Friday, December 2, 2011

Reflection 12

As we come to a close this semester I have realized that even though I have learned a ton I have only scratched the surface to becoming a good if not great teacher.  There are so many different things to learn and understand about, from managing a classrooms behavior, to lesson plans, to knowing how to get resources from administrators.  But besides all that I realize one of the greatest things of being a teacher is just providing opportunities for their students to test and create something with their new knowledge.
 I know I have not been the greatest at teaching.  But I know a few more techniques then I did before.  Some techniques are telling students what to look for while watching a film or clip.  Another is don't pass out materials till until you have given all instructions and answered any question.  Also I found it very helpful to memorize names.  Not only does this make your student feel more valuable but it also helps out a lot when you are trying to manage your classroom.  Their are many others but these ones are some that have really stuck with me.
Even though the semester is ending I still plan on working and taking more classes on how to be the best teacher I can be.  I know it's not going to be easy but it will be worth it. 
 

Friday, November 18, 2011

Reflection 11

Yesterday I went with my group to go and teach at a sixth grade class.  We taught them the elements of design, more specifically layout, shape, color and texture.  It was a bit hard to find how to teach these because to me the elements of design are almost like a "no duh" topic.  I was in charge of teaching color, so at first I made a lesson plan on primary, secondary and complimentary colors.  But then I talked with Geoff and he told me that colors can play psychological role in our lives.  I had herd about this already but I just didn't connect the two and two.  So I also thought that maybe this "no duh" topic would actually be like the experience I just had, which is just to put the puzzle pieces together.
So I decided I would work on my specific lesson plan for color.  I looked up different colors and what the statistics were for each color.  And I found some interesting stuff that I hadn't heard about before.  Like football coaches will paint their opposing teams locker room pink because psychologically it makes people feel tired, making the opposing team tiered before the game.  So I gathered all of these statistics, printed out some colors and went to go teach.
And I thought it went really well.  I taught them about colors and how they effected people psychologically and how they could play with peoples psychology to make the best marketing ability to sell the most product you can.  And it was great! They understood that red was the most exciting and most appetizing color and when they made their final product they had red in their cereal box plan! I really had so much fun doing this.  It makes me excited to become a teacher.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Reflection 10

Today we had a speaker come in and talk to our class about his different ways and forms of teaching and I loved it.  I can just tell by the way that he acts and by the way that he presented him self he really touches students lives, which is the whole reason why I want to be a teacher,
First he told us to document our classes through teaching.  And not only through written documentation but through actual photos.  And I really liked that because through out his presentation he showed pictures of things that they did in his class room and it just looked like fun and it made me excited as a student to become a teacher and teach these different technologies.
Secondly he gave a great idea to invite your administrators to join your class and get involved with the projects of the class. I think this is great because not only are you gaining a personal relationship with your administrators but the administrators are getting involved with the students.  And now the students won't only look at say the principle as a disciplinarian but they will look to him more as a fun leader.
Lastly he also talked about in the class room while we are teaching kids how to do something, don't skip steps.  Because a lot of kids have never done certain things that we have done our whole lives.  We can pick on me for example, I grew up in a small town in California where we didn't get any funding and my schools were very academic (math, science, english) thats it.  I had a technology class out of all four years in high school and it was just a learn how to type fast my freshmen year.  And it only lasted one semester.  So when I came into the TEE major I had no idea what flash, photo shop, illustrator, how to sawter something together, how to cut wood on a saw, any of that I had no idea how they worked. I new of some of them and that they existed but never saw them in person till this semester.  And that is why I feel so strongly that you need to show your students every little baby step because the students don't get it if you just throw them in there and say go do it, they are so over whelmed that they don't even know how to start.  So in my classes I am going to make sure every student feels comfortable and confident in what they are doing.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Reflection 9

