CadetTeacherAcademy:JobShadowing#4

JOBSHADOWINGALLOWSCADETTEACHERINTERNSTHEOPPORTUNITYTOFURTHEREXPLOREOTHERGRADESAND
SUBJECTAREASTHEYMAYBEINTERESTEDINPURSUINGFORATEACHINGCAREER.PLEASEDOTHEJOBSHADOWING
FORTHETIMENORMALLYREQUIREDWITHYOURMENTORTEACHER.
CLEARTHISWITHYOURMENTORTEACHERANDINFORMTHEHIGHSCHOOLOFFICEANDCADET
INSTRUCTOR/COORDINATOROFYOURCHANGEINSCHEDULEFORTHATTIMEPERIOD
.

PRIORTOTHEJOBSHADOWYOUWILLNEEDTOTURNINANINTAKEFORM,ANDAFTERTHEEVENT,ANATTENDANCE
FORMANDANEMPLOYEREVALUATIONFORMALONGWITHTHECRITIQUE.ALLFORMSWILLBEAVAILABLEONTHE
CADETG-MAILSITE.PLEASERETURNCOMPLETEDPAPERWORKTOYOUR(JOBPLACEMENTCOORDINATOR)ATTHE
TECHNOLOGYCENTER.

APPROPRIATEPAPERWORK(JOBSHADOWREQUESTFORMMUSTBETURNEDINWITHAPPROPRIATE
SIGNATURESTOMRS.LINDERMANINORDERTOPARTICIPATE).

TheJobShadowintakeformwillbeusedtogenerateajobshadow
agreementthatwillneedtobesignedbyaparent/guardianandtheJob
Shadowteacher/supervisor.

BEDETAILEDINYOUROBSERVATION.COMPARETHECLASSROOMMANAGEMENT,DIFFERENCESINTHEAGE
LEVELABILITIESCOMPAREDWITHYOURCURRENTPLACEMENT,WHATACTIVITIESYOUOBSERVEDTHE
TEACHERANDSTUDENTSDOING,ANDYOURCONCLUSIONSFROMTHEEXPERIENCE.THISASSIGNMENTSHOULD
BETYPEDANDFOLLOWTHISEXACTFORMAT.

CADETTEACHERINTERNSNAME:ALEXANDRAPALADI

SCHOOLDISTRICT:GOBLES

JOBSHADOWINGOBSERVATION:

DATEOFJOBSHADOWING:__3-28-16_TIME:__12:30PM-2:10PM_

GRADELEVEL:__5-8YEAROLDSAND18-24YEAROLDS__

SCHOOLBUILDING:_BERTGOENSLEARNINGCENTER_

NAMEOFTEACHERYOUARESHADOWING_BRIANSMITHANDCONNIEKNAPP_

OnMonday,March28th,IvisitedtheBertGoensLearningCenterwithAlicia
PrauseandMelanieBugarin.Wevisitedtwoclassroomseachoneadifferentage
group.ThefirstclassroomwasConnieKnappsclass,whichisan1824yearoldclass.
ThesecondclassroomwasBrianSmiths58yearoldclassroom.Ienjoyedgoingtothe

