Final Blog Reflection

It is finally that time were a semester is coming to a close. For the past fifteen weeks I have spent all of my awake time studying, reading, working, and striving. Most of the work I have complete since January has been for my Social Studies Methods course. At times I have gotten upset, frustrated, and overwhelmed by the amount of work I needed to complete for a certain time or day. However, this was one of the most reward courses I have had to complete.

Class discussions, online discussions, group projects, and group work has created a bond within the classroom that every class should possess. I have learned how to cooperatively work in the classroom and how to instruct others to do so also. I have always been great at time management when it comes to school work because since I was in kindergarten I was playing sports or in activity clubs, so all of my work had to be complete right away. This class has taken that to a whole new level! Now I sit and little by little over time complete work, because I realize now how important effort is and even though you are putting a lot of effort into an assignment if you are rushing to finish it the night before you will miss many of the things you probably wanted to incorporate.

From taking this class I feel more comfortable in the classroom. Since my freshman year of college, fieldwork consisted of observing the cooperating teacher to learn skills from them or assist them in any way needed. Instead of just observing I now was given the opportunity to be the teacher in the class. Alongside with my group we taught three times to a fourth grade class economic skills. Just thinking about this time in and out of the classroom brings excitement and accomplishment!

I have learned further about the three types of lesson plans that are used in the classroom: direct, inquiry, and cooperative. Direct instruction is more of a teacher focused lesson where the teacher is essentially reading from a script and instructing the students within the classroom. An inquiry lesson is somewhat of a prediction! There are two goals within an inquiry lesson. First, what the students will explore during this lesson. Secondly, what the student's reasoning or thinking is. Cooperative learning instruction (my favorite method!) focuses on the student's social skills by working cooperatively and responsibly together in the classroom.

Looking back at the beginning of the semester to now, I find that I have grown. I obviously always knew technology was a large portion of the classroom and schools these days because it is forever growing, but I didn't know how many resources there are! I cannot wait to have my own classroom and begin to creatively decorate the classroom AND the students' minds!

Every school year I would admire my teacher for their knowledge and guidance. This feeling still happens for me in college and I pray that one day one of my students will feel this way also. I have learned that teaching is more of a step by step process. Lesson plans, unit plans, projects, and assignments may take time but the outcome overall is completely worth it! I have learned how important it is for students to learn about history and what has come before us so that we can learn from the past.

The knowledge that I have acquired from this course is something that I will forever take with me. I have grown as a student and future teacher and cannot believe it is finally over. The semester and course can have come to an end, but I have forever learning! 

One More Thought of Reflection!

As I was packing up some of my things to move home for the end of the semester I can across something I made for another class. For one of my classes from the fall semester we participated in a project where we each had to create a poster that expressed classroom rules. Even though we did not do a project similar to this it sparked an idea in my mind.

Through this semester we have completed many projects that we can utilize in our classrooms. While looking at my classroom rules I realized that even though this was not apart of this class it has some similarities. The main idea from my class rules was about treating your peers with respect. This is something we definitely did within our class this semester, especially during our jigsaw project. When working in groups together I saw how important it is to listen to your peers and give them the floor to speak. Collaborating ideas and showing respect is something I learned more from this semester. Dr. Smirnova has given us the wonderful opportunity of collaboration through group work and our fieldwork.

I never realized how important it is for students to take turns with their fellow classmates within group work. When my group was working together collaboratively to create the activities we used in the classroom it was extremely important to listen to other to hear their amazing and creative ideas. Without listening carefully to others, respecting others, using respectful inside voices to those you are working with, and taking turns by raising your hands are some of the most important aspects that students must do within a class or group project.

I am extremely thankful that I can finally connect my Social Studies Methods course with other education, psychology, and methods courses that I have taken here at the Mount! :)

Reflection of Myself

As I was just completing one of our final course assignments I was reflecting on how I have changed over the semester.

From reading our course text, articles, participating in projects, and in class discussions I have definitely developed over time. I learned more about the different lesson plans and how much work goes into each one. I have also learned how a unit plan stretches longer than a week for students with many objectives and goals but still concentrates on one major topic.

