"Developing your initial Teaching Platform"
1. Aims of Education
a.) What is the goal of education?
The goal of education is to create an atmosphere where students and teachers can engage in meaningful learning. In the case of elementary education, the main goal of the day is to keep all students feeling as though they belong to a community of their peers. Teaching students through evidence based practice in the least restrictive environment is a goal of education as well.
I believe the goal of education is to sharpen the minds of young members of society so that the future is as bright as is can possibly be. I also believe that the goal of education is to give freedom to the world in the form of knowledge and information.
b.) If you were forced to choose, what would you say are the 3 most important things which you want students to learn in a classroom?
The three most important things I want a student to learn in a classroom are how to respect self and others, academic concepts linked through topics that interest them, and how to work with others on projects. For example, literature discussion groups are a great way to engage students in shared reading with purpose.
If I was forced to choose, I would choose respect, a genuine love for learning, and a sense of community with everyone in the classroom.
2. Views of Knowledge and Learning
a.) How do you think students learn?
Based upon my observations during the semester, students learn in very different ways. There needs to be an anticipatory set to every lesson to focus their attention on the task at hand. Repeated practice is a must for some students, while for others, learning new things is a never ending process from one second to the next. Differentiated instruction should aim to address this phenomenon in our classrooms.
Students learn by using their senses to observe others. Also, every student learns differently so it is difficult to say that there is a definitive way in which students learn. Their attention must be attending to what you want them to learn, that is the first step at least.
b.) How do you know if they (students) are learning?
The best way to tell if your students are learning is by asking them directly to explain how they came up with an answer that they provide. Keeping track of data and monitoring progress can be a good way to tell how much your students are learning over a period of time. If a certain student is not comprehending your instruction no matter what you do, then perhaps the educator should take a step back and look at the whole child. Learning styles should be met in order for our students to learn.
A way to tell if students are learning anything in your classroom is to ask them to present information on the lesson either individually or as a group with assigned roles. You can also tell if students are learning by the conversations you have in class. If students aren't quite getting it, then the teacher needs to put forth more effort in order to reach the students at the source of their needs.
3. Image of the Learner and Teacher
a.) What are your expectations and hopes for students?
I expect my students to come to class everyday excited to learn because I will be providing the best possible instruction for them throughout the entire day. Fifth grade only comes once, and I would like for all of them to be prepared for middle school. This means being ware of certain assessment vocabulary and proper English language structuring. I plan to link reading into all other subjects such as mathematics, social studies, and science.
I would like for my students to just be themselves, and at the same time learn that change can be good. I would hope that each youngster would be full of energy, so that the activities I have planned will be met with active participants. I also expect that not every student will come to class 100% prepared with materials. I want to have a stockpile of useful items such as notebooks, paper, writing utensils, calculators, and tons of children's books.
4. Beliefs about Curriculum and Pedagogy
a.) Five years after students have left your classroom, what do you want them to say about your teaching?
"I want to have him for a teacher next year, he understood that I was different than other students, but still totally awesome."
"I liked his class, because he went outside of the textbook and explained to us how, in our daily lives, we would encounter or use the topics we were talking about."
b.) About your curriculum?
"Thanks to the levels of difficulty, and pacing of his lessons, it is much easier to keep up in our classes. We are thankful for all of the writing strategies he taught us for taking notes."
"The work was challenging, yet our teacher helped us every step of the way whenever we had a question or problem."
5. Influence of the Specific Context
a.) How do you think the context of where you teach influences how you teach?
Bringing up words that students will be very familiar with are useful in lessons that seem to have no impact otherwise. Making the curriculum relate to their lives is a key to unlocking their attention in some cases.
Teachers should be hyper-aware of their students backgrounds, needs, and strengths in order to open avenues of communication optimally. Children will enter the school from the surrounding neighborhoods, and the culture of their home life must be brought to the classroom in appropriate ways to tie what they already know to what you want them to know.
6. Criteria for Good (Effective) Teaching
a.) What sorts of things do you look for to tell you that you've taught a really good lesson?
If afterwards, you say thank you and all of the students clap. One or more students will come up to you afterwards and say you did a good job. These instances are created through proper planning and enthusiastic expression whilst delivering the lesson. Reliable and valid assessments must be administered so that there is a concrete understanding of teacher to student information relay.
I look for facial expressions, how creative or colorful the work done is, and/or to see if technology has been used effectively by the students in order to display their understanding.
b.) A poor lesson?
Students will begin to become off task before the lesson even begins. There is a lack of formative assessment during the lesson and it takes on more of a lecture image. Lecturing to elementary students isn't very useful because of their short attention spans.
A poor lesson will have indications of low levels of student participation, often times due to confusion caused by the teacher. Also, the teacher will often say "Okay class lets get going on this" and then return back to their desk mid-activity.
a.) What is the goal of education?
