Preparing for the Field Study

Over the past few classes in my education practicum, we have been preparing for our field study which begins next week. On Tuesday we wrote down our preferred field assignments. In other words, we picked the age range (preschool or kindergarten) and the school where we want to do our child study. The choices, Hawthorn, Wilson, and the Acorn School, are all unique environments to do the child study. Wilson and Hawthorn are a part of the San Antonio Independent School District and serve a more diverse and lower-income population. The Acorn School is an independent school with a play-based curriculum. This means that a lot of the learning done at this school happens through the children playing. I put down The Acorn School as my top choice, but I’m sure whichever school I get I will have an interesting field study experience. Next class we will find out what our actual field assignments are.
Today we also practiced how to take notes at our field study. These notes record what goes on during the class and any thoughts after the class is over. Notes allow for organization and later interpretation of all the observations. The field study combines observing what goes on in the classroom with participation in the class activities and interacting with the children. Field notes focus on describing the classroom and activities rather than judging them. Although we try to observe and record as much as possible, we will have to learn to judge what is note-worthy and what is not, because it is impossible to record everything. By looking back on our notes, we can see how the classroom functions, what the children are like, and what lessons we can learn as future teachers. Note taking is a key part of doing a field study and look forward to starting to take them in my field assignment.
The video shows a kind of learning we have discussed in my education class and that we will likely observe in our field study. Small groups allow teachers to get to know the children better, and also to let them learn, ask questions, and discover their own answers.