Learning Theory

I have already spent ten hours in my classroom at Old Mill Elementary. It is so rewarding to serve in the classroom! One learning theory that I've noticed the teacher using is Constructivism. She does a great job of engaging the students in her classroom. One example of this is when they do Math worksheets. She will have them work in small groups and then as a class they will turn on the projector and the children can volunteer to come up and with the dry erase marker, show how they got their answer. One thing I like is that she doesn't just stop there. She will encourage any child who came up with the answer in a different way, to come up and share that with the class. This builds confidence with the children and teaches them that there are many different way to learn and problem solve. I've also observed that when she teaches a new concept, she asks many questions and almost has the class teach her. She then fills in where there are gaps. She uses many different tools to address the different developmental levels in her class. When teaching the water cycle, she had me use wiki sticks to outline the clouds, mountains, sun and a big circle representing the cycle on paper so that Mia, the blind student, could feel it on her paper and understand how the water cycle works.

Old Mill Elementary

                                                              Old Mill Elementary

     Old Mill Elementary is nestled in the beautiful valley of Wasatch County. The school was established in 2004 and is one of the newer schools in Wasatch.  Old Mill has 619 students in grades K-5.
     I talked to Mrs. Disher, who is the new school principle. She is really excited about this school year. She talked about their  mission statement which is to provide every student the fullest opportunity to learn.
     All of  Wasatch county has switched over to a digital curriculum and I'm excited to learn more about it and witness the students progression.
     I will be working with a blind student, Mia, who is in the fourth grade. I was able to spend half a day with Mia and I am amazed at how they've incorporated digital technology into her studies and how much it has broadened her learning potential.
     I believe service learning to be very important. Not only is it an opportunity to help a teacher and a class, but it also gives college students an opportunity to decide if education is something that they truly love and want to pursue.