Group 3 (The Girls)

Group 3 did a wonderful job teaching the students using a Prezi presentation with old and new vocabulary.  They started with a review of old words that they new such as 'Entrepreneur', 'Capitalist', 'Copyright', etc!  The students were on task and engaged throughout the lesson and seemed to enjoy learning about the "cool" animations and sounds that a movie has to decide on.  From what I saw, the students learned that making a movie takes a lot more time, money, and effort than they thought! Now, the students know how hard it is for companies to get together and agree on ideas.  I think that the students learned a lot from this teaching experience and group 3 did a great job.  From observing the lessons, I have gained a lot of "pointers" for when it is my turn to teach.

Group 2- Second Day of Teaching

On the second day that group two taught, the students from Bishop Dunn took a short walk and came to Mount Saint Mary College! The companies worked on making up a story line, characters, plot, etc. for their movies.  This was a great time for all members of the company to share their ideas on what the movies should be about.  My group, specifically, had difficulty deciding, or agreeing on events of the movie and who should be in it; this is normal for a company to not agree on everything!  My group/company learned from this experience in our classroom because they realized that in order to get their movie "rolling", they need to work together and listen to what EVERYONE has to say.  Congrats to group two on another great day of teaching!  :) 

Bishop Dunn(Week 2-Group2- First day)

  Today was the first day that Group 2 taught at Bishop Dunn Memorial School and it went great! The four teachers (Rachel, Chelsea, Joe, and Matt) all spoke loud and clean in front of the class, keeping the students attentive and engaged in the lesson.  My group did very well in answering the questions and working together on the packet.  The whole class loved the activity where they threw the ball into the SmartBoard to reveal the answer/definition.  Overall, very productive job today!

Bishop Dunn Memorial School

Today was a great experience at Bishop Dunn Memorial School.  It was Group 1's last time teaching and I think it went very smoothly.  Our class as a whole was involved in this teaching experience as we were to work in groups with the students of the 4th grade classroom.  In my group, we came up with a company name "Jack D.L." with the logo of a ninja, and the slogan "Hi-yah, it's Ninja Time!"  Our group had some difficulty deciding on a name, logo, and slogan, as there were always two or three students who did not agree on everything.  Our group (of college students) were able to solve the dispute and include all the students ideas into one.  This showed me how important problem solving is and making the students happy.

All Eyes On Me; Excited To Teach

  As the time is getting closer to when my group teaches, I am becoming very nervous and excited at the same time.  I am excited to show my abilities, yet nervous to present them in front of the class with many people (and peers) watching.  I have been preparing for my time to teach with my group/classmates, and I feel that we will be very prepared to put on "our show".

Teaching; Group 1

  Group 1 did a great job teaching!  I was proud of my peers to go first, and make the very best of the situation.  From observing their classes, I was able to take down some pointers and learn through their own experience.  Siobhan, Stephen, Alicia, and Kelsey all did a great job at teaching the 4th grade class about "Business," "Capital," "Revenue," "Profit," "Expenses," etc.  The students seemed very engaged throughout the three lessons.  

What I learned from their teaching:

-Do not use the word "guys" to address the students.

-Use their names (as they have name tags).

-Timing is important! Keep an eye on the clock and keep things moving.

-Organization is key.

Inspiration

  I wanted to take the time to write a blog about one of the many inspirations I have to become a teacher.  Ever since I can remember, I have wanted to be an elementary school teacher.  This dream of becoming a teacher became more important in my life when I was around the age of fourteen, when my younger cousins were born.  Watching them grow from babies to young girls, and being able to observe their mental and physical growth has been an amazing experience!  I spend a great amount of time with my three little cousins Caitlin (6), Molly (4), and Lillianne (1 1/2).  Through spending time with them, I was given the opportunity to first handedly follow the growth of a human being.  My little cousin, Caitlin and I have been reading together for the past few years, and I have seen the great difference between her as a Kindergartener, and her as a First Grader.  Molly, who is four years old, is still at an age where she cannot fully read books, so I help her with words, spelling, and her choice of words when speaking (such as the difference in past tense words, "deer" vs. "deers", etc.). Lillianne, who is almost two years old has shown me how incredibly smart a two year old can be!  Just in the past few months, her mental growth has been incredible;  just from November to February she went from barely knowing any words to now making sense of the words she is using, and understanding what people are saying to her.  In seeing their individual stages in life,  I have loved to help them and teach them with everything and anything.  The feeling of teaching someone is the best feeling I have ever felt.  

-Megan O'Brien =)

Getting To Know My Peers

   Our first assignment was to make something that describes our character.  I put together a "T Shirt" including pictures of my heritage, where I want to teach when I graduate, what makes me nervous, and my love for traveling.  I began to introduce myself to the class by telling them my name and asking them, "Why do you think I have these pictures on my t-shirt.    My plain t-shirt reflects my plain style (a white t-shirt, with no pattern);  I also explained this to my peers.  At the end of my introduction to the class, my peers were informed that I am 100% Irish, want to teach at Springhurst Elementary School, get nervous with a lot of work, and my love for travel.  In doing these short introductions to "getting to know my peers,"  I learned that most of the class is made up of an Irish/Italian population, with
elementary teachers, not adolescent.

-Megan O'Brien