We asked students studying Elementary Education to tell us something they learned this week in class, practicum, or their classroom! Here is what they said:
Alexis De La Torre: "I am loving my collaboration class: working with disabilities! Something we talked about last Thursday was creating universal design lesson plans to tailor to the needs of all our students. My teacher compared it to being architects in the classroom. We can create a safe learning environment for all students to grow. It makes me excited to be able to learn these skills to create this environment for my students in the future!"
Megan Brinton: "One thing that I learned this week in my CPSE 300 class is to contact parents with good news! Most often parents are contacted when their child is doing something wrong at school. As a teacher we should also be diligent in giving parents good feedback into how their student is improving, not just at parent teacher conference. Collaborating with parents is such an important part of educating young children. Going along with good behavior, when a student does something well, reward them! Giving rewards works and really does make a difference in behavior. Rewards do not just have to be treats, either. There are many rewards that can be given without spending any money and just using what you already have in the classroom. Especially at a young age, children are learning right from wrong, and sometimes rewards can help point them in the right direction. Children look up to and learn so much from their teachers."
Delaney Phillips: "This week in my Foundations of Education class we learned about the process of desegregation in the public schools. Although people of color wanted to have access to equal education many resisted integration because of fear. They feared that their friends of color would be fired from their teaching and administrative jobs and they feared that discrimination would worsen within schools. However, eventually the majority of colored people decided that the future opportunities that education would provide were worth the risks and schools began to be integrated."
To learn more about Elementary Education or the other majors of the McKay School, schedule a meeting with a student ambassador here!