Part 1 - Worksite Reflection
How did you make a meaningful contribution to your workplace? My assignment, as an intern under the Innovation Unit, was to help Ken Stimpson School to implement Project Based Learning effectively and correctly. I was specifically paired with Mr. Robin Norman, the school's music teacher. Over the course of three days, I helped him write up a twelve week program that he will be able to use with next year's 6th grade students. The project is intended to help students become proficient with the basics of a musical instrument of their choice and be able to teach their peers their newly acquired skills.
How did your project go from an idea or inspiration to a final product? I started with two hours or so of simply getting to know the teacher I was going to work with. This helped me to get familiar with his teaching style and the goals he was hoping to accomplish in the coming school year. In particular, he wanted his early students to spend their first year with him simply learning an instrument, and he needed an effective way to support them in doing so. I helped him think through a few different methods before we came to the conclusion that the best method would be to give the students class time for learning the instrument, supplemented with a homework assignment of blogging about their learning progress. The final product would be a performance, and a tutorial for learning their instrument comprised of the information on their blog.
How was your work significant or meaningful to the world beyond school and your specific internship site? The teachers that my group worked with were incredibly passionate about getting project based learning into their school, all they needed was a bit of guidance to get started on the right track. Based on their performance and enthusiasm during our stay, I think it is fairly obvious that the teachers are going to continue moving forward. It was a great experience to help them reach for their goal of turning their lessons into something that could teach their students real life skills.
Part 2 - Going Beyond
What new appreciations did you develop while working as an intern? It was a fascinating experience to be on the other side of the classroom, particularly in another country. The English system is not built to accommodate children who can't learn from formulaic lessons and textbooks; the kids are simply written off as "low performing." Having seen this, I gained an immense appreciation for the effort teachers in the High Tech system take to build relationships with their students and teach to their needs, rather than to arbitrary standards.
What qualities or characteristics did you see in the people around you that you want to develop in yourself? I would be proud to be even half as passionate about whatever line of work I end up in as the teachers at Ken Stimpson were about their students' well-being. Not only did they endure long hours, insane schedules, and an ever-present threat of evaluation, but they were willing to make time to stand up and make change for the sake of their students.
How might internship influence the direction of your life? This internship has definitely made me re-evaluate my previous considerations of pursuing a career in education. Seeing the restrictions on the teachers in England made it clear to me that I would not be an effective mentor in just any school system; I would much rather work somewhere where I have the freedom to tailor my classroom's experience not to an annual test, but to the students themselves.
How did you make a meaningful contribution to your workplace? My assignment, as an intern under the Innovation Unit, was to help Ken Stimpson School to implement Project Based Learning effectively and correctly. I was specifically paired with Mr. Robin Norman, the school's music teacher. Over the course of three days, I helped him write up a twelve week program that he will be able to use with next year's 6th grade students. The project is intended to help students become proficient with the basics of a musical instrument of their choice and be able to teach their peers their newly acquired skills.
How did your project go from an idea or inspiration to a final product? I started with two hours or so of simply getting to know the teacher I was going to work with. This helped me to get familiar with his teaching style and the goals he was hoping to accomplish in the coming school year. In particular, he wanted his early students to spend their first year with him simply learning an instrument, and he needed an effective way to support them in doing so. I helped him think through a few different methods before we came to the conclusion that the best method would be to give the students class time for learning the instrument, supplemented with a homework assignment of blogging about their learning progress. The final product would be a performance, and a tutorial for learning their instrument comprised of the information on their blog.
How was your work significant or meaningful to the world beyond school and your specific internship site? The teachers that my group worked with were incredibly passionate about getting project based learning into their school, all they needed was a bit of guidance to get started on the right track. Based on their performance and enthusiasm during our stay, I think it is fairly obvious that the teachers are going to continue moving forward. It was a great experience to help them reach for their goal of turning their lessons into something that could teach their students real life skills.
Part 2 - Going Beyond
What new appreciations did you develop while working as an intern? It was a fascinating experience to be on the other side of the classroom, particularly in another country. The English system is not built to accommodate children who can't learn from formulaic lessons and textbooks; the kids are simply written off as "low performing." Having seen this, I gained an immense appreciation for the effort teachers in the High Tech system take to build relationships with their students and teach to their needs, rather than to arbitrary standards.
What qualities or characteristics did you see in the people around you that you want to develop in yourself? I would be proud to be even half as passionate about whatever line of work I end up in as the teachers at Ken Stimpson were about their students' well-being. Not only did they endure long hours, insane schedules, and an ever-present threat of evaluation, but they were willing to make time to stand up and make change for the sake of their students.
How might internship influence the direction of your life? This internship has definitely made me re-evaluate my previous considerations of pursuing a career in education. Seeing the restrictions on the teachers in England made it clear to me that I would not be an effective mentor in just any school system; I would much rather work somewhere where I have the freedom to tailor my classroom's experience not to an annual test, but to the students themselves.
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