From our course text I know have a greater understanding of how important it is to teach social studies to young students. Besides the use of our course text, from participating in the artifact bag project I learned even more!

All of the ideas of projects that other teachers have utilized in their classrooms and the projects and assignments (including Biz Movie) are things I most definitely will use in my future classrooms!

Mock Interview Process

Today our class went through a mock interviewing process. A select few in the class were selected as principals and everyone else in the class would take on the role of a teacher candidate pursuing a position at the principal's school.

Dressed for successful the principals examined a variety of resources to examine the candidates to make sure they were a perfect placement for their elementary school. As teacher candidates we were placed into three interviewing groups, since this would be a complete group interview to show how competitive a position in an educational field is. We were asked a variety of questions based on inquiry, direct, and cooperative learning. Technology purposes and scenarios in the classroom were also involved in the questioning process.

I have been on job interviews for part time jobs, which I believe helped me through this process. I know the setting and how to answer questions in a form that would not only impress the interviewer but also show my skills and knowledge. However, the job interviews that I have been apart of in the past had many differences from this process. This mock interview showed me how important it is to study and evaluate all education purposes and processes that I have learned since my first education class at Mount Saint Mary. I learned how important it is to express your personal teaching philosophy to whomever is interviewing you for a position in an elementary school or any educational field. Sharing your belief both inside and outside of the classroom with express not only your knowledge but also your hope for the children that are our future.

One question that stood out to me during the interview was when I was asked to create an objective for a given lesson about habitats. When asked this question, from my knowledge of many different lesson plans and methods I imagined a lesson plan format in my mind. Quickly, I placed each specific piece of the habitat lesson that the interviewer gave me. Then I reflected, quickly and swiftly of course, and create an objective for the students to complete with a ninety percent accuracy rate.

Even though we were being interviewed by our peers everyone in my group was professional and attentive to the questions they were being asked. At times, I glanced around the room and saw how professional and passionate my classmates were throughout the interviewing process. From listening to my fellow classmates, within my group, answers to the questions I believe they all answered with poise and knowledge. Megan was one of the teacher candidates in my interviewing group and in my opinion she did great! She answered the first question that each principal asked the group with many educational ideas, resources, and references. Melodie and Joe were also teacher candidates in my interviewing group and they also answered the given questions with integrity, knowledge, and passion.

Overall, the involvement and process of this mock interview was immensely helpful for my future. It showed me not only to be professional but also to be knowledgeable. Dr. Smirnova gave us amazing advice at the end of the class that prior to an interview we must research the school we will be interviewed by, know the school's overall policies and philosophies, and always express our knowledge of using technology in the class by sharing projects we have done with students while attending college including the outcomes and recent studies that may have been conducted concerning the project.

My Educational Philosophy

Hello, my name is Caitlin. I am currently working towards and Bachelors degree in History with a minor in Psychology. I am also working towards my certification for Elementary Education (1-6) with a Special Education extension. I have an open mind, positive attitude, and high expectations for myself. I believe that I owe it to my future students to know their importance and purpose in this large world, because they are our future and are the most important piece of the puzzle on a map! It is important for young students to know that we are all humans and we make mistakes. However, mistakes are not reasons to become discouraged or fall back because they are a learning experience. When you learn from something of the past you will be forever successful and confident!

I believe the children are our future!
I believe each and every child has the potential to bring something unique and special to the world, not only academically. I will help children to develop their potential by believing in them as capable individuals. I will assist children in discovering who they are, so they can express their own opinions and form their own creative ideas. I have a vision of a world where people learn to respect, accept, and embrace the differences between us, as the core of what makes life so fascinating.


I believe in a safe environment!
Every classroom presents a unique community of learners that varies not only in abilities, but also in learning styles. My role as a teacher is to give children the tools with which to cultivate their own gardens of knowledge. To accomplish this goal, I will teach to the needs of each child so that all learners can feel successful and safe. A classroom is a student's home away from home! I will present schedules that involves the interests of the children and makes learning relevant to life. I will incorporate themes, integrated units, projects, group work, individual work, and hands-on learning in order to make children active learners. I will also involve students with community activities, such as community clean ups and recycling projects.

