Experiences at fieldwork

Reflecting on Fieldwork at Bishop Dunn

Throughout October and November, we completed fieldwork at Bishop Dunn Memorial School. I have never completed fieldwork at Bishop Dunn before. It was a very different experienced compared to my other fieldwork placements. My experience at the new school was enjoyable and helpful for learning how to teach science. We taught many different grades during our lessons. The grades ranged from first through seventh. We had to make sure our lessons were tailored to meet the needs of all students in the class. Even though it was an after-school program it still taught me how to be the best teacher and things that need to be worked on. Teaching science is very different compared to my other methods classes. Science needs to be engaging and exciting for the students. I learned how to create inquiry lessons and the requirements for those types of lessons. The lessons created were also very different compared to other fieldwork placements. I usually work with a student one on one and create lessons on my own. In this class, we were able to collaborate with two other classmates to create our lessons. It was interesting to learn and use collaboration since I am in another class that is all about collaboration. I was able to use my knowledge from that class to make the collaboration process the best for my partners and me. Creating lessons takes a lot of time and effort to meet the requirements and to make sure the lesson will run smoothly. I have created many science lessons and now I feel prepared to create them on my own and in the future. I was so nervous to teach science because it can be intimidating at times and overwhelming. I learned how to make it fun and simple for students while teaching them all I need to. I was lucky to work with two great partners who were easy to work with and were very organized. 

After teaching our lesson, I learned many different things that need to be a part of during my future fieldwork lessons. I learned that behavior management is important to review with the students beforehand so they stay on task. I learned how to incorporate different technology into the lessons. I learned how to use Powtoon and Peardeck. They are both creative resources to make learning more fun and engaging. All of my classmates did a great job presenting their information and teaching their lessons. I learned new things from them about their topics and different ways for students to create and present information. I got to observed to know what students enjoyed doing and what they did not. Being at Bishop Dunn helped me become a better teacher of science and taught me new things about myself as a future teacher.