Incidents of Learning in the Classroom (Cluster 9 Fieldwork Assignment)

For fieldwork observations, I have been in a second grade classroom in the Newburgh School District and it has definitely been a learning experience. I have been lucky enough to observe this class since the spring 2015 semester had started, so I was able to view moments of learning occur during my time with them.

When I started observing the class the children were in the midst of subtracting double digit numbers. I would see be introduced and would then watch the learning occur.There is one particular student who has had difficulty with mathematics since she started in September, this information I received from the observing teacher. The teacher told me she has watched her grow confidence in herself and now raises her hand to answer the questions.

I was fortunate to witness a moment of learning for this child in the last two weeks. The class has moved into subtracting three digit and two digit numbers by using their place value charts and number disks. The particular problem was 117-98=?. This problem focuses on how remainders effect the problem. This young girl worked through the problem and self-corrected herself a few times, then I saw the joy on her face and her hand shot up into the air to answer. It was fascinating to witness because there is the saying "A light-bulb went on" and that is literally what I witnessed. She was so excited to answer the question that she even told the class of her mistakes, how she self-corrected and then involved the class in a group discussion of the mistakes. This lesson became student centered very quickly which was amazing to see.

In order to promote positive behavior and participation this teacher uses a token system of reward. The way the positive reinforcement works is when a student completes a task or answers a question correct they may be rewarded by receiving a ticket token. The teacher decides randomly when a ticket will be rewarded. The token are then put into a bucket and at the end of the week the teacher picks out five tickets who will be able to pick a prize from the prize bin. The also keeps the behavior and participation at a high because the more tickets you receive the bigger the chance you will be picked for a prize. I asked how long she has been using this system and was told for about ten years she has been implementing this reward system of positive reinforcement and it has been very helpful in keep the negative behavior at a low and increase the classes participation.