First Day of Fieldwork!

Today we started our fieldwork experience at Bishop Dunn Memorial School. I really like this school, and have a lot of experience here because I have volunteered at the after school program since freshman year. I had never worked with Ms. Pozzulo, so I was excited to go in her classroom, and experience her class. The students were all very engaged, and interested in us and our materials. I think both they, and us are excited for the next few weeks! This first day was an introduction to the room and the students. Each fieldwork group brought a book, and went around to the different groups of students. We introduced ourselves and then said one thing we enjoy doing. The students did the same. This was a great way to break the ice, and make the kids feel a bit more comfortable with us before we all went in to teach our lessons! Each group also brought a book that went along with the topic they would be teaching in their lesson. It was a quick pre-assessment to see what the students, if anything, knew about the topic. Our topic, "The Colonies Become Free" was an interesting topic. The students seemed to know the concept, but did not know completely understand certain facts about the colonies or American Independence. I enjoyed the article, Pretests; Importance and Uses of Pretests, on the benefits of creating and administering pretests. Pretests can be extremely beneficial for not only the teacher, but also the student. After this first introductory day, I am very excited to begin this fieldwork experience!