Kenzie McDonald

Who Are Our Learners

EDTE 400
Paige Fisher

Part A) Learners like me

As I have observed the class over the past few weeks I have been observing Blair, who at first
glance seemed to be most like me as a learner. He is on task in class, and seems to always get
his work done. He is very friendly in the class and I have only seen him be kind to his
classmates. He has also not been called out in class for being off task or talking. When I was in
elementary school I barely ever got in trouble, and when I did I felt embarrassed and that I was
really letting the teacher down. I remember wanting to cry when I got in trouble so I was always
on task in the classroom. I always got my work done and from what I can remember, I was
mostly on task. Blair sits right beside his best friends in the classroom and is still on task, which I
was very impressed with. The teacher said they can chose where they sit as long as they are on
task. I would describe Blair as a silent leader. His friends look up to him and they seem to follow
his lead without him saying anything. He often doesn’t put up his hand to tell a story like a lot of
the other kids do, but he puts up his hand when he thinks he knows answers to the questions,
he also likes to be challenged in class. Blair is super friendly in the class, but in saying that all of
the students in the class are friendly and have created a strong sense of community in their
room. Blair does a really great job of being approachable to the other students in the class. I
have seen him to talk to most of the kids in the class. He is in grade 4 and there are grade 3’s in
the class and he seems to be very friendly to them and hangout with them at recess. I often see
Blair talking to the boys a lot more than girls, so he could venture out and talk to more girls, but
in saying that, that’s the way I remembered elementary school. The girls hung out with the girls
and the boys hung out with the boys. I taught Blair a card magic trick and he went out a recess
with me and tried it on a bunch of different students, all different ages. He is very friendly in
class and on the playground (recess). I have noticed that Blair really enjoys playing tag at recess
and hanging out with his friends. In class he seems to be doodling when there is an option to
choose what they would like to do. In journal writing Blair seems to have quite a bit to write
down, he tends to have a hard time thinking about what he wants to write about, but when he
figures it out he continues to write past how many sentences they were supposed to write. He
exceeds expectation for writing. I have not seen a whole lot of silent reading but when Blair has
had to read out loud he is fluent and his comprehension is strong.

Part B) Learners unlike me

Joseph is the learner that I chose to observe that at first glance was unlike me. He is a very
bright boy but he is often off task and gets a talking to quite often. His belongings are often
everywhere on the ground and his desk is very unorganized. I always had all of my belongings in
my pencil case and I organized my desk once a day to make sure it was neat. He is very touchy
and often is seeking attention. He is seated by himself in the back corner of the rows of desks.
He often doesn’t distract others by talking to them but he distracts himself very easily. I am
assuming that the teacher placed him in his seat where he can’t distract others. Joseph often
puts his hand up to talk when he likes the topic that is being discussed. He often has the right
answer when questions are asked. Often when he doesn’t have a whole lot of motivation to do
something hell just sit there and say “I don’t know what to do” and we can get him started. I
think that he wants the attention but also just needs a little boost to get started sometimes.
Joseph often hangs out with the boys in his class in class and outside at recess. He really likes
Leland and Liev. He is very touchy and seems to bug these boys sometimes when he wont take
his hands off of them. He is very friendly and gets along with everyone in the class, I would say
that one of his stretches would be that he needs to learn boundaries and personal space.
Joseph has a hard time listening to his peers when they ask him to do something or to not to do
something. The boys seem to be his friends in the class but he talks to anyone that talks to him.
He loves to doodle in class. His favourite activity to do in class is to draw and he likes his
drawings to be very neat, which is the opposite of his desk organization and belongings all over
the place. He really enjoys playing tag with us at recess and doing whatever we are doing, he
seems to really enjoy our attention. Joseph seems to exceed expectations with his journal
writing. He loves to write about his Lego which is one of his favourite things to do at home. He
took out picture animal books in the library. I am unsure still of his reading ability. His
comprehension in class when the teacher is reading them a book is strong. He can also predict
what is going to happen in these stories. He seems to keep up to the grade 4’s in his journal
responses, as for his spelling, he is at the stage of learning when two letters (mostly vowels) are
together what sound they make. Joseph is athletic, he loves Lego, and he really seems to like
attention from the teacher and students. He has brought his shells to class to share as well. The
easiest way for him to show what he knows is by verbally telling us.

Part C) Connections and observations

I think as a teacher it is important to be curious before judging someone. As I gathered

information about Joseph I did notice that he has a hard time sitting still and focusing and later I
found out from our sponsor teacher that his mom has taken him to a pediatrician to see if he
has ADHD. So instead of just assuming that he was a child who didn’t like to listen and move his
body around and have his things everywhere, there was a reason behind it all. I noticed that at
first glance and my gut impression of each student was different then after I observed them
more and got to know them better. I picked Blair at first glance to be like me because he didn’t
draw attention to himself and was self-motivated and did not have to be harassed by the
teacher to get his work done. He seems to have a lot of friends in and outside of the classroom.
I gathered that he lives and has been raised by his Grandma and hasn’t had a very good
relationship with his parents, which as a student in grade 4 must to be very challenging. He
carries himself very well and never acts out as some kids probably would in his situation. My
brother and I grew up and were raised by two parents, I couldn’t imagine having none or maybe
not even knowing who my parents are, so in that sense we are very different. I picked Joseph to
be unlike me at first because his behaviour and organization skills. As I observed him more I
noticed some similarities that I have with him now. I personally love to joke around and laugh,
when the time is appropriate of course which Joseph does as well. I also love to doodle and
draw in my note book like he does as well. He is also athletic and loves participating in active
activities at recess. I noticed with Joseph, when he is off task and not doing something he is
supposed to be doing, if we ignore him he will get himself on task rather than keep acting out
because he got the attention that he was seeking.
I think that all people are different and no one is ever going to know everything about one
person. We need to, as teachers be supportive to all sorts of different personalities and learning
differences. I feel very strongly about having a safe and friendly community in the classroom so
students feel free to share themselves in whatever way they feel comfortable. I think the
sharing circle in our class everyday has created a sense of community and the students get to
share how they are feeling and it lets us get to know them better. Once we were able to be
with the students every day during our practicum week and seeing them twice a week they
have gotten to know us better and same with us getting to know them. They opened up to us a
lot and now we know a lot more about each student. I was able to write at least 5 points about
each student in the class after observing and getting to know them better. Building connections
is very important in a classroom, it helps build relationships.
I also think that is important to build confidence in our learners. Using growth mindset
comments (ex “yet”) and supporting them through their challenges they are over coming is very
important. Math is a big one in our classroom, some of the students start to shut down when it
comes to math, not all of them, but most. We need to build their confidence in this area by
repetition and using supportive comments and feedback. Building confidence in themselves as
a person is very important, to feel confident in sharing information about themselves and to
speak out loud.