Our Teaching Fellows are spending two days in local schools near San Jose, Costa Rica. We are visiting Atenas Prescolar y Colina Azul and an INA seconday school on May 21 and Santa Fe Bilingual School on May 22. The fellows will observe classrooms in the schools, interact with faculty and students, and teach lessons based on their major. As these days conclude, the fellows will examine:
-how they felt prior to arriving at the schools; what did they expect to see when they arrived?
-how they felt teaching and/or interacting with the students.
-how they felt leaving the school visits; how did their lesson develop? How were the students at the schools? What did they learn about themselves during this experience?
When I was preparing for my lessons to teach at the school I was going over in my head everything that I had wrote in my lesson plan. The night before, Clink told us our classroom placements, mine was a third grade classroom. (I had originally planned for a fourth grade science lesson on soil so I figure, third grade was close enough) However, upon arriving at the school and talking with the director, it was clear that that was not the case. The director had different lessons paired with different classrooms; in short it was a very confusing as to where we were going and which lesson we were to teach. However, we worked it out and each taught our lesson. I was not expecting the school to be as open as it was, but as most things in Costa Rica are open, it made sense. The school had an amazing view of the mountain range in the background and a ton of open windows to see the surrounding scenery. In my classroom I observed for the first twenty minutes before I taught. The kids were out of control. It was the largest classroom in the school, containing 22 kids. The teacher, while she spoke in Spanish, I could tell had very little classroom management skills as she only worked with one student at a time and then yelled at the other kids to keep quite. I was very nervous when it came my turn to teach. While I was teaching the ESL teacher came in to help translate and keep the students speaking and practicing English. Surprisingly, the lesson went really well. I had the students touching and recording fake clay soil, silt soil, and sandy soil. Then feel real soil and record how it felt in comparison to the first soils they touched. I'm sure some of the lesson was lost in translation as their English wasn't fluent and I could speak Spanish, however I think they got the majority of it. After completing my first lesson and getting a lot of compliments on how well I did, I was feeling very confident.
ReplyDeleteDuring my second school visit I was a bit overwhelmed. The first school I taught/visited was a pre-6 school and was not very big. However, the second school was a K-12 school and was much bigger. This school also had a schedule in which we taught. Unlike the other school where we were allowed to observe and teach almost whenever we wanted, we had to be in certain classrooms at certain times. This time, I was asked to perform the same lesson on soil to a group of second graders. I was expecting it to be a little easier than the other school because this school was a bilingual school and most of the other students that I had observed had spoke very good English. As soon as I got to my second grade classroom, the teacher finished her lesson and just left, without even saying anything to me. The ESL teacher stopped by and I asked her if it was ok to just begin teaching. She said yes and before I knew it, it was just me and 11 second graders in a classroom. I began my lesson in English and quickly realized that their English was not very good. As I was teaching I began to slow down and help the children come to easier conclusions. For example, when touching the clay, I asked was it hard or soft. The children knew these words and answered hard. From there I wrote the answer on the bored for the students to copy on their papers. While I had to re-vamp my lesson mid-way, I still enjoyed myself teaching. Once the students got used to me, and I got used to the students, the lesson went very successfully.
As we continue to teach in the schools I realize that teaching is absolutely what I want to do with the rest of my life. I feel that it comes so naturally to me, even when it's in Spanish. I also feel that if I can teach to students who know very little Spanish, I should be able to teach to American students with little problems.
Reflection #3
ReplyDeleteOn the way to the schools the first day I was really nervous. I was afraid that the language barrier would make teaching difficult. I arrived and walked into my classroom at 10am but was not scheduled to teach until 11. I observed my class and it was very different than what I was used to. The teacher was sitting the whole time while she taught. When it was my time to teach I introduced myself in Spanish and told them that I would be speaking in English. I had a fifth grade class and I was planning on reviewing graphing and then doing some examples of different types of graphs. I learned that they did not know anything about graphing at all. I taught them the basics and then went into examples. My examples included things they liked such as ice cream and pizza which they loved. When they got to pick the examples for the graphs they felt more a part of the lesson so they were more enthusiastic about participating. They loved being able to be up and moving and write on the board. I was happy to have them do it too.
