Week 2, Assignment #2

The video of Sheila Owen's kindergarten class, all five- and six-year-olds are "readers and writers from day one,” was quite informative. Ms. Owen seems like a fantastic teacher, but what I think makes her so incredible are some of the things I have learned from watching the video. First, I noticed she teaches the children in small steps at a time which they can grasp which allows them to reach big goals by the end of the year. The class never seemed like what they were learning was on too high of a level for them to understand, yet simultaneously, they did not seem bored either which means that what they are being taught is not below their level. This is an unbelievable balance for a teacher to reach, and Ms. Owen achieved this medium. Another method I picked up on is that Ms. Owen never spoon fed the information; she made her students think and come up with the answers she was looking for. This requires patience, but it is the best way for the children to learn; giving them answers will not teach them much skill. Throughout the whole video, the children were involved in the lessons and were enthusiastic about learning. I also appreciated how Ms. Owen took the opportunities she had of teaching things that were not exactly part of the lesson. An example of this is when she was reading them a story that had the word grin. She stopped reading to teach her students what a grin is and they even acted it out. These small lessons add up to a lot of “extra” learning. I was also very impressed that there was many different kinds of learning going on. Aside from the fact that Ms. Owen got all different kinds of learners involved like she had learning tools for visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile learners, the style of learning that went on was diverse and I think very beneficial. Ms. Owen spent time teaching her class, the students had independent learning time, and the children also worked together with each other. Every child learns a little different, and these diverse learning methods help out all kinds of learners. Ms. Owen is a very patient and professional educator who gives her heart and soul to her work namely her students. This video really taught me a lot of things that I would like to use when I am a teacher.