Before I describe what we did today in my first class of my education practicum, I think I should say a few words about what a practicum is. A practicum is a course in which you do hands-on learning or study. In a practicum, the students take what they learn in the classroom and apply it or observe it in a real-life situation. This allows the students to better understand that area of study. In an education practicum, the students learn about education and then go to a school to teach or observe classes there. My education practicum is about early childhood education, so I will go to either a preschool or kindergarten classroom to observe a student there. I am going to describe my time spent in my education class and then my time in my field placement.
In today’s class we introduced ourselves and learned about the class. The professor, Dr. Pat Norman, made us partner up with someone we had never met and get to know them. We did this by drawing a portrait of them. At first I was worried because my drawing skills are practically nonexistent. However, by getting to know my partner I found I had an easier time drawing her. Then we showed our portraits and introduced our partner to the class. The activity really helped me get to know my partner and others in the class. We then looked at other aspects of the class, such as the field study. The homework assignment is to read They Don’t Like Me: Lessons on Bullying and Teasing from a Preschool Classroom by Jane Katch, shown in the above photo taken by me. The book looks like it will make for an interesting discussion about the social issues of young children.