On my second day I was more relaxed because I sort of knew what to expect. I was in a third grade classroom and teaching a science lesson. The kids that day were more shy and more reluctant to participate. The lesson was a little rough because of the material I was teaching but they were very respectful. They also loved getting up and moving today as well.
Leaving the schools was bittersweet because I will miss getting the opportunity to teach these children. It was very interesting to get to know children of another culture and background. I learned how to teach more simplistically. I used the resources I had and the students were so happy to learn no matter what. This experience was very enlightening because I saw how these students were disciplined, how they learned, and how the teachers taught.
Caroline Gautreau
I was at the primary school and I wasn't too nervous before I went. I have taught PE lessons before so I had the mindset that it would be no different. When I arrived, hardly any of the 2nd graders knew what I was saying. They had trouble with The Human Knot, but the 5th graders at Santa Fe nailed it. They were much older and more fluent in english so that helps. I felt very comfortable teaching even though there was a language barrier. Once the students knew the simple instructions, it was all movement from there. I felt satisfied leaving the schools because my lessons developed really well and all the kids enjoyed it. I was even able to do my lesson with a high school group after math class. I learned that I truly enjoy teaching PE, no matter who my students are. This was a great experience for me.
ReplyDeleteI had a very positive experience when I visited the schools here in Costa Rica. I gained a lot of confidence in my teaching abilities and I increased my excitement about becoming a teacher. In the first school, the students were pretty shy, mostly because they have only learned English since January so they don't know many ways to describe mathematical situations or what happens in a science experiment. However, I found that in my lesson, where I had them working in groups, I got them to interact a lot. That was encouraging to me because I want to teach that way, so to see it work among students who were a little shy means it should also work among my own students. Then the next day, the students I taught were anything but shy. I used a different lesson, but still had them working in groups and they interacted very well. At first I was a little nervous, but I quickly found that they would listen if I asserted a little authority and they were actually interested in learning even though they weren't required to listen to us for any grades or other purposes. It was a very refreshing experience for me, and it reinforced my desire to teach abroad for a year or two after I graduate. I really appreciate this opportunity to get a little experience in the classrooms while I was here.
ReplyDeleteSo I was really expecting a one room classroom with a chalkboard and old desks, but I was not prepared for the "classroom" at the top of a gymnasium that was sweltering hot. I was there for maybe ten minutes and already covered in sweat, it was gross. I wasn't nervous to be teaching, I was actually excited. When I started teaching I just got into the rhythm and went with it. My lesson was on making lava lamps with acid-base chemistry. I did not do the demonstration, I let student volunteers do it themselves and gave each student a piece of Alka-Seltzer to add to our mixture of water and oil. When I was finished with the lesson, I was really shocked with the INA professor complimented me on my lesson and told me if he was observing me he would give me a ten because I made sure all my students participated in the lesson and were actively involved. This advice meant a lot coming from not just a teacher, but a Costa Rican teacher at that.
ReplyDeleteThe second day of teaching at Santa Fe Bilingual school was also interesting. My lesson was on density and how cold water is more dense than hot water and hence will take longer to spread things through it like food coloring. This lesson was not any harder than the lava lamp lesson, but it was harder to teach because the students did not have the English skills the INA students had. I've never really considered how big of a barrier language can actually be, but it was there and it was definitely challenging. However, the challenge was worth it. After rewording my statements a few times and helping the students with their explanations, things got easier. I really enjoyed visiting Santa Fe Bilingual school.
There has been rumors that maybe by the time we're seniors, there will be a student teaching opportunity in Costa Rica. I would definitely be up for it. Prior to studying abroad, I did not really think student teaching abroad was really very appealing, but after teaching in these Costa Rican schools I believe that it would be such an amazing experience to teach in a different country. All in all, I just can't wait to be a teacher.
Before arriving at each of the schools in Costa Rica, I was really unsure of what to expect. I didn’t know what level of learning the students would be on, what subjects they were learning, or even if they enjoyed school at all. Only having experience in an American school system, obviously my views were biased.
