Taylor McCollough's Portfolio

First Agency Visit: My first day, I walked into a happy classroom. Ms. Tharp was excited to have me, and the kids were excited to meet me. I came in while they were doing reading. The kids sat down on the rug and read the story out loud with Ms. Tharp. After reading they started on math. After math it was lunch time. Once we returned from lunch, the kids finished their math lesson. After math, it was time to go outside! After recess we came back in and got ready to go home.

ABCs of Reflections Affect: I was excited to go into the class. I have known Ms. Tharp for a while, so I was not nervous about meeting her. I was nervous about coming into the class though. I always get nervous when I first go into the class. It always takes some time to see where you fit into the class’ routine. Once I got in, Ms. Tharp made me feel welcome and so did the kids!

Behavior: My actions seemed to do their purpose. I came in and focused on the task at hand. I met the kids, and they seemed to like me. I helped where I could. I walked around and helped with the math lesson. The kids seemed to really want my attention, so that tells me that my actions were successful.

Cognition/Content: As I observed the class, I noticed a lot of teaching tools being used. This made me think of tools we discuss in class. Ms. Tharp’s classroom is a fun environment. The kids want Ms. Tharp’s attention. They know that she cares and is investing in them. That is so important to me. There was not a lot of technology in use, other than the smart board. However, she used the smart board a lot. She would let the kids play interactive games to complete their math lessons. This use of technology kept the kids interacting within the lesson.