Learning Styles

On Wednesday I received a much needed break from teaching and got to observe for the day. With so much time to observe I have a lot to reflect on!

The morning started with an interesting decision. We could choose to shower with a very large spider or with a cockroach. Both animals sought shelter in our showers and were a lovely morning surprise! We survived our showers and were rewarded for our bravery with pancakes!

I arrived at Faith Nazarene School early and had the opportunity to talk one-on-one with my students before school began. Imelin is a young girl in my class who, my cooperating teacher says, is abused by her family. Imelin is the youngest child in her family and she is neglected and made to do all of the chores in the home. She is often sleeping during the afternoon, rarely speaks in class, and is very withdrawn. I was reaffirmed that I am doing something right when Imelin saw me and smiled this morning. I don't think I have ever seen her smile before. I sat down next to her and we had a nice conversation about what she did yesterday and what her favorite hobbies are. I was happy to many any connection with her!

Another highlight of my day was when my cooperating teacher used a strategy for checking for understanding that I modeled in an earlier lesson. It made me happy to see some individual student attention in the classroom.

A cultural difference that I have seen in my classroom focuses around learning styles that are taught in the classroom. My teacher lectures and has students take notes (verbal and visual). In a second grade classroom in the States you would expect to see very little note-taking and lecturing and more experiential, kinesthetic, and visual learning. It is very important for teachers to teach to the whole range of learning styles. The teachers in Belize have not received formal training in the learning styles (something that we cover deeply in the States) so it is interesting to see their perspective on the issues. During the two day seminar that we had last week, Sharon, Jean, and Lena talked a lot about learning styles and teaching to them. I feel like this was a great step for some Belizean teachers!

I can't believe that this week is almost over! Prayers for patience and guidance are appreciated as we teach our final lessons! We all send our love! Can't wait to see you soon!