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.
Melissa,
ReplyDeleteYou are right. Being effective starts with intentional planning, but carries throughout teaching and assessing. It does take practice, and experience, but it's obvious you understand the basics. As you move forward with blogging, I'd like to see you get more specific in your connections to the NCTCS. You are correct in that this cycle touches all of the NCTCS, but is there one or two that are a bigger focus in this area? Or parts of several standards? For example, 5B really stands out in my mind as the biggest connector to assessment. The purpose of assessment is to figure out where your kids are in their learning and then to plan your next steps to clarify misconceptions and to move forward. The reflection piece of assessment is the vital part here.
I really enjoyed reading your blog!
Dr. C
Melissa, I agree that lesson planning is a detailed and extensive process which should be carried out with the desired outcome or goal in mind along with the students in which the lesson will be taught. After successful preparation, the planning process flows into instruction before transitioning into the assessment phase. I also agree that the assessment phase is as important as the the two previous phases and that both the students and the teacher should be assessed during this phase. As teachers, it is important for us to consistently strive to improve our skills and methods.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you in that before taking these classes I had no idea about how much planning truly went into teaching a lesson. The amount of things that you have to consider is almost overwhelming. I think that one of the biggest things that a teacher needs to consider when making a lesson plan is the different teaching styles. I think that by understand and knowing your students teachers are capable of adapting their lessons in ways that will best reach all of their students. This type of understanding can only be done through engaging students and making sure that you are planning according to that specific classroom.
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