ReplyDeleteOn the first day of the school visits I went to a school called INA. This was a secondary, semi-private school that was similar to what was considered a community college in America. The students here were so adaptive and corporative with each of the lessons taught this day. It was nice to know that they were actually paying attention to what we were doing in the school, especially considering the fact that all the students were learning was English (this is so they could earn a job at a call center or hotel to provide for themselves). The students were so great and interested in America, wanting to learn more. Two of the girls are now my friends on Facebook!
The second day was a little bit different. The school that we visited was a K-11 school. These students learned more than just English. They had classes in science, art, technology, and so much more. It was amazing to see how the kids interacted with one another and with us as teachers. These kids were so eager to learn, such a nice change as compared to America. Not only did they want to learn, but they were very bright. The eleventh graders at this school were beginning organic chemistry that day, which I haven’t even started as a student in college.
My lesson that I taught was on the water cycle, something that most kids in America already know once they get to eleventh grade, but I was unsure about those in Costa Rica. It turns out that they did know and my lesson was basically a conversation between me and the class of what they knew and why it was that way. Even though it didn’t take that long, the kids seemed to really enjoy talking with me. It was refreshing once the lesson was over, and after taking a step back, an awesome achievement to teach to a class in Costa Rica.
Sarah Anderson
Before arriving at the schools I was a little nervous about teaching because I didn’t fully know what to expect. My initial thoughts were that my lessons would be completely useless and irrelevant because there was no way I could speak Spanish the entire time. I figured the students would know some English but I assumed it would be very limited. Although I saw the language barrier as the major problem, I also felt uneasy about the curriculum lining up with my lesson.
ReplyDeleteThe first day I didn’t get the opportunity to teach a lesson but I was able to help out fellow math teachers. The school we attended was compared with a community college. The ages of the students ranged from around late teens to late 20’s. When I helped out with Brittany’s math lesson, there seemed to be a little confusion. I’m not sure if it was from the language barrier or just because the material was difficult for them to understand but they seemed very willing to try. I did notice, however, that they were extremely shy and I think this was because they were uncomfortable speaking in English. At the end, the students seemed to open up a lot more when we were able to socialize for a little bit. It was interesting how we bonded and laughed about not being able to communicate or learn the other’s language.
The second day I got to teach a classroom of 9th graders the FOIL method at a private Catholic school. They were very bright students and spoke English extremely well. They were attentive and when I called on them, they answered respectfully. Even though they already knew how to multiply binomials, I felt it was a good experience for me to be able to teach them. I learned that I could perform under pressure and that it is important to maintain control of the classroom regardless of what country you’re in. I also have more respect for students in America that are not native English speakers. I want to take that into consideration while teaching those individuals. I never realized before how valuable it is two be able to communicate with others.
Tiffany Hales
Maddi Abrams- Reflection #3
ReplyDeleteBefore arriving at the schools, I was very nervous. I was mostly concerned that the majority of the teachers, faculty, and students would not be able to speak English and thus, communication would be a struggle. I was not initially aware of the fact that we would only be visiting private schools which made a difference in what I would expect. I was not sure what kind of resources the schools would have or what their views are on education. Furthermore, it made me uneasy having to stand up in front of a room full of students I had never met without the slightest idea what they had been learning all year. Although I was nervous, I was also very excited to experience an elementary school in another country.
The first day I went to Atenas Prescolar and was in a kindergarten classroom. One thing I thought was really neat was that the students can come to school, be in a formal classroom setting, and even begin to learn English at the age of three. One thing I noticed at this school was that they handle classroom management very differently than in North Carolina. The kindergarten teacher gave them plenty of freedom to move around the classroom and they seemed like they were allowed to do whatever they wanted. I noticed the same thing when I went to a couple of other classrooms. There seemed to be a constant amount of noise and often it was not very productive. My lesson went decently well for being the first time I had attempted to teach in Spanish. I was the third person to present to a group of kindergarteners which put me at a disadvantage in terms of behavior. They were excited about having visitors, but they had trouble staying in their seats and giving others a chance to talk. I suppose that is normal for children their age, but I also think the fact that they normally do not appear to be disciplined the same way as American children had an effect. They also may not have been on their best behavior because they were really excited that they knew the material that I was talking about. I was giving them first grade subtraction and they all knew the answers to the problems I was giving them. Another interesting thing I noticed was how enthusiastic the students were about showing off how much English they knew.