The goal of education is to create an atmosphere where students and teachers can engage in meaningful learning. In the case of elementary education, the main goal of the day is to keep all students feeling as though they belong to a community of their peers. Teaching students through evidence based practice in the least restrictive environment is a goal of education as well.
I believe the goal of education is to sharpen the minds of young members of society so that the future is as bright as is can possibly be. I also believe that the goal of education is to give freedom to the world in the form of knowledge and information.
b.) If you were forced to choose, what would you say are the 3 most important things which you want students to learn in a classroom?
The three most important things I want a student to learn in a classroom are how to respect self and others, academic concepts linked through topics that interest them, and how to work with others on projects. For example, literature discussion groups are a great way to engage students in shared reading with purpose.
If I was forced to choose, I would choose respect, a genuine love for learning, and a sense of community with everyone in the classroom.
2. Views of Knowledge and Learning
a.) How do you think students learn?
Based upon my observations during the semester, students learn in very different ways. There needs to be an anticipatory set to every lesson to focus their attention on the task at hand. Repeated practice is a must for some students, while for others, learning new things is a never ending process from one second to the next. Differentiated instruction should aim to address this phenomenon in our classrooms.
Students learn by using their senses to observe others. Also, every student learns differently so it is difficult to say that there is a definitive way in which students learn. Their attention must be attending to what you want them to learn, that is the first step at least.
b.) How do you know if they (students) are learning?
The best way to tell if your students are learning is by asking them directly to explain how they came up with an answer that they provide. Keeping track of data and monitoring progress can be a good way to tell how much your students are learning over a period of time. If a certain student is not comprehending your instruction no matter what you do, then perhaps the educator should take a step back and look at the whole child. Learning styles should be met in order for our students to learn.
A way to tell if students are learning anything in your classroom is to ask them to present information on the lesson either individually or as a group with assigned roles. You can also tell if students are learning by the conversations you have in class. If students aren't quite getting it, then the teacher needs to put forth more effort in order to reach the students at the source of their needs.
3. Image of the Learner and Teacher
a.) What are your expectations and hopes for students?
I expect my students to come to class everyday excited to learn because I will be providing the best possible instruction for them throughout the entire day. Fifth grade only comes once, and I would like for all of them to be prepared for middle school. This means being ware of certain assessment vocabulary and proper English language structuring. I plan to link reading into all other subjects such as mathematics, social studies, and science.
I would like for my students to just be themselves, and at the same time learn that change can be good. I would hope that each youngster would be full of energy, so that the activities I have planned will be met with active participants. I also expect that not every student will come to class 100% prepared with materials. I want to have a stockpile of useful items such as notebooks, paper, writing utensils, calculators, and tons of children's books.
4. Beliefs about Curriculum and Pedagogy
a.) Five years after students have left your classroom, what do you want them to say about your teaching?
"I want to have him for a teacher next year, he understood that I was different than other students, but still totally awesome."
"I liked his class, because he went outside of the textbook and explained to us how, in our daily lives, we would encounter or use the topics we were talking about."
b.) About your curriculum?
"Thanks to the levels of difficulty, and pacing of his lessons, it is much easier to keep up in our classes. We are thankful for all of the writing strategies he taught us for taking notes."
"The work was challenging, yet our teacher helped us every step of the way whenever we had a question or problem."
5. Influence of the Specific Context
a.) How do you think the context of where you teach influences how you teach?
Bringing up words that students will be very familiar with are useful in lessons that seem to have no impact otherwise. Making the curriculum relate to their lives is a key to unlocking their attention in some cases.
Teachers should be hyper-aware of their students backgrounds, needs, and strengths in order to open avenues of communication optimally. Children will enter the school from the surrounding neighborhoods, and the culture of their home life must be brought to the classroom in appropriate ways to tie what they already know to what you want them to know.
6. Criteria for Good (Effective) Teaching
a.) What sorts of things do you look for to tell you that you've taught a really good lesson?
If afterwards, you say thank you and all of the students clap. One or more students will come up to you afterwards and say you did a good job. These instances are created through proper planning and enthusiastic expression whilst delivering the lesson. Reliable and valid assessments must be administered so that there is a concrete understanding of teacher to student information relay.
I look for facial expressions, how creative or colorful the work done is, and/or to see if technology has been used effectively by the students in order to display their understanding.
b.) A poor lesson?
Students will begin to become off task before the lesson even begins. There is a lack of formative assessment during the lesson and it takes on more of a lecture image. Lecturing to elementary students isn't very useful because of their short attention spans.
A poor lesson will have indications of low levels of student participation, often times due to confusion caused by the teacher. Also, the teacher will often say "Okay class lets get going on this" and then return back to their desk mid-activity.