After changing my minor from sociology to adolescents, community, and education (ACE) I've had many different education courses. This semester I'm in TTE 195b Introduction to the Teaching Profession and part of the course includes visiting an elementary, middle, and high school within the Flowing Wells school district. I had the pleasure of visiting FW Jr. High this morning and was given a personal one hour tour by the Principal Peter M. Wells. I was super amazed and impressed with the school. The campus was big, very clean, and very well maintained you could tell everyone takes pride in their school.
Flowing Wells Jr. High is divided into pods with a pod for each content area and the many electives offered. I got the chance to observe every content area English, math, science, and social studies as well as the art classes, computer classes, band, orchestra, ceramics, theater, and the resource center/special needs. Every class I observed was full of colorful posters store brought and home made, classroom expectations, consequences, and rewards, vocabulary words, smart boards, and bell work on the board with in class work and objectives.
However, the most impressive thing I observed at FW Jr. High was the productive student behavior and the amount of engaged learning time. The teachers were amazing incorporating many different teaching styles to include all their students and make learning fun. Every classroom I entered was utilizing their smart boards, but the best use of the board had to go to the class for students not meeting standards. This teacher used Justin Bieber and the amount of followers he has on Twitter to creatively teach math. It was a small classroom but every student was actively participating by raising their hands and answering questions. I noticed the use of cameras with students shooting a video that will go along with a proposal for a grant being written by a few teachers. It was nice to see the effective and interacting use of technology along side the high number of active student participation. It was definitely evident that teachers were teaching effectively and students were actually learning.
There is even a class called Games that's a innovative way to prep for aims using interactive computer games along with other thing to increase learning and prepare students for taking aims. Science classes were using beads to make the compounds in the elements of the periodic table. The ceramics teacher is way more than a teacher who teaches students to make bowls, but a teacher who incorporates culture, math, and science. The teachers seem genuinely happy with what they do and the students seem excited and happy to be in class learning. I personally believe Flowing Wells Jr. High is a school that other schools whether it be elementary or high school should aspire to be like. They have a collaborative and trusting staff, technology is effectively utilized, student engagement and active participation is high, and is definitely serving up a side of engage me!
Flowing Wells Jr. High
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