Service Learning reflective summary report 1

Service Learning Reflective Summary Report

Christopher G. Curtis
Ivy Tech Central Indianapolis

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Abstract
This paper stems from a Service Learning Project designed to give students a more in depth look
into teaching with access to run a minute demo to teaching in a classroom environment. With this
project, I was able to state a better thesis on what teaching means to me and what it could mean
for anyone else in the classroom, faculty, or household. Teaching is much more than getting
learning materials through to a set classroom setting, but as a way to form and shape the
upcoming generation when they become sentient outside of high school. A lot of people do not
take the advantage of this and simply dont feel its necessary to relay a relationship to their own
students, but in doing so you can get a better understanding of strengths and weaknesses and can
even form lesson plans and teaching styles surrounding many types of students. Personally, a
teacher can peak with their students if they take the extra effort to understand the many different
styles of teaching and the countless types of students in their classes and how they can change
over the school years.
Throughout my course I have been tasked to learn with several other students and I have been
humbled in my learning in early education from others. My professor has been with me every
step of the way and guiding me towards my overall goal of being in the learning environment.
All that I have learned is included in this reflective summary and many more things Ive
witnessed while being in the learning environment I was in. I hope this has become more
sedimentary in my learning and wish to progress more after this semester in Ivy Tech.
Keywords: Curtis, Christopher, Service, Learning, Pike

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Service Learning Reflective Summary Report
I completed my Service Learning project at the Freshmen Center located within Pike
High School in the 9th grade resource area where I surveyed and assisted many teachers with
students that had IEPs to students who were on the 21st scholar list. Most of my time was spent in
a study hall like environment where I would assist in assignments both due and missed between
students ranging from B+ students to barely making it students. With the time I spent, I got a
broad chance to view from the other side of the teachers desk what the daily life of a teacher can
detail. I also got the chance to be dependent on many successes of some students who came to
me for assistance and answers I currently did not have. Teaching is not as clear as it looks when
youre a student and much less when youre a teacher, but you do come away with the fact that
you will be doing two things during your tenure: passing on your successes or passing on your
failures. I kept this in mind during my 8 weeks in the Freshmen Center and it yielded many
discoveries about myself, the education system, and the newer generation and how we as people
can help one another.
Service Learning Related to the Classroom
Upon my first day of my Service Learning assignment I noticed something very quickly
that I picked up in our Education 101 class: with as many students that my resource teacher Mr.
Moore had, he could not respond and instruct each one the same. This isnt a form of
discrimination nor did he do it purposely, but as a form of the Multiple Intelligences (Adcock,
2014) discussions and articles we touched up on in class. Fine example: one student in Moores
class could not understand a worded assignment for math and I was chosen to assist him at the
moment. He kept trying to place numbers and words where they didnt belong. However, when I
told him to treat the word problem as an English assignment whereas he just needed to read and

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let the problem fill itself out I understood he had more of a Linguistic intelligence then a
Mathematical one and that made his resolve of that lesson that much easier to understand.
For other classes that Ive sat in, I had a chance to sit in on a food lab assignment that one
of the food studies teachers were having. I had the chance to see hands on learning being done
and commended the teacher on her technique and understanding of the learning style she used
for her students. She had her class bake a pizza step by step using past paper assignments and
hands on experiences from other classes and even taught them how to prepare it and how to
clean up after. She had many class pizzas finished and even had a finished project to share with
the class and I. The pizza came out great, but she made sure to teach that the pizza will only
come out right if you follow directions well.
Classroom Environment and Student Learning.
Pike High School being mostly filled with minority students and alumni, the cultures
were very mixed. This mix actually accumulated with some curriculums pertaining to History
due to the numerous races at attendance at the school. Pike High School has been lauded as a
successful melting pot of a school district with a big graduation percent and an Arts program that
is heralded amongst other schools. Still, most schools in the district and in the inner urban city
arent as properly funded and Pike is no exception to other schools like Brownsburg and Carmel
schools. This goes back to colonialism schooling (Koch, 2009) being more prominent in white
areas as schools Brownsburg High School will always have its funding and is a predominantly
white school district, with a slowly growing minority base.
My previous teacher interview (Cordero, 2016) touches on this subject a lot since shes
an alternative IPS teacher that has seen not much growth from the system. I accept the notion
that schools need to be held accountable from the start in order to receive as much funding that

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can be rewarded, but I reject the notion that most schools have head starts in this race to better
education and a basis of funding should be available regardless if the need arises. Most schools
that retain excessive funding usually spends it on adding wings to the school that are unnecessary
at the moment and mostly frivolous community activities and trips. These allocated funds would
do better in a lower funded school just to even the playing field. We need to refine this funding
practice badly before lower funded schools fall behind in the new technology race we face every
fiscal year. A better example would be: Rural white areas would be able to have the new
advanced technology like the VR headsets in rooms while the urban black areas would just be
getting access to laptops.
Future Teacher.
Being with the many teachers Ive had the chance to monitor, Ive seen multiple
discipline practices I believe in and disagree with. One teacher likes to hand out excessive
detentions for minor infractions that I wouldnt act so harshly on from his stand point. With that
sight, I have come to the conclusion that there is a thing as too much discipline from an authority
figure and will dampen class spirits if seen fluently. Yes, we need discipline, but there would be
more levels to it in my case. You also need to form a basic understanding with the students you
teach or give resource too. A lot of these students are disenfranchised at home and they bring that
to school more often than naught and youre main job is to maintain that school isnt a home
environment if the home environment in question isnt sustainable mentally or spiritually.
Summary.
In summary, I have basically seen myself in a teachers position through this project and
have more of a driven goal to fill due to the actions I have been taking. This prepared me
physically for what the job takes and mentally for what the job can do to an unprepared student

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or teacher. For years I have never seen myself as a teacher and didnt think I could ever get into a
teacher position, but with my new drive for success and the lessons Ive learned I will be the best
teacher I can be. Ill look back on this experience when Im ten years into the teaching field and
someday Ill be glad I took this route instead of not doing anything and hoping that I succeed.

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Works Cited
Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderlund, L., & Brizee, A.
(2010, May 5). General format. Retrieved from
(http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

K.Cordero, Personal Communication, April 8, 2016

Koch, J. (2009) So You Want to be a Teacher? : Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century.
Boston: Houghto Milton

Adcock, Phyllis K (July 1, 2014) the Longevity of Multiple Intelligence Theory in

Education; Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin

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Standard #2
THE TEACHER USES UNDERSTANDING OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND
DIVERSE CULTURES AND COMMUNITIES TO ENSURE INCLUSIVE LEARNING
ENVIRONMENTS THAT ENABLE EACH LEARNER TO MEET HIGH STANDARDS.

Name of Artifact: Service Learning Reflection

Brief Description: For this assignment, I have demonstrated the many teaching styles and
diverse culture learning from my viewpoint. I have shown mere examples I have been allowed to
experience in my learning project.

Rationale: To solidify my understanding of Standard #2, I have included my Service Learning

Reflection assignment because I will date my reactions from the service learning assignment as a
learning guide years on.