Reflection 12

The last reflection! It's hard to believe, but this is my final reflection (written) of the semester. My observations of the last semester include:

I can become very passionate about a subject. When I chose the topic I was going to teach on/When we were put in a debate and I got up to be an opposing viewpoint/When we read the introduction to the book about building relationships and becoming free. All of these times, something struck in me that isn't always there and I got really excited. An important characteristic of a teacher is to be passionate. I need to make the effort in those other things to become passionate about them too. I need it and my students will too.

The simplest thing I can do to be a better teacher:
Buy pants with no pockets.

I've realized this takes work. It's work that I love to do and that I want to do, but effort nonetheless. I've found that my priorities and work or responsibilities will always be balanced when I am putting the spiritually needed first and always.

A few times during the semester, Sister Harmon has brought in a few students and said, 'Ok tell them why you love your major so much.' I've given lots of answers, whatever comes to my mind first. She came in today and asked the question again. Leaving BYU and the Snell building never to return in just 4 short months is cause for lots of reflection. It's the realization that I'm very much on my own starting April. I'll be going to a new state with no real feedback there from my mentors of two years, but new educators who know me hardly at all. I remember feeling so old and adult-like coming to college, but this is a whole new feeling. It's a comforting one, ironically. I am excited to meet new people who will mentor me and help me be a better person and teacher. I'm excited to have a classroom, a place where students can have a constant positive in their lives. I'm nervous, but I feel so much confidence when I walk into a classroom. It's as much for me as the students, to know that I can be some instrument for the Lord in gently helping guide His children.

Reflection 10

I've missed lots of class lately, so I haven't observed classmates teaching. I always learn from them, so being absent has been to my disadvantage.

But, I watched a bit of Anthony's teaching today. He did really well; I appreciated the preparation and advanced activity plan for us to recap the STLs. I think because I came late, I was a little confused. I came to understand towards the end, although there was no real recap or summation and so I wasn't as clued in as I would have liked to have been.

I think the common things I'm noticing in other's teaching and in creating my own lesson plans is that I often lack a pre-assessment/post-assessment.

*Remember the assessments.

*Have the students always doing something, not necessarily active, but participating. When someone is presenting, they should be taking notes. While watching a movie, they should be looking for certain aspects of the movie. When watching someone else do an activity, they should be writing the steps to certain processes.

*Anthony dressed up super professionally and greeted each person individually and as a class. That's important.

*Have a review/summary. I'm not really good at remembering those things. I tend to move really fast when I get excited and talk, and sometimes lose focus on the specific objectives I teach.

Reflection 8

It's been interesting watching each other teach. I'm starting to realize what Geoff said about having a personality to teach. Mannerisms, confidence, knowledge can all be worked on, but there is something about passion and a desire. There must be!
Anyway, I've been very impressed with all the teachers so far. It's interesting that almost every one of our lessons have included some kind of group work (in larger groups, probably trying to tackle one area of intelligence). I did that too, but I was thinking this morning how realistic it will be to have a group setting every day. I think it's worked well for this group of teachers in this setting so far, but does that really happen? I know the classes I took in high school that constantly had group work were my least favorite classes. Work was not split up evenly and I often thought I could get things done faster on my own. I know that's just my personality and I've really enjoyed or group work so far in these lessons. I just wonder how likely that is to happen every day in my class.

We've also been reading the book "Classroom Instruction that Works". Interesting that the first principle in that book is having the students "Identify similarities and differences". I think it's interesting only because I don't remember in my educational years specifically working on that area. I don't remember that strategy in my own learning. When I thought about it though, I realized that probably those principles I understand most are because I understand its contrast or a similarity in something else.
First, I thought of those things spiritually. I have a testimony of the love of our Savior Jesus Christ because I have seen the imperfect love of man and its at times unreal and short-lasting love compared to the genuine, enduring, unfailing love of Christ. I can identify similarities in people who love the Lord and share that divine love with each other rather than a more temporal love. Seeing and understanding those similarities and differences helps me to learn the concept of the love of Christ so much more.
Then, I tried to apply it to a classroom setting. I really think I understand word problems. Part of that is because I am able to see the similarities in each word problem, but also notice what's different in order to solve the problem. Identifying those two things helps to make that procedure so much clearer.
Maybe in life, I haven't exactly specified that identifying similarities and differences has been a technique to bring me understanding, but I recognize now it is an important skill to learn.

Reflection 7

This week, I had the opportunity to teach a 20 minute lesson! Initially I worried myself; that is longer than I've ever taught before (besides a Relief Society lesson). Then I realized that in just one year when I student teach, I'll be teaching that much times 3 (for one class), times 6 (periods in a day), times 5 (days in a week), times 30 (days in a month), times.. much more. So, I better get used to it. It turned out, however, to be the most fun experience I've ever had teaching. I really enjoyed preparing things, but even more so, reacting to how the class was going.

For example - I wasn't sure anybody would be really opposed to being green, but one student was! I was pretty positive nobody would be, so I wasn't exactly sure how to respond. These are his opinions and who am I to tell him they are wrong? It was a tough spot, but I think I handled it smoothly. I made references to him throughout the class, because I thought that would keep things light. After, though, I wondered if I had been a little hard. I didn't receive any feedback on that particular area, so I guess I was okay in doing it that way.