Expanding The Mind

Yesterday I went to a Professional Development workshop that was held by one of my professor's grad students. The workshop was only a little more than an hour long but it was definitely worth while! I've learned that through my time at Mount Saint Mary College I have been studying hard and working for a certification for teaching, but yesterday I finally realized that even though I have academic focuses I needed to broaden them because as young as I am, I am forever learning.

The workshop that I was placed in was to learn further and participate within a literature circle. The grad students that presented the topic explained many misconceptions for literature circles, shared ideas from their experience, explained the immense variety of benefits for this method, and also shared how a literature circle can be used online AND in the classroom.

As I was sitting there, listening and interacting, I realized that a literature circle does not only have to be able language art texts. This method can be done in any academic subject, especially social studies! There are millions of biographies, informational texts, fiction, and nonfiction books about different parts of history and the historical figures involved.

As I mentioned before, you can use literature circles online, essentially as a class project! Each student will receive a job and it will be their responsibility to complete all of your assignments online. We live in a technological society, which is something that must be embraced! Allowing students a safe place on the internet will give them the chance to show their technological skills and attirtubes. Again, this is a great opportunity for students and teachers to learn from each other!

A literature circle is one of the most successful methods of learning I have witnessed and been involved in within the classroom. It engages students, activates their prior knowledge, and allows them to express their creativity! I am beyond thankful and glad that I could experience this workshop and hear the thoughts of others.

Artifact Bags!

This week our class had a variety of discussions about how and why students must learn about history. One of the most important and valued answer to these questions is essentially to know our past to see our future. What this means is students must learn and research the history of their country, families, and the world to further understand progression and the mistakes that others have made. This is an exact example of learning that history repeats itself.

On Wednesday, Dr. Smirnova broke the class into groups and we all were given the opportunity to be researchers! She provided each group with an artifact bag. None of the bags consisted of the same items, however, each bag had specific and important belongings from Russia. Each group had to research what these items were. We created a chart using the 5 W's: Who/What/When/Where/Why. As investigators in my group we researched the Russian alphabet to try and read what some of our items had written. This was such an amazing experience for me because I find it fascinating to study people, belongings, and the past. It was a wonderful opportunity to not only learn many new and interesting facts about Dr. Smirnova, but also to learn some of the traditions and ways of both the past and present Russia.


Now it was our turn to create our own artifact bags that related to our unit plan. For my group's unit plan we are connecting learning with economics and the BizMovie project we completed with the fourth grade class. Everyone in the group was to find different artifacts from a movie of choice and everyone else in the group would guess what the movie was and what the artifacts represented. The movie that I chose was The Mighty Ducks. This is movie was released in October 1992. The artifacts that I placed in my bag was a picture of the a movie reel and popcorn to represent the movie making process and the industry. My second and third artifacts were pictures of the front of the Mighty Duck's jersey and one of the player's jerseys. I decided to place this into my bag because it represents the profit that can be collected during and after a movie is relseased. Most people just think that the money the movie makes at the box office is it's complete profit. However, movies and movie companies release shirts, jerseys, dolls, lunch boxes, and many more knick knacks that represent and advertise the film. The final artifact that I placed in my bag was fifty small dollar sign confetti pieces. I decided to place the specific number fifty into the bag because the profit for this movie was fifty million dollars.

Together as a group Melodie, Cynthia, Megan, and I dug through each other's bags to guess which movie was what and whose it was. Melodie chose Alice in Wonderland, Cynthia chose Casper the Friendly Ghost, and Megan chose Bambi and Mr. Ed. It was really fun to guess each others artifacts and to find our everyone's reasons for choosing the artifacts and the movies. This was a great project to take part in!

This is a picture of my artifacts:

These are our artifact bags!

Here is Cynthia, Megan, Melodie, and my artifacts:

 A final collage created by Megan from our artifact bag activity: