Journal #2 1

EDTS Tutorial Journal Entry #2

Retell

On Thursday morning my grade 2 class stared with spelling and reading centres. Before

the class began the teacher pulled me aside and asked if I was willing to help the kids she wasn’t

going to be reading with. I fully accepted the responsibility. The teacher wanted me to help the

kids log on to the computer and stay on task at their desks. She told me her class this year is

larger and has a harder time staying focused because some kids have learning disabilities.

When spelling and reading time began I helped all the children log on to the computer

just as I was shown. I paced around the classroom doing my best to keep all the kids engaged.

One child in particular I had to stop at multiple times. She kept losing focus because of all the

distractions around her. I tried to keep her on task by doing the activity with her. I would ask her

the question and point to the picture to see if she knew what it was. After she told me the correct

answer I asked if she knew how to spell it. Although, not confident at the start she would sound

out the word and wrote what she heard. Many times she got the right answer. When she didn’t I

gently repeated the word back to her annunciating the vowel she forgot or had wrong. When she

started to lose interest I asked her to tell me what to do next. She loved the idea of teaching me.

The last time I came around to check on this student she was making tons of progress without my

help.

Reflect

When I first began pacing around the room I wasn’t sure if I would be very good at

helping the kids stay on task. However, I found the best way for me to help them was to join in
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on the activity. By figuring out each students unique learning style and trying to adapt my

teaching to that learning style I became a reflective practitioner. By trying to cater those needs

into what I knew about the subject I became a better instructor and motivator. This idea of

teaching motivation became my “moral purpose” (Badley, Edmunds, Nickel, 2015). After slowly

showing the kids how to conduct the activity I had each student try the assignment. Whenever

the child got stuck I would gently ask them what was next. Most students loved to tell me what

came next. This motivation for teaching me became their motivation for teaching themselves.

After the activity was over I asked the teacher how she works to accommodate all of her

students different learning styles. She told me she likes to focus on repetition and habits. In

addition, she mentioned how with a difficult class you have to be very flexible. My mentor

teacher is a fantastic example of an adaptive expert who shows a high level of professionalism.

This is important to not only me but also to her students who view her as a role model for

learning. By watching and asking how she changes and adapts her lessons she influences me to

strive to be the best teacher I can be.

Self-Analysis

This experience taught me that being a reflective practitioner is something I should put a

lot of effort toward. Although it is unrealistic that I reflect on every detail when I become a

teacher, I can focus on main points that seemed to help kids the most or points that lost their

attention. With my positive mentor teacher as an example, she makes me want to conduct my

teaching in a confident and professional manner. My first teaching experience has made me more

confident in my skills and ability at handling situations that may seem daunting. When I become
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a teacher I want to pay lots of attention to how my students find their own motivation. I also like

the idea of the students teaching me. Although not always a practical way to solve a problem, the

grade 2 class found it a fun way to stay on task. In my classroom as a teacher I want to create an

activity where the kids are their own designers. It will probably best work around the subjects

english or art. In the activity the students can be given different supplies that they have to

overcome a difficult task. For example, making a bridge to withstand 2lb. With the materials

provided they can design and teach me to build a bridge just like theirs.

Questions:

How else could I have helped the students stay of task?

How can I eliminate unwanted distractions in a classroom full of students?

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References

Badley, K., Edmunds, A., & Nickel, J. (2015). Teaching as a reflective practice. In Educational

Foundations in Canada