The feedback was really interesting. Surprisingly I'm a quiet person - who would have guessed that one
To be honest, I'm surprised at how calm and comfortable I feel when I'm teaching. I feel like I speak loudest and most confidently when I am teaching a class. I really didn't think I was being quiet, but on a few of the feedback responses I received, my peers mentioned that I was. "But it works," they said. I'm not sure then if I should work on that. Would that be better? Probably not if it isn't my personality.

Some feedback was really flattering. One student said, "I'm trying, but I really can't find anything wrong to say about the presentation. Really really good."
Now if all my students could have their exact personality... I'd do okay haha.

The most helpful feedback was the fact I'm a double pocketer, something I do only when I'm teaching I think. Also, no closure. I really didn't have time to do everything I prepared as a closing, but thinking back, there should be more closure and summing up during the teaching too. Also - I need to work on assessing the students. I feel that discussion is appropriate for that, and also when I asked Johny how he felt about it, I was pinpointing maybe the student that would pay attention the least, and finding out how he was doing during the class. But, no real assessment. That I really need to work on.

Reflection 4

Our last field study was an interesting experience. Both opportunities to observe have been rewarding, but this last week I had a special experience to actually teach the Middle Schools.

The teacher of these 7th graders began a movie for the students. There was mixed feedback by the students as to the sensibility of showing a movie of a teacher teaching instead of teaching the students yourselves. I didn't think it was necessarily a bad thing, especially how he focused the students into certain aspects of the movie by preparing a fill-in worksheet that went along with concepts and applications the movie taught. What was most appreciate,however, was the initiative of the teacher to stop the movie every 5 minutes or so and direct the students. He asked questions, they read from their sheets. Then he asked applications and they thought about it, and then the teacher proceeded to prep them for the next segment of the movie.

He had half the students in another classroom, finishing up an assignment, so this was a good way to engage and facilitate both groups from across the classroom.

After the first debriefing point, the teacher handed over his VCR remote and asked one of us to teach or facilitate for him. I grabbed the remote, played the video, and began to teach. Teaching is much much easier when you understand or at least know something.. about the subject the students are learning. I jumped in, looked at the questions, and did my best to recap. That was hard. At one point, I asked the teacher what he thought about an answer to the question and then it was about over.

My during-thought was: Wow, they're actually listening to me. They looked at me. They answered questions. They responded when I asked them to pay certain attention or bring in real-life examples. Amazing, ya?
My after-thought was: I'm really excited to teach. Also - I need to know what I'm teaching, but I'm very very excited to be a teacher. Thoughts of appreciating the youthfulness of middle school crept into my head either. My excitement increased with the positive feedback from my peers. They said nobody could know that I didn't know what I meant and that I had a calm, authoritative presence. They loved hearing me teach in 276 and it was fun to watch me in the classroom.

With all that said, I'm still excited, and amazed at the effort that goes into teaching. Going over lesson plans and reading philosophies and writing student objectives is one thing, but to look at a student (YOUR student) and realize that he/she has full confidence that you are going to tell him something
1. is important
2. he will understand
3. is exciting to them
is quite overwhelming. It's good though. This has helped me to get excited. This has helped me to get focused. This has helped me to get a kind of love for the students all teachers, exciting or boring or funny or strict, need to have to be successful.

Reflection 3

I believe this is from last week's reading, but I have yet to write about it and i think it had and will have great impact to my approach on teaching. The story (from The First Days of School) goes like this:

"In 1993, a group of 23 doctors in Maine and New Hampshire made an agreement to observe each others' operating room procedures and share insights.
In the two years after their nine months of observation and sharing, they reduced the death rate among their patients by an astonishing 25 percent."

This was an incredible story to me! One in four lives saved. This 4-line narrative has changed my whole look on teaching. It's all about feedback. Or maybe humility. There must be something to asking a friend, spouse, teacher, or our Heavenly Father just what we need to hear to be better teachers. It will make all the difference in the world - that humility - I believe. j

We've moved on to Gong's book now. He teaches first the Framework of Knowledge - the most effective way to organize and process information. The four parts to internalizing information are:

1. Look for purpose.
2. Determine the central message/theme.
3. Look for validations/applications (examples that illustrate central message).
4. Give it value/meaning by forming an opinion about it.

These parts build on each other and expand through each step in the process. You can add more understanding to the theme when you understand the true purpose behind it, for example.

In class, we role-played another message in Gong's book highlighting four more steps to learn. The examples I'll talk about refer to the conversation I had with Allen, a classmate who outside of the classroom DJs. Brother Wright had us listen to the experience of another and really try to understand and practice these four virtues.

1. Capture. < Denotes responsibility in student, not the teacher. "When you expect to teach, your mind is prepared to learn." Just a good quote in that section. Anyway, it is my responsibility as the listener to engage in what the teacher is saying. I am trying to capture his feelings, his words, his actions and emotions to connect the elements of what the teacher is saying.

2. Expand. < "Shifting the role from focusing on the teacher's purposes, ideas, and values to focusing on the student's own purposes. ideas, and values. Expanding the subject already taught involves much more than going over again in your mind the things that were taught. It involves creating connections in your mind with your own experiences, visiting relatable places, asking opinions, anything to take the learning to the next level and connect is to something within you.

3. Teach. < The is is the most important transformation, according to Gong. While expanding is helping connect material to YOUR emotions, teaching is helping now to connect that very understood material to benefit others in the form of teaching.

4. Evaluate. < This is where you see if you've grown or not. All experiences can be strengthened, Gong says. Asking feedback is part of it. Make sure learning is correct, complete, connected, and concise.