel like I put in thoughts and summaries as I went more than at the end. I could definitely improve this section, and go in-depth more. I also could improve my overall flow of this section. I  am not the best at having a semi-casual tone in my writing. It usually goes one way or the other, almost never the middle. Although, I feel like I got better at this as I went on; I found my flow more.Image result for reflection

Questions

If you were to experience the R2P project again, what would you do differently? Please specify.

If I were to do this project again,  would take more time. I had a lot on my plate this semester, and feel like I didn’t really take the time to perfect my posts.

What are you taking away to your future teaching practice from this R2P project?

What I am taking away from this project is how great of a forum blogging is. It is an easy way to get connected, and I will probably use it as a parent newsletter type deal.

What advice would you give to the next ERCH496 students about the R2P project? What advice would you give to Tatiana for the next iteration of the R2P project? 

The advice I would give to future students doing this project is to take their time and experiment more. I did not experiment much in this project, and I wish I had done more. I enjoyed having Tatiana in the class, and feel I learned a lot from her this semester. The advice I would give to her is to help us understand more about what to do with the research information. She made it really easy to find the articles, but I feel I haven’t learned how to insert professional research, in informal writing.