I was reading about how to be a good teacher and I reolized that the best way to get an enducation is to have a great teacher.  It is the teachers that seem to make the bigger differences, not the school, not the atmosphere of where you live but the teachers.
As I think about this I  wonder, how are you going to know if you are going to get a good education? I believe that is is true through out all levels of education, from elementary through college.  Most of the wieght is on how well a teacher teaches.  If a teacher doesn't make any thing clear to how is the student going to learn.  Yes I do know that some students will not put effort into learning the material and so they like to blame the teacher on how horrible they teach.  But there are also those teachers that say, go read chapters on through five and we will have a test on them tomorrow.  I know for me as a learner I do not understand information from a book.  You can't ask a book to restate what it said but use a different example because you didn't understand the one you just read 30 times.  But you can ask a teacher to reexplain things and you can keep asking questions and get a faster more efficent answer from a teacher then from a book.  Teachers do make a difference in students education.
Becauseof this knowledge that I have, I want to be the best teacher I can be, because if I can't get the information across to my students clearly enough then they will not learn as well or get the proper education that they should.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Reflection 8

I went to go and visit Springville High to see how Braden Boss handled his class and to tell you the truth I was a bit disappointed when I walked in the room.  First off he was not doing much as a teacher.  We came walking in and he was passing out cameras or talking to us.  The only time he was with a student was if they had a question. Other than that he was talking to us which I appreciated, I learned more about the administrative level of teaching, but I kinda felt ripped off a bit because I did not see him actually teach.  I know he was having a student work day, but not a lot of students were working.  Most of them were just playing some game on the internet or talking to friends.  I know he had given that day as kind of a catch up day but he should have had his students who were caught up and gave them another assignment, and he did give them an extra credit assignment but no one was doing it.  So I think for me in this circumstance I would tell them its not extra credit and have it just be an assignment as well.  This way they don't get board. Because for me, I got incredibly board that I wanted join one of the students with there internet game of chess.
So what I learned is don't give a work day if all or mostly all students need it.  Because if you give a work day but five out if thirty are the done ones they will disturb the other twenty five and then those students still wouldn't get their assignments done.  Unless you can insure that every one  can do something don't have just a work day.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Reflection 7

This week we have been watching our peers teach lessons on the STLs.  I have learned a lot from them by how they do things well and how they mess up and how they could fix their method of teaching.  First off there have been my peers talk just 100% off of a power point.  And yes this is a nice way of teaching because it keeps the teacher on track and helps the kids stay on track, or get them back on track if they were off, but the problem is, I feel like I am a passive learner when their is a power point in front of me. And after the first three minutes I get into the mode of listen as much as you can but if you already know this let your brain take a nap.  Also what I have noticed is with power points the teacher can go at an accelerating pace, and I want to write down the information in front of me and take those notes, but some times I can't because the teacher is going through the slides like crazy fast so I have blanks in my notes, which is frustrating during class because I'm trying to get what the teacher said in the last slide, while listening and taking notes on this slide, then when I go home to review my notes there are gaps of information that I don't have, so then I freak out because I feel like those sets of notes were important and so since I don't have them I'm going to fail.
So how I would fix this problem is if I do have a power point only have the key short things on them, and as few of slides as possible. Or I just wouldn't have a power point and have a large class discussion.
Things that my class mates have been doing well I think are activities.  Activities engage me because I am a hands on learner.  Its really hard for me to just watch something happen, I need to do it a long with the teacher or else I get lost.  So I am proud that my class mates have been doing activities! This just shows me that I want to put together an amazing activity, and not just a boring lecture of power point.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Reflection 6

I would like to reflect upon the things which I have learned so far about becoming a teacher.  First off I thought it would be a piece of cake to be a teacher.  You go into a class room, just tell your students what you know and then end the day y going home and spending time with your family.  Well I was clearly wrong.  Being a teacher takes a lot of effort and care towards those who we are teaching.  And I think what makes the best teachers are those that actually reach out to all their students.  When I was in high school and even in college I have had some teachers who pay attention mostly to only a few of their students, and others fall behind because those students feel like there is no point in trying to do good because the teacher doesn't care if I succeed or don't. 
As a teacher we need to be open to all students and at all the levels of learning they are at.  Teachers who only focus in on the overly smart students and only grade according to those students will have other students feel like there is no hope for them.  Something I also realize with this is the fact that some students take a lot longer time to learn certain things.  And I feel like as a teacher we do need to accommodate for those student to make sure they are learning to their best abilities and that we do our best to help them as much as we can.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Reflection 5

So today I went to observe an auto shop teacher, it was actually really interesting.  He had the students get together at the beginning in a class room setting then he brought them out to the actual shop.  The only problem I think that the teacher could change is about how he should organize his class.  I really think he should have half  the class in half, had one part do a work sheet or some other project and then take the other half of the class and take them out to the shop.  Then switch the class during half the class.  I think it has actually been a really good idea that I went and talk with different teachers and learn about how I would like to manage my class room, what I would like to do when I am a teacher. 

