Post 8: My Week

I will teach this week.

At first, I thought the best route would be to try something that is the complete opposite of what I would initially be inclined to do in front of the class. I could take advantage of this opportunity to try and be a completely different teacher than I am naturally and hopefully I would learn a few things while out of my comfort zone.

Although I still see some merit in that tactic, I think the more useful plan is to do the best I can get notes from the professor and peers of what to improve.

I'm spending a lot of time with the educational theorists we discussed in class and going though my lesson plan line by line, identifying the theoretic source of the practical teaching methods I have been taught or observed.

Post 7: Time for Fun

I am slowly learning how important time management is in the classroom. I am working with a teacher preparing lessons for a project I am doing in his classroom. As I excitedly told him about my unit plan and gave some sample lesson plans, he told me I was boring.

At first, I was thinking that I was treating the students like adults by not trying to "entertain" them. But, if I'm an adult, then my experience in 276 has taught me that I need to be entertained a little. Three hours of direct instruction is difficult to get through and any sliver of "entertainment" is welcome.

The class I observed was 90 minutes of the teacher standing in front of the students and talking at them. I may have been able to handle it better if the information was interesting or pertinent to me, but as it was, I was struggling.

It's easier to learn the information and recite it to the students, than to incorporate multiple levels and dimensions of learning.

I am going back through my lesson plans to develop activities that teach or support the material. Wish me luck.

Post 6: Assessing Sarcasm

TSA

Last week were the Technology Skill Assessments. I passed, but I didn't really feel all that great about it. I went in thinking the tests were a waste of time, but a couple of the tests took me nearly to the limit of 30 minutes to complete. That's not right. My ego was fairly bruised by the end.

I'm a student of both the Technology & Engineering Education and Media Education programs. The assessments should have been easy for me, right? Should I drop out because it takes me nearly 30 minutes to make a poster in Word?

I took a class this summer in the education department and once the instructor found out that I was in the Technology Education department she had me sitting on the front row. She asked me to get to class 10 minutes early so she could go over what media she was using during class. I did, but I'm sure there were students in class that were much more adept at troubleshooting her computer problems than I.

I'm going to cut this conversation off shorter than it deserves. I suppose I just wanted to spend a little time reflecting on the differences between what is being taught and what others think is being taught. What am I expected to know? Will my Principal be disappointed when he realizes I'm not going to double as the IT guy?


SARCASM


Since the conversations in sarcasm in this class, I've been much more aware of my own sarcasm and the sarcasm around me. I have a friend that has been pointing out when I'm sarcastic, which is interesting because I'm much more sarcastic than I realized. I don't have very positive notions of sarcasm because when I think of it, I think a couple of people I know that use it so often that it is obnoxious. It's impossible to have any sort of conversation with them because all they want to do is be sarcastic.

In the classroom, I thought sarcasm would be fine until TEE 200. I am terrible in this class. I might fail it.  I have no idea what's going on and even when I do, I'm terrible at it. I need to be walked through every single step. The TA's sarcasm is not helpful. It seems less like humor and more like sadism.

Post 5: My Analysis In the Studio

Persogenics

I'm interested in reviewing the questions again and rereading the instructions. While taking the test I could have chosen several "correct" answers depending on a given situation. It was a struggle to choose the environment that I would be applying the action.

I liked this activity as a reminder of the differing personalities and types of learners in the classroom as outlined by Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences. Every personality should be able to and encouraged to learn in my classroom.

Observing

Side Note: I know the names of the teachers and schools that I am observing, but I choose to leave off most proper nouns as not to set off Google alerts for those associated. I'm not saying anything inappropriate, but my words are not intended for others.

The class that I observed this week was awesome. It was awe inspiring. The teacher, John, has news broadcasting and video production classes. It's a new school and he was allowed to design his own room, and it's obvious that he put a lot of thought into giving his students the most professional experience possible. John spoke of how he started with one camera and two VCRs and it was only through hard work that he now has a full news studio. It was encouraging to see a teacher closer to retirement than his first day and still full of enthusiasm. He didn't act as though he had figured it out twenty years ago and was oozing the genius onto his students.

I preferred this class to the jr. high classes I observed. The students were much more autonomous and motivated. The teachers were much different as well. The jr. high teachers I observed didn't seem to enjoy their jobs quite as much as John, nor did they take as much pride. John told stories about previous students, and openly complimented his current students and praised their hard work. 

As far as comparing teaching philosophies, I hope to adopt and better understand his. I have sent an email to Dr. C requesting to student teach in his class.