3 Things Learned in PDS

Working in my PDS has been an experience that has taught me numerous lessons. Firstly, I learned that teaching young children requires more patience then I had originally thought. All the students must constantly be reminded again and again to do simple tasks, and many students constantly test the behavioral limits requiring you to be extremely patient.
The second thing that I learned was the importance of being prepared and organized. I believe that this is even more important when working with younger children verses secondary. This is because if the first graders are unoccupied for even the slightest amount of time while you get organize your lesson, the control of the classroom is lost. The children begin to talk, fidget with props, wrestle with one another, or run around. It takes time and is stressful for the teacher to get the students calmed down, and is much easier if you simply begin the lesson prepared and organized.
The third thing that I have learned this semester is how to effectively deal with some behavioral problems. I was initially intimidated by the children that posed major behavioral problems, and avoided working with them. One child in particular, often spoke out off topic from the lesson and hit the teachers and other students. He rarely paid attention, and always seemed to have a trick up his sleeve. I avoided him for quite sometime. However, after observing the other teachers interacting with him, I slowly felt more comfortable dealing with him. I have now taught several lessons with this student present without having any trouble whatsoever. I was simply stern with him, did not reward or pay attention to improper behavior, and constantly praised and rewarded proper behavior.

INQUIRY

Learning about inquiry has helped me to become more observant while spending time in my PDS. By being more observant, I am able to pinpoint areas or strategies of teaching that I do not fully understand or need to improve upon before I go into the teaching field independently. For example: recently while thinking about inquiry at my PDS, I realized that I was not comfortable with enforcing punishment to the young students when necessary, and often avoided doing so because I felt bad for them.
Learning about inquiry has also put me into the mindset of constantly questioning and thinking about my environment while in my PDS. I am constantly thinking about if my students are engaged, are they comprehending the lesson, am I meeting thier individual needs, and did I deal with this behavioral problem correctly? I believe thinking in these ways has helped me to teach the students more effectively.
Finally, learning about inquiry has definitely helped me to become more passionate about teaching. It has helped me to apply the teaching theories and strategies that we learn about in our book, to the actual classroom. I now get excited when I recognize "learned helplessness" or successfully reinforce a behavior with a reward.