The coursework this month has mostly been group work. We have completed a few presentations on different standards for teachers. We have also done more walking classrooms to understand different concepts better. The group presentations have helped me to break down different teacher responsibilities and standards so I can understand them better. The walking classrooms have also done the same thing but in a different way. Instead of doing a presentation and figuring the information out in a group setting, I get to listen to the information while enjoying the outdoors.
Personally I feel that the greatest learning experience that I have had this month was the observations in the schools. There may have only been three observations but they were all so insightful. The first observation that we completed was at an Elementary School. This was a more comfortable setting for me because I plan to be an Elementary age teacher. At the time, the classroom that I was placed in was doing a lot of work to catch up because many students had been out from sickness. Even though I may not have been able to identify all the parts of the lesson plan in the class time, I learned how things really are. This showed me what teachers have to deal with everyday. When a student is out, you as a teacher are responsible for catching them up on what they missed. It was especially important for this class because they were in 3rd grade, which meant they had big tests coming up soon. The second observation was done at a Middle School. This observation was enlightening in a sense; it showed me that I really didn't want to be a middle school teacher. It was a very interesting observation but once again, I learned quite a bit from it. And lastly, we observed at a high school. I actually enjoyed this experience more than I thought I would. I definitely am still set on elementary but high school wasn't so bad. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to observe in all three schools.
I have tried to do more learning outside of the classroom this month. I took the advice of some of my peers and professor and found teachers on Twitter. By doing this I have gotten to see and experience the thoughts of real teachers. I have also tried to research different teaching methods and lessons through various sources.
The NCTCS has taught me many things about what is expected of teachers. One thing that has really stuck out to me this month was Standard 2. This standard focused on diversity and how teachers should accept and respect ALL students. I believe that this is one of the most important things for a teacher to do because it greatly effects a student's learning experience. I know that when I was in school, a welcoming and accepting classroom made me feel more comfortable than one in which I had no relationship with the teacher in. It is important for teachers to be respectful, in return they will receive respect from others. All students should be treated equally by the teacher and all students should feel comfortable in their classroom.
In my future classroom, I will use the skills that I have learned through my observations, my outside learning, and from the NCTCS. I will use good classroom management like the teachers did during my observations. I will use good communication skills like those in my observations and from the outside learning. I will also treat all of my students equally and with respect so they feel that they are all important.
This month has been a great month and I am very excited to continue this journey through the education program!
The clinical experience for me was great but I also saw how different teachers taught. Visiting the schools was a great way to see how a teacher is responsible and has to be a leader in and out of the classroom. The group work that we started this month and are finishing up was great because it really helped me make connections to my work and what a school classroom should look like for the teacher perspective and student perspective. For example you mentioned classroom management and as I think back of all the visits I have had the opportunity to see that in one teacher's classroom I saw that they did not have the skills in my opinion because of how the class ran. Overall this month was great but was packed full of lots of information.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the clinical experiences! I learned a lot of things as well and the main thing that I learned was that you need to be able to have a good connection with your student not only teaching wise, but on a personal level as well. I also have been trying to learn more about teaching outside of class. Have you tried watching teachers on youtube? they have some great videos! Things about how to deal with attitudes, how to manage time, and many other things! The diversity standard stood out to me the most too. There are so many aspects to diversity it's kind of hard to wrap your head around it. I really enjoyed your blog!!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite thing about the observations were that we got to compare what the different grade levels are like from a learning stand point. Since we went every week I think it was easier to compare and get a feel for each grade level. I agree with you that elementary school is still the place for me! I enjoyed breaking apart all of the diversity standards because I never knew there were so many. After seeing all of the classrooms I have been researching how to stay organized and have good classroom management. What are some of the things you have found about classroom management?
ReplyDeleteI am glad to see you have had such a productive February! I am also glad to see you are reaching out and starting to build your professional learning network via Twitter.
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