My first fieldwork observance was at Liberty Academy Charter School in Salem UT. I volunteered in Miss Anderson's Kindergarten Class. This was an all day kindergarten where they begin at 8:45 and ended at 3:15. There are currently 16 students in the classroom. These class sizes are a lot smaller then a regular public school because it is a charter school. The teacher had the class divided into different centers. Each center had a different activity consisting of puzzles, coloring, craft, writing, and snacks. I noticed how certain children would linger longer at certain centers. Those that loved to make crafts took their time gluing, and putting pieces together. However the children that were not interested in crafts quickly were distracted, or rushed through, or simply chose not to participate. I quickly observed different likes and personalities in the children. Some children were very patient and calm even quiet and hardly spoke a word, where others were loud, very active, asking lots of questions, and impatient. As I thought about the different personalities, and seeing their different interests it made me think about Dr. Harold Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligence. In Gardner's theory he suggests that instead of intelligence being a single entity, it actually can be divided into what he says is 9 different categories. Each category pertains to a different interest. One was book smart, another, word smart, another music smart, nature smart, people smart, etc... I liked how Miss Anderson used different centers to adapt to the different intelligences these young children had. It provided more opportunities for learning and growth in different styles and activities. I look forward to doing more field work.
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