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Reflection 4

     So I finished reading Learning and teaching for exponential growth and I couldn't help but noticed that one of the core themes in there was to love people and you will be a successful teacher.  And I think it's more then just a coincidence that one of the greatest commandments given to men was to "love thy neighbor as thy self."  God truly knows how to teach his children.  Jesus Christ taught only by and through love, and because of this he was able to teach thousands, and have thousands of followers.  So I believe that if us teachers would teach by and with love for our students, they will be successful.  I think this is because they are getting praise and attention from the teachers, which is a huge motivator. 
     Something that I also thought was interesting was the learn and then teach method.  It is so true that if you learn something then are able to teach it you now know it that much more.  And then if you have say your students teach it to other students in your class they will learn it so much more. This is something I think I want to try and implement into my own teaching style.  I really feel like if you know how to teach something then you have more of a grasp of what you have learned and then from there you can continue in further knowledge and continue to grow. 

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Reflection 3

Today I went to a Jr. High School and was able to observe not only a teacher teach but also some counselors.  I was really impressed with how the class was managed.  The students know exactly what to do when they come in.  They pull out their pencils and note books and just started working.  Then they were able to flow right into the activity. and listen to teacher.
What really impressed me is how easy it was to figure out what was going to happen that day and what they were suppose to learn that day as well.  And it keeps going to what they need to know for that month to what is going to be happen each semester, with a diagram of how it was going to work out.  I just loved the organization, and the easiness to understand how the classroom was to be run by an outsiders perspective.  It really shows me how I would like my classroom to be set up. 

Monday, September 12, 2011

Reflection 2

So this I've been thinking a lot about teaching, and it seems a bit nerve wrecking.  But while I was reading from the "First day of school"  that every thing with being a good teacher is by having the right mind set.  If teachers are only looking to be people just there to do a job they aren't going to get very far in life.  Not to mention the fact that they are going to have a very bad attitude toward teaching.  They just want to clock in and clock out.   Its sad to see that teachers who do not care what they are teaching about also will end up having students that do not care about what they are learning about.  But on the other side teachers who care about their job, they don't think about their job as a job but as something to look forward to everyday.  They are the ones that are trying to learn while they are teaching.  They are the ones who will be the ones that will progress through their careers.  And their students will also enjoy what they are learning because the teacher is enjoying and also making their lesson plans more enjoyable for the students.  Moral of this story is its better to go in with a good attitude and excited about a new day at helping some one out.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Reflection 1

So to day was the first day that I taught the class.  It was about shutterfly a program online that allows you to make a photo book.  I feel like I was fairly confident in how I presented for my first time.  There is definitely a lot of room for improvement but regardless I felt good about how I presented the material.  Things I could definitely work on is engaging the class more.  It seemed like I was giving a speech more then actually teaching students.  So I'm going to work on getting the class more involved in what is being taught.  That seems to help me learn anyways. 
The next thing that has been helping me learn is a book written by Harry and Rosemary Wong called "The first days of school."  Its a great book that really does help teachers understand that the first day of school is actually the day that is the foundation to the rest of the school year.  One of the things that it talks about is to start off with making sure the students understand their boundaries.  If students don't understand the limits in the class then they could end up walking all over us as the teacher.  Another thing the talk about is how to present yourself.  If you present yourself in a professional way then you will be treated like a professional.  Students see their parents dressing up for their jobs every day, so  why shouldn't the teachers do the same?
Also something that struck me in this book is to be positive about your job! If your not happy about what you are teaching then the students aren't going to be happy learning it.  And this creates a bad environment in the classroom then there will be no learning taking place.  If teachers are positive, students are positive and so are their parents.
Lastly this book taught me to be a leader and an example to students and not a friend.  Doesn't mean don't be friendly but when you are on a friend basis they may ask favors of you that you may not be able to do because you are a teacher.  This may cause a bad feeling in the student/teacher relationship and that also damages the learning cycle.