My cooperating teacher mentioned, after I asked this question, that she really wants to be able to do more note- taking for her students, but just does not have the time. She said she really wished she could have a teacher’s aide to help her because she wants every student to get the help and attention they need. When she does have opportunities to take notes she said, “I have a notebook and a mental notebook. I try as much as possible to record and make notations whenever I have the time during lessons or at the end of the day”. Most of her note taking is off of her memory because she is having to work so quickly and efficiently, at a steady pace, for her Kindergartners. She also says that many times she will pick a couple students to focus on for the week and use the time she does have to note different behaviors or necessities they may be experiencing or expressing.

What are your thoughts around that topic?

After stating what my research topic was for the semester my cooperating teacher said, “I believe in hands on learning…” she said that she loves to provide opportunities for children to grow and prosper using their hands. She also talked about how she tries to incorporate as much hands on activities as she can to engage the students. She mentioned that keeping them on tasks is really important and kinesthetic learning will help with that. But she did mention that she could not do as much hands- on learning as she wanted because, “I feel more limited in the current setting than my previous”. I started to talk to her about other options she could do with the students- even with a small classroom- to make sure they still will using hands- on learning as often as possible.

How do you use kinesthetic movement in your classroom?

Liked she mentioned in the previous question, she reiterated that she tried to incorporate movement in every activity. She said, “I try to do as many movement activities and games as possible that correlate with the content we are learning”. I have seen her do this in various math and science concepts. She also mentioned that her class is a very active class, so using kinesthetic learning styles is super beneficial. She just wishes she knew more ways to incorporate movement.

Do you have any books or articles you would suggest I read?

My cooperating teacher did not have any current books about kinesthetic learning that she knew about. But she did suggest, “high yield strategies book (math)” which she expressed was full of great content that will help me in my future classroom. She said that most of her research that she does is through the computer and wished that she had more opportunities to read.

Is there another special I should watch or teacher/administrator I should talk with to deepen my knowledge of the topic?

She told me that she, “would talk to the P.E. coach/ teacher” because they were more knowledgeable on the knowledge of movement and maybe ways to incorporate that. She also mentioned that talking to other teachers in various grade levels might help in seeing different ideas or getting different perspectives about my research. She was also really excited to see my research memos and wanted me to continue to keep her up-to-date on my research with my tutee during the semester.