Experience at Metro

 💭I truly enjoyed the experience at Metro. This event gave me ideas for time management as an aspiring educator and was an outlet for my passion for teaching. Although I'm coming to the end of my degree, clinical, exams, and field basing are still some checkpoints I have not reached yet. There is this desire to experience as much as possible through events and community service projects offered through TAMUCC so that I can build knowledge that can only come from experience and be more prepared when I enter field-based and clinical work and become a first-year teacher.

💻Link to full Lesson Plan 

                Used laminated QR posters for easy access to resources and the hero story!

One student had an Android and was unable to access her QR code scanner feature. Thankfully, my professor reminded me to have short links ready. Before the event started, I was set up and ready to go. I had a lot of time to make sure the Short URLs were ready to go, and in this case, it proved to be helpful. One thing I realized is that if I'm going to use QR codes in the future, I need to know how to access them from any device.

BIG SHOUT OUT TO THE NURSERIES THAT SPONSORED THIS ACTIVITY!

Both Gills and Bay Area Landscaping donated the soil types that I needed for this activity, and shout out to TAMUCC for having a collection of clay at the bay next to the school! Also, RIP to the old campus dog. 😔

Watch video here 

The kids really enjoyed this activity. Anything sensory-friendly is fun for all grades. Learning about soil types is extremely relevant to the Metros gardening project. A lot more goes into plant growth than sun, wind, and rain. Types of soil maters. Good soil allows plants to grow their roots deep into the cool, moist parts of the earth. There, plants can find a network of roots ( like trees), or they can store water and nutrients for themselves in the pockets found in aerated soil ( this is why earthworms are essential, and people should avoid pesticides). All plant life waits for the nitrogen cycle to make its way around before a segment of growth takes place. Careful attention to soil can significantly impact plant growth.

Another shoutout to this man! He wasn't in my group but was a helping hand throughout the activity when it came to moving my samples and equipment. He seemed particularly interested in the activity; maybe it was the brightness of the purple. ( no one can resist the purple 💜💜💜) 

For the Kine portion of the event, the students got to practice being superheroes! They participated in activities that only superheroes have the strength to do. Through laughter, sweat, and hard work, the students proved to be excellent superheroes.

Don't forget to stretch when you're through to help with muscle recovery!

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Collaboration

the action of working with someone to produce or create something.

This activity requires us to work with READ, KINE, and ART students who do not major in education. It's always cool to learn ways to include other areas of development. ARTS, KINE, and READ are important areas for students to grow in. Literacy goes beyond academics and directly affects one's life as a U.S. citizen. Kinesiology is the study of movement and how it affects the body. It's crucial for students to know important facts about their bodies, like how a majority of the body systems require movement to initiate the process. Movement is beneficial and necessary to maintain a healthy body and mind. PE teachers in school settings are trained to understand the importance of movement, and their goal is to inspire and show students how to take care of themselves and have fun while moving! Arts is where creativity and expression come together. Art is especially important for students to participate in whatever genre. We wouldn't have planes, vehicles, lights, etc. If it wasn't for those creative individuals who found their passion. Art allows the mind to be creative, to think outside the box, to practice brain storing, trial and error, and resistance, which are all valuable life skills.

Participation

the action of taking part in something.

 

The participation level of my group was at an all-time low for this entire project. There was much opportunity, as stated above, for different majors to have a turn impacting our local school systems. Both professors worked together to create information regarding our activity and meetings.

The only thing my READ/ART members contributed was a pre-mature hero story during the first two weeks that lacked characteristics, TEKS, and topic relation. It was a test run on AI use. 

During the weeks, I made sure to reiterate new information, including hyperlinks to all resources in one place. I have scheduled and hosted all meetings and monitored the scrum board often to see where everyone was at throughout the week.

After a while, I realized that I was on my own a bit. Technology really came in handy as there were a large number of resources. 

Child book AI: was the format I chose for my hero story. It uses AI to generate illustrations based on the text of your story! It came out perfect and also had an audio feature, so young students could participate in the reading by listening and following along. They could use the imagery to help with understanding.

Canva: was used to design my laminated poster board. It has lots of design features that allow you to truly be creative. I know for a fact that any IDET student who used Canva in their activity had a fun time working with their students !!!

Flip: was used to record an assessment of what they'd learned, but there was not enough time to use it. Instead, I asked open-ended questions to gauge their level of understanding and took an informal verbal assessment.

Scrum Board Activities 

The activity on the scrum board was minimal for this assignment, apart from my upkeep and role as scrum master for meetings 1 and 3. I kept the scrum board updated with recordings of meetings and made sure to add extra info to the scrum boards in my emails as well. I tried my best to remind my group in emails and in groupMe about the purpose of the scrum board and the responsibilities of the scrum master, but still no activity. With a more cooperative group, I see the scrum board as being a very helpful resource, especially when collaborating with other educators within my career.

Overall, I enjoyed this activity! It was a great chance to practice facilitating and collaborating. I also gained a lot of ideas as far as time management goes.