Observation Reflection

During the summer of 2007, I spent a week as a chaperone working with high school students at a church camp. This trip was immensely educational for me; I learned a lot dealing with the students in that kind of environment. While we did not teach, I got the opportunity to watch others teach and observe both good and bad qualities. The students sat in the sanctuary for the nightly instruction time. They were shown videos to keep them interested, but I noticed that a lot of the time they had trouble paying attention when they were not actually doing something. It is interesting to note that the time of day when these activities took place (early evening after dinner) may have had something to do with the fact that the students were disinterested and all seemed to be falling asleep. It could be that they were just sleepy because they had just eaten. These services also followed days of physical exercise and playing that may also have contributed to the students exhaustion. The camp leaders had outlined activities in which the students broke into groups and did various activities to use to compete with the other teams. The students worked well in smaller groups and they enjoyed the hands-on activities they were assigned. The camp was set to a pirate theme and the students had time to make flags and do various other activities together. They would then come back together and present their work to the group. This seemed to be the part that they liked most, so it would probably be a good idea to do more of this and less of the other teaching that was so similar to lecture.

The time that the students spent outside varied between large group and small group activities. The variations on these themes was useful because it kept the students from getting bored with the activities. The competition helped to keep them focused, but sometimes the best representative was sent forth, which may not always be the best for the other team members' self esteem.

Beyond the educational methodology, I learned that students need attention. They all need to feel loved, welcomed, and accepted. This transcends many of the other aspects of instruction. I tried really hard to include all of my students in the activities and to help the ones who did not understand. I played the role of burgeoning classroom manager, moving closer to students who seemed distracted and I spent more time with the students who seemed left out.

Another interesting thing about the camp was the way the counselors were given instruction. It was just like a typical Sunday school and did not include videos or hands-on activities like the activities for the students. It seems to me that sometimes people assume that the varied learning styles are only more appropriate for kids because of the fact that they are accustomed to faster-paced input, but in actuality, adults can also benefit from lessons that are geared to different learning styles.