Reflection On Classroom Learning

I volunteer at Saint Francis Xavier for a first grade classroom. The kids are aged six through eight years old. The teacher I volunteer for is Katie Winchitl and she has 15 children in her class. I start volunteering at 10:15 and end at 11:25. The general schedule is specialist first, classroom learning, and finally recess. The classroom is set up in table groups with three to four children per table. There are an abundance of educational posters and inspirational quotes hung about the room. There is also a mini library with bean bag chairs for children to read in. There is a table at the front of the room by the teachers desk to help students that need it. As a volunteer I read to the children, help them with their class work, and correct

Ms. Winchitl believes this works the best for her class and organizes the room into table groups. This way, the kids can bounce ideas off each other and learn from each others mistakes. Also, the teacher does many group activities such as counting, singing, and popcorn reading. The children are able to read to each other instead of just reading alone. Montessori is a theorist who believes the opposite of Vygotsky, that children learn best independently. Although most work done in Ms. Winchitl’s classroom is group work, she does incorporate independent work as well. The teacher provides quiet time where the kids can read to themselves or work on their homework. For some kids in the classroom, this method works better for them. Montessori also believes that active learning is the best for six to seven year olds. In the classroom, the teacher does many hands-on counting activities. In Jean Piaget’s Preoperational Period, he believes children develop a vocabulary of 200 to 2000 words. Each day before they start a lesson, the kids learn three new words each day. The next day, they recall yesterday’s words and learn three new ones. This way, kids get better at reading and understanding