Gotsch Intermediate: 4th Grade

Student Learning Outcome: 3- Sense of Inquiry

Description of Artifact: This artifact is a from my practicum at Gotsch. I dived deep into the planning, curriculum, and design of the 4th grade classrooms and why they are inviting, functional, and solve problems before they even arise.

Artifact Alignment: One of the main issues in the classroom is the ability to create classroom management that will provide students with an educational envionrment. These classrooms have set in place solutions to combat the problems before they even occur. Encouraging students, designing the classroom in a specific way, and emphasizing rules will create a classroom environment for students to learn and foster their growth.

Future Goal: I hope that students in my classroom are given everything they need in order to reach their absolute best academically and personally. Each student has their own unique abilities and challenges and we have to adapt to all students so that a classroom can be created to better serve them all.

Sense of Inquiry Reflection: The artifacts presented in this section show the importance of encouraging all students in inquiry in the classroom and solving for educational problems by presenting solutions. In order to have a successful classroom where students thrive, a teacher has to ensure proper classroom management, classroom organization, accommodation, and a place for student voice to be heard. I learned a lot about what my job will be in creating a classroom where all these factors work together cohesively. Classroom organization and management has to be the foundation for everything else mentioned in this section because without it, you cannot have a classroom that works well in the environment that is presented.

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The fourth grade classrooms at Gotsch Intermediate are filled with compassionate students and teachers who are growing intellectually and as people. Lets take a look at the two fourth grade classroom, Mrs. Cotton & Mrs. Trudel.

These classrooms were more than inviting. The warmth of Mrs. Cotton's classroom and the quietness of Mrs. Trudel's class brings the students into an environment where they can open their minds and learn in many ways (mentally, emotionally, and physically).

Mrs. Cotton's Classroom

At Home

As soon as you walk into Mrs. Cotton's classroom, you feel at home. Her bright blue florescent lights are turned of, but the class is full of warm yellow lights from lamps. The first thing the students are drawn to are the respect, responsibility, honesty, cooperation, and self control posters. This starts the students off on the right foot, making sure they walk into the classroom and know what is expected of them.

Design with Ease

The layout of the classroom is thought out very well. The meeting carpet comes in the center of the class, and the students desk surround it. The design and theme of the room are consistent and clean, allowing for easy naviagation and learning. This has a large impact on the students learning because they know where everything is located, and they aren't getting too distracted by the classroom they are in.

Movement and Choice

Although we were only given 5-8 minutes to observe this classroom, I learned something that is very impoartant to Mrs. Cotton and the students as well: the ability to choose and be responsible for your choices. Students were working on a reading/writing activity and then were given three options on what they could do for the next part of class. Students were given the option to read to themselves, work on their computers, or work on their writing project. Once the students pick their choice, they have to stick to it and work well on their option. This teaches students that they should have the option of choice, but it also teaches them responsibility for their choices.

Mrs. Trudel's Classroom

Mission Statement

Before you even enter the doors of Mrs. Trudel's class, a mission statement is taped to the wall, to ensure that anyone who enters her classroom knows what is expected of these students. Some strong words that stuck with me was "we are safe, respectful, and responsibile." What a beautiful thing to be able to say at such a young age. Mrs. Trudel is preparing these students, not only for 5th grade, but for the rest of their lives.

"We will grow up to be good people."

That. That is why I want to teach.

Welcome In

From the start, Mrs. Trudel's classroom was inviting, but it gets even better. This strong quote hangs up to show the students that being a good person is what its all about. We can all learn skills like multiplication, or revising papers, but to be someone who make EVERYBODY feel like a somebody is hard. We are there to teach students that being a kind human comes before all.

Upon entering her class, Mrs. Trudel has light music playing at a low volume while her students were all working independently on their writing assignments. The classroom was set up wonderfully. The back wall had the students books, reading corner, and emotional sections.

Emotions and Feelings

The emotional sections shocked me the most. These students are being taught what feelings and emotions are... How to a acknowledge their feelings... How to deal with certain emotions... Some of us can't even do this and we are young adults. This was a large focus throughout both Gotsch and Messier.

Modern Students

A quality of modern students, I believe, is learning about things like your emotions and being able to understand how you feel and how to act on your feelings. It is something that was never taught in the traditional school setting, but is essential to being a human in everyday life.

Making Learning Visible

Mrs. Trudel does a wonderful job at highlighting students for their successful work in the classroom. This is just a snippet of the wall thats outside of the classroom. She has organized it in a way that is easy to the eye, but also makes sure that she isn't displaying student grades. (Respect!)

Throughout the classroom, there are many displays of students work with their own work, anchor charts, books, etc. This classroom is learning amazing things about being good people, great collaborators, and amazing students.

Mrs. Trudel has each subject hung up on the walls. These sections include what the students are working on, as well as some of the students work. Lets take a look at a few of them.

Both fourth grade teachers do a wonderful job at giving students the choice to do as they wish in the classroom. This is important because from a young age, you are teaching the students that they have choice, and they must be responsible for their choices.

Overall the warmth, welcoming and homey vibes of both classrooms made me feel wonderful. I can only imagine how amazing the students feel here....