Education 215 is a previously unheard of and untested new class taught by Spanish teacher Mrs. Andrea Tira. An important part of this class began on Oct. 6 when the students started shadowing teachers at Lyter Elementary School.
“My first goal [for October] was to get everybody into each grade level twice… to have a comparison of the kids, the dynamic, and the different teachers and teaching styles,” Tira said.
The objective of the field experience is for the students to get real insight on what it is like to be a teacher and to find out possibly what grade or subject they would like to teach in the future.
“I keep telling everybody in the class you want to soak it all in,” Tira said. “What are the ideas that teachers have that you think are working? What are the strategies?”
Juniors Paige Rosenbaum and Kenna Woodling are excited to continue seeing how different teachers operate in their classrooms and how their teaching styles work for them.
“It was a cool experience to see how [Mr. Patrick Clancy] handled different kids’ learning styles and how he adapted to what each kid needed,” Rosenbaum said.
Woodling agrees, and said that it was interesting to observe how teachers interact with students who have individualized education plans or learning disabilities.
“It was also interesting that we got to see how [the teachers] have their routines and handle different conflicts,” Woodling said.
In addition to witnessing various teaching styles, students are also getting different class experiences based on the different teachers they shadow.
“Depending on the teacher, we can be interacting with the students, totally observing, or playing games with them,” Rosenbaum said.
As well as shadowing individual grade teachers, students will have the opportunity to see teachers of “specials” such as art, gym, and music, in action.
“We are not only doing classroom and desk work, but we get to assess specials and then some of us might hopefully have the chance to observe an interpreter and see how she works with her students,” said Rosenbaum.
Coming up this year in the month of December, Tira shared that the Education students will be taking a break from teacher observations and focus on another aspect of the education system.
“December is when the [Psychology] students start going [to the elementary school] and we want to respect that they have time in the classroom as well,” Tira said. “We are going to have meetings with different folks in the building that aren’t necessarily at the head of a classroom, but certainly help the building run.”
Students will be meeting with faculty like Mr. Darrin Ferrar, the principal, Mrs. Jo Ellen Shear, the reading specialist, and Mrs. Vanissa Lorson, the guidance counselor.
Tira is hopeful that they will present their individual roles to the students to give them a broader understanding of how the school is run and who makes it work like it does.
In the end, utilizing all of their newfound knowledge, the class will have a final project that must be completed.
“Our final project is finishing lesson plans and then teaching a class of our choosing,” Rosenbaum said.
Woodling is thinking about teaching a seventh grade English class, and Rosenbaum is considering eighth grade math.
“I’m excited to see where this program will take us as future teachers,” Rosenbaum said.
Featured photo (at top): Education students pose on the front stairs with Tira and Superintendent Mr. Daniel Taormina. The students completed their first field day at Lyter Elementary School on Oct. 6. Photo taken by Mrs. Susan Wise
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