The second day I was in a first grade classroom in the Santa Fe Bilingual School. I thought this school was great because they start learning English at such an early age. I also thought the teachers at this school were more welcoming. Again, I was the second person in the room to teach a lesson to the students so I think this made them a little more restless. Apparently I also began my lesson right when lunch was supposed to start which made things worse. However, my teacher informed me that there were a lot of students in the class with ADD and ADHD. I did another lesson on subtraction to see how it would go with slightly older students. Again, I began in Spanish and the students got really excited about coming up to the board and actively participating. However, they would also jump up out of their seats or shout out the answers. I do believe it was because they could not hold back their enthusiasm, but I do not think I would allow these sort of interruptions in my classroom. They enjoyed getting to write on the board and responding to questions, but some of them pouted or complained if they were not called on immediately. My students were sweet, their behavior was just a bit different than what I am used to. Once again, the students wanted to practice and show off whatever amount of English they had learned so far. It was funny too because they wanted to practice their English with me while I wanted to use my Spanish in front of them. Although these two schools were very different than what I am used to, they were both great experiences and I am glad that we got an opportunity to participate in another country’s education system.
Mary Jo Schools blog
ReplyDeleteprior to seeing the schools I expected it to be much like the homes I had been in, a little rough looking on the outside, but beautiful inside and filled with bugs. I had also noticed as we passed schools throughout our travels that students were in uniforms so I associated this with the structure of private and charter schools that I see at home. Lastly, I expected the schools to have strong arts programs because of how well the country accepted the arts apparent in their graffiti, music, and culture. I also expected my lessons to go over well because, though I can't speak Spanish very well, math is easy to understand despite lack of expertise in another language.
The first school we went to was the INA school, which was a free school for anyone out of grade school. Essentially it was a free community college but strictly for learning English. This program also provided the students with an "allowance" to pay for transportation, clothes, food, or any other necessities such as health care. The young man who instructed this particular class of less than 25 told us that he saved most of his money given to him when he was in the program to start his own business. This particular program was created because it was apparent that the better paying jobs required or desired people who spoke English. If I remember correctly, the students had nine months in this program, which by the way is a much more intense program than any high school secondary language class, which is where most of our group learned Spanish.
In this school Margaret and I "co-taught" a lesson about surface area using cans intended for students to manipulate and discover that they can formulate an equation for the surface area of a cylinder by adding the areas of the shapes that made up the cylinder. Overall the lesson was successful, but I found that students struggled with the concept without numbers given to them such as the diameter of the base of the can or the heigh of the cylinder.
The second school we visited I actually never taught the lesson I had prepared. I actually wondered from class to class and found myself joining in with other people's lessons and connecting with the students. Wow, those students were inspiring. It was remarkable their interest in the concepts we were showing them, in being challenged, in learning about us and about our culture. It was truly amazing. A joke throughout the trip with some of us was a list of reasons why we would want to stay in Costa Rica longer and we hadn't found anything until we met those students. When Mr. Clinkscales asked how many of us were interested in student teaching here nearly all of us raised our hands. Those students reminded me of how I want my classroom to look, and I am truly thankful for it.
I felt extremely nervous when it came to teaching in the schools. I think it was because of the language barrier. My students could not speak english either day. I made a mistake and forgot that they didn't know a lot of english and was using words that they hadn't learned yet. Other than that I found being in the schools fun and interesting. It was really cool getting to talk to the high school students about their school days and just getting to know them. We had a lot in common and they were just like I was when I was in high school. I had so much fun teaching my students and seeing how much the students in Costa Rica enjoyed learning about us. They have a lot of respect for their teachers. They found us fascinating. It was a great experience to be able to see how it feels to be the minority. Teaching in a country where you don't know the language can be extremely challenging. I found it awesome and a life learning experience.
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