Ashlyn Meester - Classroom Field Experience

Alex Sogn - Dakota Prairie Elementary - 3rd Grade

Spring 2024

In the Spring of 2024, I started my student teaching journey in Mrs.Sogn's energetic third grade classroom. From January 3rd to May 3rd, I had the privilege of guiding a diverse group of 25 children, each full of unique personalities. While I asssumed the role of lead teacher for four weeks, my involvement in leadership remained prominent throughout the entire period. Throughout this enriching experience, I honed invaluable skills in various domains, including the art of differentiating instruction, proficient classroom management techniques, fostering meaningful relationships with students, and ultimately cultivating a profound confidence in my teaching abilities. I am very grateful for my time at Dakota Prairie as it helped me become the teacher I am today.

Darcy Vincent - Camelot Intermediate School - 5th Grade

Fall 2023

In the Fall of 2023, I was in a 5th grade classroom at Camelot Intermediate School with Darcey Vincent who teaches math, social studies, language arts, and technology. For this experience, I spent about 40 hours in the classroom as well as planning and implementing two lesson plans. The two lesson plans that I created and implemented were a language arts and social studies lesson. The lessons that I taught gave me a real life experience for when I become a teacher. It taught me how to control the classroom, be flexible, and so much more. I learned a lot from Mrs.Vincent, as well as my University Supervisor, Rich Brubakken. Mr.Brubakken gave me great feedback that I will put towards my future teaching position.

Cheryl Harming - George S. Michelson Middle School - 6th Grade Reading

Spring 2023

In the Spring of 2023, I was placed in a 6th grade reading classroom to finish part of my practicum. In this classroom, I was able to work alongside Cheryl Harming and learn more about teaching reading. In Mrs.Harming's classroom, they were working on a play. Each student got a part in the play and they started out with reading from the book, and then eventually acting it out in front of the classroom. I really enjoyed watching Mrs.Harming teach because of her kind and helpful personality. During this experience, I also presented a book talk, which is found under lesson plans, to the sixth graders. After the completion of my book talk, Mrs.Harming took time to observe and give me constructive feedback to support my growth.

Elizabeth Christensen - Camelot Intermediate School - 5th Grade Language Arts

Spring 2023

In the Spring of 2023, I was placed in a 5th grade language arts classroom. In the placement, I was able to see how language arts can be taught in the classroom by Mrs.Christensen. When I was in my placement, they were talking a lot about personal narratives. Each week, there was a different part of personal narratives that was talked about. I was able to make my own lesson plan about personal narratives, which is available under lesson plans, with the help of Mrs.Christensen. I was grateful to explore a new school that was much bigger than what I am used to. The atmosphere and the great help of the teachers made it a great experience.

Fishback Learning Center - Toddler Lab - Ashlee Haselhorst

Fall 2022

In the Fall of 2022, I was placed in the Fishback Learning Center as a lead student teacher in the Toddler classroom. We had two different groups of toddlers, the older toddlers and the younger toddlers. In total, there was 20 toddlers. In each group, I had two students who I did developmental checklists for, met with their parents, and posted updated pictures of them on SeeSaw, but I still watched and cared over all of the toddlers. In this experience, I spent about 250 hours in the classroom working with 5 other student teachers. As lead teacher, my role was to facilitate classroom lessons and a small group investigation. Each day I assessed student progress in a variety of areas such as fine motor, large motor, social/emotional, math, science, and literacy. During this experience, me and three other teachers had two different small groups. The older toddlers investigated dry sensory materials and the younger toddlers investigated sand. We chose to investigate these materials because that is what we saw our students have interest in. The children guided their own investigation as I supported them by asking open-ended questions that allowed for further exploration. Throughout the investigation, the students explored the materials and made new observations and discoveries. At the end of the investigation, we as teachers made a book that had pictures and explanations to our investigation to show parents at the Celebration of Learning held at the Fishback Learning Center. This expereience allowed me to create relationships with the children as well as their parents as I had the chance to conduct my first parent-teacher conference. I worked closely with my mentor teacher, Ashlee Haselhorst, that guided me through this meaninful expereience that grew me as a future educator.

Fishback Learning Center - 3 & 4 Year Old Lab - Jen Johnson

Spring 2022

In the Spring of 2022, I was placed in the 3 and 4 year old lab at the Fishback Learning Center where I served as an assistant teacher. My role in the classroom was to be an extra hand for the classroom teachers. I spent about 40 hours in this classroom experience. The biggest thing I gained from this experience was how children can learn through play and how the environment can support that. For this field experience, I completed an assignment that allowed me to track students' inquires and how they solved them. This experience allowed me to observe individual children and identify what they are inquiring, what questions they ask, what problem-solving techniques they use to solve the inquiry, and how they came to a conclusion. Determining a child's inquires and how to guide their process by using open-ended questions is an important skills to have in the classroom. In the future, I will continue to use these strategies to support children's investigations.