Month: July 2016

I definitely experienced connections between my internship and classroom curriculum.  It was awesome to see those skills play out in the work force.  

One connection was the math skills taught.  I teach kindergarten math, so the magnitude of math is different, but the important of foundational math skills was evident.  We work on reading graphs and I saw different types of graphs all through my internship. 

Another connection was the technology skills.  We use technology to teach everyday in the classroom.  I feel as though our students are pretty strong in this skill.

Communication and being a team player takes place in my classroom and curriculum everyday.  In order for Keihin to be successful, these skills were extremely important.  Even though these skills are taught and reinforced daily in the classroom, I plan to do more to strengthen them in my students.  

It was refreshing to see these skills play out with adults and knowing that we are the ones who have been chosen to teach these skills to our future generations of working adults! 

I had a wonderful internship experience.  Everyone was so kind and really took the time to teach me about their department and the role it plays into the big picture of Keihin. My most interesting moment was when I was actually out on the floor.  I was amazed at the technology of the machines.  The floor is very organized, but very fast paced.  Everyone was working hard to meet production numbers.  I was very surprised to see “offices” on the production floor.  I’ve learned that communication and problem solving is made easier that way.   My biggest challenge was relating my internship experience to my classroom.  I teach kindergarten, so I had the task of “watering” it down for my students.  I wanted to make it applicable to my students, while keeping the experience authentic.   I was fortunate to see all departments of Keihin.  Everyone was so knowledgeable at what they did and really opened my eyes to the world of manufacturing.  You don’t realize the amount of responsibilities a department is responsible for until you sit in with them.  It didn’t take me long to see the importance of each department communicating with each other and how they tie in together.   My biggest take away from my internship is the importance of communication, teamwork, and being a problem solver.  The employees at Keihin have to be all of these in order for the business to be successful.  I’m ready to go back to my classroom and instill all of these important skills.

I have really seen the important skills my students need to be successful in their career.  I’m trying to incorporate all those important skills in an engaging lesson for my kindergarteners!  It is quite the task!  

There are challenges I feel like I am facing due to teaching kindergarten.  I want to make it real world, but it does have to be on their level.  How do I get them to understand cultural differences, the importance of math, communication, and how to be problem solvers?  There are tons of ideas for the upper grades, but fewer for the lower grades.  I’m trying to find the balance to write a lesson that challenges them, but do not leave them feeling defeated.  I want to make it as real world as I can for them.

There are also successes as I plan this product.  I’m already teaching skills they need for the real world and their career.  I just need to incorporate real world situations into my teaching and challenge them more.  My goal for this year is to make my kindergarteners problem solvers and this experience has confirmed the importance of that skill!

My mentor’s organization will benefit from my internship experience in the future.  I am able to see first hand the skills my students need to succeed in today’s work environment.  I can take the skills I find most important and teach them in my classroom.  If I can set the foundation of communication, technology skills, and problem solving in kindergarten, future organizations will have less to “teach.”  Their future employees will come in prepared and ready to work.