Classwork
I can't believe I am writing my last blog for this semester. This semester has been challenging but also very rewarding. I have learned an abundance of reliable helpful information and skills to use in my future endeavors as a teacher. At first I was nervous about some of the learning experiences in this class. After, completing the learning experiences I have found them to be very rewarding. I have learned a lot from the learning experiences and have been able to see what I need to improve on and strengthen in my journey to become an educator.
The main learning experience I was worried about most was the concept unit we had to create. I wasn't sure if I would be capable of planning something like this. After, completing the unit I feel like I surprised myself with a really engaging and interactive unit. This learning experience and my lesson plans have taught me what I can improve on and strengthen. I was able to show my unit to one of my previous clinical instructors and she really excited about it. She mentioned that she would like to use a unit like this in her classroom. I used geography and communities for my concepts for the unit. I want the students to understand that the geography can impact the community and vic versa. I was able to incorporate some new technology into the unit that I was not aware of before the unit. One of the types of technology was a virtual game where the students would be the frog who is trying to overcome geographical obstacles to get back to his home. I feel like the students will really be able to learn more about how the geography through this game. I was also able to incorporate an activity the school I have been observing is using in a few weeks. This activity is called the wax museum, this is where students dress up as a famous person and stand like statues with posters beside them describing themselves. The students can talk when prompted such as pushing a button beside the poster. I remember doing an activity similar to this one in school but it was called something different. I feel like this activity would allow the students to be creative and to be interactive in their learning. This activity would help the visual, kinesthetic, logical, and auditory learner. The North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards that relates to creating a unit are; standard three "Teachers know the content they teach" and standard four "Teachers Facilitate learning for their students"(NCTCS). In order to make sure my students are receiving the information they need, the technology opportunities, group work time, etc I need to plan ahead and this can be done through a concept based unit. I am grateful for the opportunity I had to create a unit and I look forward to learning how to make my units even stronger.
Clinical Experience
I was able to reflect on my lesson and watch the video of my lesson with my clinical placement class. I have learned that I need to practice with my delivery of my lesson to the students. I would not always say what I had planned to say on paper when it came time to teach. I need to learn how to make sure I am covering every topic when teaching my lesson to the students that I had planned on covering. I feel like with more practice I will be able to express my topics better to the students. I was also able to see what parts of the lesson I need to improve on. For example, I learned I need to give better directions to the students for group work. The North Carolina Professional Teaching Standard this relates to is standard five "Teachers Reflect on Their Practice" (NCTCS). I was able to reflect on my lessons and determine what I need to fix, keep, and strengthen for the next time. I have learned by being in the classroom that timing is everything. In order for the students to receive all of the helpful information, take part in group work, have one on one time with the teacher, etc relies on timing. Teachers have to stick to a steady schedule in order to squeeze everything they need to in each day. While observing and working with my clinical placement class, I have noticed how the students know exactly when activities happen during the day and they know what to be prepared for next. I feel like by using more differentiation into the classroom the teachers will not have to be so focused on the time because the students will be receiving all they need to from each subject area at one time. I would like my future students to be so engaged in the activities and classroom atmosphere that they do not know what subject we are learning. I have also noticed in my observations how the students are only focusing on reading and math instruction. I would like to see more art, history, and science combined into their learning. The North Carolina Professional Teaching Standard that relates to these ideas is standard one "Teachers Demonstrate Leadership"(NCTCS). It is our jobs as future teachers to be responsible for our students learning, promote growth, etc (NCTCS). I also noticed in the fourth grade class I observed and taught in that they do not use graphic organizers, hands on activities, art, etc. This class the majority of the time reads stories, answers questions, has tests, and does math problems on the board. I feel like the students were bored and zoning out. Therefore, the students were not being challenged, were not engaged, and were not learning. This gave me even more reason to strive to have hands on activities for students in my future classroom.
Outside Research
The classroom I was placed in does incorporate some history into their lessons through stories they read for literacy. I wanted to research some other activities the teacher could use to help her students to become more engaged in their learning. I found this article on "Using Science to Bring Literature to Life." (https://www.edutopia.org/article/using-science-bring-literature-life) This article talked about performing science experiments and making robots. I feel like if students were able to do more hands on activities they would be growing in their learning in all subject areas. The second article I found from edutopia was "Building a Metacognitive Classroom." (https://www.edutopia.org/article/building-metacognitive-classroom) This article discussed how teachers should discuss with students about their brain and how it changes and grows when we learn. This would be very beneficial fro students to know how their brain works and I believe it would motivate them to learn. The last article I found from edutopia is called "60-Second Strategy: Snowball toss." This rang a bell for me because one of the teachers I was able to interview discussed the use of snowballs in her classroom. For this activity the students write about a topic on their snowballs, throw them around the room, then you pick up a snowball around you. By using this activity the students are able to get up and move around the room and then they have a discussion by reading what everyone wrote on the snowballs they pick up. I really love all of the ideas I was able to find in these articles. Please check this articles out if you have a chance.
Future Classroom
After this class I have been able to see what I need to practice and strengthen so that I am the best I can be as a teacher. I know now what I need to work on and research more on to make me a stronger, knowledgeable, and confident teacher in the future. In my future classroom I plan on incorporating concept-based learning and concept-based units into my instructions and plans. I will strive to help my students to see the big picture in their learning. I want students to be so engaged in the activities and assignments in my room that they do not even know which subject they are learning. I want my future students creative juices to explode, I will allow for this to take place by assigning hands on activities and activities with choices to reach each learner in the classroom. I will also teach students how their brains grow and develop while they are learning and engaged. I will reflect on my practices and teaching regularly to see what I need to change to help my students to be successful. This is how I plan to implement what I have learned into my future classroom.
Resources:
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/effectiveness-model/ncees/standards/prof-teach-standards.pdf
links throughout the blog
