Hi everyone! I am excited to begin a new adventure this semester in all new education courses! For this blog, I'm focusing on everything that I have learned about the effective teaching and learning cycle. The very first thing that stands out to me is in the title. Effective teaching AND learning. Teaching and learning go hand and hand. If you have effective teaching, you will have effective learning. I believe that people focus to much on the effort of the child and their ability to learn rather than focus on the effectiveness of the teaching. With that being said, I hope that all of my future lessons will be very effective. In order to do this, I need to put as much effort into planning my lesson as I do teaching it and assessing it.
I can honestly say that before starting these education courses, I never realized how much went into planning a lesson. It doesn't just start when the teacher begins to teach, and it doesn't end when the student finishes their worksheet or goes home. Thinking back, I remember lessons that I thought were taught effectively and a lot that I thought were not. Sometimes it did seem like some of my teachers would work really hard on a lesson, but sometimes there were teachers who seemed like they didn't. I want to be remembered as the teacher who taught effectively, the one who the students actually learned something from. I know the lessons that I thought were taught effectively were those that catered to all students' needs. Not everyone learns the same way, so a teacher can't always teach everyone the same way.
To effectively teach a lesson, you must also effectively plan for the lesson. I had no idea so much went into just planning the lesson. There is so much to consider when trying to effectively plan a lesson. As a teacher, I think the most important thing you have to do is consider the learning style of each child. After doing this, you have to make the lesson relatable and more understandable for the students. You also have to plan how you will assess the students to make sure that they completely understand the content.
After the long process of planning, you have to follow through with instructing. To do this part effectively, you have to be completely prepared. You also have to be ready for any challenges that come your way. Students may ask questions that you hadn't thought of or something may go wrong in the lesson. You can use these questions or these mistakes to improve the lesson. After finishing the lesson, you should look back and find what you could have done better. This will help you to improve your next lesson.
Assessing is the last step of this cycle. This is equally as important as planning and instructing. As a teacher, you should assess the students through the instruction period. This will help you to see how much the students understand. After gathering this information, there is one major step that might be standing between a child's success or failure; feedback. Feedback is extremely important. A smiley face or a check mark will not do. The student needs to understand what they did correct and what they did incorrect. The assessment period is also a time for you to see what you might be able to do better in the planning and instruction period.
All of these steps align with the NCTCS in so many ways. To be an effective teacher, you must understand the content fully. You must also be a strong leader. All of the questions that I have revolve around how to be a better teacher. How can I plan, instruct, and assess more effectively? How can I know for sure that all of my students fully understand the content? I believe these questions can be answered with experience and practice.
