Field Experience Essay
Field Experience Essay
I observed and analyzed the design and delivery of an instructional unit in a Montessori school setting. I observed a classroom of grades 1-3 two times from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. at the Kennebec Montessori school. I was asked to sit quietly and to not interact with the children so I could get a realistic view of the class day and the children would pursue their chosen work.
When I first entered the classroom the atmosphere was very inviting and comfortable unlike most classrooms I enter for my own classes. There was a large skylight in the center of the ceiling as well as several windows that let in natural light. There are also green plants in a couple corners of the room. Each student has their own cubbies to put their crafts in the top and their jackets and lunch boxes in the bottom. All of the students wear slippers so that they don’t bring in any dirt from what might be on the bottom of their shoes and to create a quieter environment. On the wall there were 5 clocks set to the times in different countries; Peru, Spain, Africa, Korea, and Australia. They have a class pet named Roberta and she is a lizard, one kid is assigned to feed her each day. They have a schedule on the wall, the time increments don’t exceed more than one hour.
All the types of assignments are categorized and there are stations around the room with labels on them like; geography, memorization, counting etc. The kids have ‘activity mats’ for their assigned activities, they get a mat and then the supplies they need to complete it. The assignments seem engaging and the students want to complete them. It appears that the students have an appropriate sense of freedom while completing their assignments and move throughout the classroom. On their ‘work-plans’ they have assignments like; fish book, sight word work, math problems, and then arts and crafts. During their work time they sometimes work with partners, they often compete with each other to see who has more work done
I observed and analyzed the design and delivery of an instructional unit in a Montessori school setting. I observed a classroom of grades 1-3 two times from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. at the Kennebec Montessori school. I was asked to sit quietly and to not interact with the children so I could get a realistic view of the class day and the children would pursue their chosen work.
When I first entered the classroom the atmosphere was very inviting and comfortable unlike most classrooms I enter for my own classes. There was a large skylight in the center of the ceiling as well as several windows that let in natural light. There are also green plants in a couple corners of the room. Each student has their own cubbies to put their crafts in the top and their jackets and lunch boxes in the bottom. All of the students wear slippers so that they don’t bring in any dirt from what might be on the bottom of their shoes and to create a quieter environment. On the wall there were 5 clocks set to the times in different countries; Peru, Spain, Africa, Korea, and Australia. They have a class pet named Roberta and she is a lizard, one kid is assigned to feed her each day. They have a schedule on the wall, the time increments don’t exceed more than one hour.
All the types of assignments are categorized and there are stations around the room with labels on them like; geography, memorization, counting etc. The kids have ‘activity mats’ for their assigned activities, they get a mat and then the supplies they need to complete it. The assignments seem engaging and the students want to complete them. It appears that the students have an appropriate sense of freedom while completing their assignments and move throughout the classroom. On their ‘work-plans’ they have assignments like; fish book, sight word work, math problems, and then arts and crafts. During their work time they sometimes work with partners, they often compete with each other to see who has more work done