The second week of our AEE 412 lab was today and the
topic presented to us that we had to teach to our peers was the first day of
school. This lesson included classroom
expectations, procedures, and consequences.
It was exciting and a bit nerve wracking to get up and conduct a lesson
about the first day of school. After
watching my video I noticed some places I excelled at and others where there is
still work for improvement.
I felt that I engaged with my students’ quite
well. I tried to include and communicate
with each of them today. I purposely set
my lesson up so they all would have the ability to speak in front of the class
giving them a feeling of meaning and place in my class. I view this to be very important. If I am the only one talking I give the persona
off that I am the only one who is important.
I think the most important people are my students and allowing them to
talk anytime I can get them to, gives them a feeling of meaning. I think my enthusiasm was up to snuff
throughout the entirety of the lesson.
Enthusiasm is crucial for student engagement. I also, strived to make it a point to
verbally go over my objectives. While
having them posted on the board is one thing.
I think that stating them aloud to my students sends the message home
exponentially letting them know this is what I plan to get through today during
classroom instruction.
With strengths there always comes weaknesses and we
can never settle for what we have. I
noticed today some things I must take forward with me to work on and grow from
to become the best educator that I can be.
I think the first that was most noticeable was my bell work. That did not go as planned. My clarity for my bell work was very
poor. What I thought was clear and
understandable was not to my students.
This just goes to show never assume anything! At the same time I also thought I adapted
well when I realized my students had done something different than I had
planned. While my students were doing
their interest approach I noticed I did not interact with them much at
all. I need to interact more with my
students and talk with them to see what they are thinking. This also will keep my students on task. Finally, the use of filler words was a little
excessive today. Removing these words
will just make what I have to say go with much better flow.
In conclusion it was a blast to get up in front my
peers and present my first day of school lesson. I learned just as much from myself watching
my video ass I did from observing my peers and viewing their videos.
Mason, It was great to be apart of your lesson and then read your thoughts and reflection on it. You have a great presence in the room and when you said you want students to feel empowered, I would agree that as your student today I felt that I was. On the flip side, I would suggest to ensure your instructions are understandable to practice and review them with a few people before the lesson. This will clear up anything you may have overlooked.
ReplyDeleteMason, first off I was so happy to watch you teach your first day of school lesson! You did a great job and it is nice to read about how you thought it went! For your blog, I wish I could see clear things that you want to work on for next time. Maybe you could list them out at the end and then you can track them! Good job though overall!
ReplyDeleteMason, I have the same struggle with filler words. I think sometimes that is a reflection of my personal lack of preparation. Also, I applaud you for being able to adapt quickly and keep your lesson going when things didn't go how you planned. That is a successful teacher right there. Well done!
ReplyDeleteMason - I so admire your desire to create a classroom that empowers your students! I am confident in your ability to engage and empower your future students! Isn't it true though that it never really does go as planned right? I felt the same about my bellwork activity. Clarity of instruction is hard, I struggle with it too!! Try to chunk your directions in threes and use signal words to guide your students through the instruction. You, my friend are great! Excited to see you continue to develop into Mr. Tate.
ReplyDeleteI understand how you feel Mason. It just means we need to keep Improving though!
ReplyDeleteEncouraging students to speak in front of the class is important for building their confidence and helping them feel "part of" the learning experience. Have you thought what your strategy might be for a student who doesn't want to do this?
ReplyDeleteMason, I enjoyed watching your video and reading your blog of what you thought you did well on and what could use some work! I agree that you did a good job communicating with your students! Sometimes you think that your students will understand what you want them to do, and they just are not on the same page as you! This is definitely something that I need to work on also! You did a great job of showing enthusiasm! Overall, I think that it was a solid first day lesson!
ReplyDeleteMike
Mason,
ReplyDeleteGreat job! As a student in your class, you were very welcoming and encouraging. I think that the bellwork situation is very common, and it was good to read that in your blog! Thinking that something makes sense, and then the students do something completely different... it happens. It's certainly a good goal to work on clarity of instructions, so how specifically do you plan to work on that?
Mason
ReplyDeleteIf you constantly ask, "Are my students thinking, you will be ahead of the game!