twodifferentagegroupsbecauseitprovidedaninterestingcomparison.Thetwogroups
wereatsimilarcognitivelevels,buteachclassfocusedondifferentthings.The1824
yearoldclassroomfocusedondaytodayactivitieslikecountingmoneyanddoing
chores.Theseactivitieswillhelpthesestudentsprepareforafutureintheoutside
world.Theyoungerchildrenlearnaboutbecomingindependent.
ConnieKnappsroomstartedofflikeanormalclassroom,theytookrolland
startedwithcalendar.Thisremindedmeofmyfirstgradeclassroom.EverydayMrs.
Guritzdoescalendartimewiththefirstgradersandtheycountthedaystheyhavebeen
inschoolwithtalliesandmoney,inMs.Knappsroomtheydidthesameactivities.She
wouldshowthestudentsacoin,theywouldsaythename,thentellherwhatthevalue
ofthatcoinis.Theywentfrompennies,tonickels,dimes,andfinallyquarters.They
addedupthedaystheyhavebeeninschool122+1is...123.
Theclasswassetuplikeanormal(elementary)classroom.Thewallbehindthe
teachersdeskwasfullofbooks:thesebookswereatlowerelementarylevel.Ms.
KnapphadahugecollectionofDr.Seussbooks.Thefrontoftheroomhada
whiteboardandthecalendarboard,thebackwallhadfourcomputers,andtheroom
hadvariousposters.Thesepostersincludednumberchartsandalphabetcharts(intext
andcursive).Thereisalsoamicrowave,fridge,andsinkintheirclassroom.Atonepoint
duringclassoneofthestudentswentovertothefridgeandgotadrink.
Beforethestudentswenttothehomelivingroom,theygotonthecomputertodo
aprogramcalledDTTrainer.Thisisaneducationalsoftwareprogramdesignedtoteach
childrenwithautismfromadevelopmentalageof2to9yearsold.Thetrainerphrased
thequestionsthreeways:inpictureform,writtenout,andverbally.Thequestions
revolvedaroundrecognizingcolors,numbers,shapes,letters,bodyparts,etc.The
trainerwouldrepeatthesamequestiontwotimes,butwordeddifferentlyeachtime.For
example:showmethecow,thentouchthecow.AfterthestudentsfinishedtheirDT
Trainers,theywentacrossthehalltothehomelivingroom.Inthisroomtheycomplete
everydaychoresandgettocookinthekitchen.Eachstudentisgivenachorechartthis
chartlistsallofthechoresthattheyhavetocompleteandcheckoff.Thechoresare:
sweepthefloor,vacuumthecarpet,washthewindows,sortsocks,cook,foldsheets,
putpillowsinpillowcases,foldlaundry,andsetthetable.Tosweepthefloorthe
studentsspilledbeansonthefloor.
BrianSmithsclassroomhad5to8yearolds.Hehadtwohelpersinthe
classroom.Duringtheirlessontime,thesehelperssatwiththetwomostrambunctious
childrentohelpthemfocusandnotcauseadistraction.Themainfocusoftheirclassis
tohelpthestudentslearntobeindependant.Keepingthisinmindthestudentswould
movethetablesandchairstodifferentpartsoftheroomwhentheyweredoingdifferent
activities.
Hisclasshadonesetofrulesforthechildrentolearn.Tokeepitsimpleheonly
hadsixrules:quiethands,mouth,andfeetbenicesharelistentoteacherssitdont
rockandmakesureyouareatanappropriatelevelofsound.Thelevelsofsound
rangefrom0to3:0issilent,1isawhisper,2isaninsidevoice,and3isanoutside
voice.TheserulesarethesimplifiedversionsofrulesthatIseeeverydayinmyfirst
gradeclassroom.Mr.Smithusesnamesticksforchoosingwhoanswersquestions,
whichisacommonpracticeinnearlyeveryelementaryclassroom.Anotherprocedure

thatstoodouttomewastheemphasisonputtingyournameatthetopofyourpaper,
andmakingitthefirstthingyoudo.Thisisaskillthatisemphasisedinmostlower
elementaryclassroomsforexample,inthefirstgradeclassroomsatGoblesthereisa
songthatremindsthestudentstoputtheirnameatthetopoftheirpaper,itisThefirst
thingwedoisalwaysthesame,atthetopofthepaperwesignourname.Everytime
Mr.Smithremindedhisstudentstowritetheirnameitremindedmeofthissong.
Ilearnedalotfromthisobservation.Therearealotofsimilaritiesbetweenthe
learningcenterclassroomsandmyfirstgradeclassroom.ThisishelpfulbecauseifI
everhaveaspecialneedsstudentinafutureteachingposition,Iwillknowsometipsfor
educatingthatindividual.Theobservationhasshownmethatyoumusthavepatience,
butstillbesternwithdirectionsyouwillneedtohelpthemwithlittletaskssuchas
turningtheirpackettotherightpageandyouwillneedtobeawareoflittlepreferences
thatwillmakehis/herdayrunsmoother,forexampleinMr.Smithsclassroom,someof
thestudentsusedcrayonsandothersusedpencils.