Experiential learning takes many forms at Rowan University, including internships, student teaching, clinical and lab work, and research.
Meet Jordyn Dauter of Quakertown, PA (Bucks County), a Dance and Elementary Education double major with an honors concentration. Jordyn is here to tell us all about her first day of her student teaching field experience.
The night before the first day of school jitters are real, even for aspiring teachers. Lying awake at night, wondering if your students are going to like you, and being scared that you are going to sleep through your alarm. That is all apart of the journey leading up to first time student teachers.
As an Elementary Education major, we begin student teaching in the fall semester of our junior year. This one day-a-week field experience is linked to a course called Instruction & Assessment in the Inclusive Classroom, taught by Professor John Quinesso. To get to this point, us as future educators must pass the Praxis Core tests for Mathematics, Reading and Writing. This is one of the many major milestones of becoming a future teacher.
Rowan University’s Office of Clinical Experience will place students registered in Instruction & Assessment into an elementary school classroom between kindergarten and sixth grade. Each student is paired with a cooperating teacher, as well as a partner from class, so our first field experience is not all by ourselves. Once placed, we attend our assigned school and classroom for eight weeks of field experience to gain our required 40 hours.
While anxiously awaiting my placement, I was hoping for either first or second grade. As a YMCA summer gymnastics coach, this was the age group I felt most connected to. I appreciate children’s imagination, eagerness to learn, and the excitement they feel when they achieve something new. So, when I found out that I was placed in the Audubon School District in a first grade classroom, I couldn’t contain my excitement. It felt like I won the lottery.
October 10 rolled around, and it was officially my first day of first grade, but this time, as a student teacher! I was finally earning my title of “Miss Dauter.” My day started out by signing into the office and meeting up with my partner, Nicholas Dales (also known as Mr. Dales). Together, we met our cooperating teacher, who showed us the ins-and-outs of her classroom before the students arrived for the day.
Once 8:00 am hit, the students began to file into the classroom, timidly looking at us. It didn’t take them long to warm up to us though. Once Mr. Dales and I introduced ourselves with our “It’s All About Me Tee” posters, the students began to ask us lots of questions, wanting to know more about our lives. When the girls found out that I was a gymnastics coach, so many of them wanted to share their own stories about gymnastics. In writing class, one of the girls was even writing a story about how she did 113 cartwheels inside her house.
Once our class transitioned into writing, Mr. Dales and I jumped right in and began working with students on writing their hook statements for their short stories. With each student I worked with, I helped them with their spelling, punctuation, and understanding what type of hook statement they were using, whether that was a sound, question, or time of day. Our teacher was conferencing with writer’s individually while we helped out with independent work.
Up next was math, where the students were working on their ten-frames. At this point, the students were becoming more comfortable with me. They began raising their hand and saying “excuse me Miss D.” I would go over and help them with their workbooks, and checking for any errors once they were done. Once students moved into their assigned stations, one group was asking me to help them practice their counting, using bingo chips and a number chart from 0-100. They were really excited to have Miss D. helping them out with their math work.
Before each reading lesson, students are given 15 minutes of independent reading time. Students grab their box of books and get to practice reading on their own. One girl came up to me and asked for me to help her sound out some of the bigger words. We sat together on the floor and worked on sounding out each letter in each word in Eric Carle’s “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.” For me, this moment was so significant, as I was wearing a Very Hungry Caterpillar t-shirt, and that was my favorite childhood book growing up. It felt like a full circle moment.
October 10 rolled around, and it was officially my first day of first grade, but this time, as a student teacher!
Throughout the day, there were so many great moments that happened. From choosing our library books, to playing a game with new digraph words, first grade was full of learning and adventure. By the end of the day, the students loved Miss Dauter and Mr. Dales. They even came up to us and gave us big hugs. In one short school day, I felt like I had built so many great connections, not only with the students, but with the faculty and staff as well. They all enjoyed having Rowan students come into the school and gain classroom experience.
Even though I have only been in the classroom just once so far, I am so excited to go back. Everyone made me feel very welcomed and appreciated at the school. I am looking forward to gaining more experience and knowledge throughout these eight weeks. The second day of first grade cannot come soon enough.
Written by: Jordyn Dauter, dance & elementary education double major
Photos by: Valentina Giannattasio, dance & marketing double major