I can see the light at the end of the end of the tunnel!!! With our unit plans wrapping up and our lesson plan writing behind us, I absolutely can feel quite a bit of the stress being lifted! I know I still have a long way of editing to go on my Unit Plan, but I am happy to at least see my thoughts begin to piece together and become coherent. I have had a wonderful challenge in my clinical classroom this semester, but I am thankful all my lessons have been taught and my time there is coming to a close. We only have one more week at Washington coming up this next week. I have really enjoyed the overall experience of the environment I have received at Washington this semester.
I would say that the largest lesson I have learned from my Unit Plan so far is that when I am given a large assignment, I really should be taking every free minute to put towards it so the last few weeks aren't jammed with the writing, rewriting, mind-changing, rewriting again cycle. And let me tell you... It is a never ending cycle. I have also learned that it is absolutely okay for me keep changing things as long as I am not second guessing my original plan... because then I end up in that cycle I mentioned earlier. According to the professional teaching standards, teachers reflect on their practice, and I know that in looking over my unit time and time again I am learning how to effectively reflect on my work.
This semester in my clinical placement I was given the opportunity to work with a grade that I had no experience with previously. I was honestly terrified at first. My original thoughts were, "Sixth graders are taller than I am, bigger than I am, and louder than I am." These thoughts were actually true in many ways, but what didn't run through my mind was how sweet and how fun this age group is. I was very blessed by my sixth graders this semester. They were respectful and eager to learn every time I was in the classroom. I still think that I am personally more fit for the younger grades, but I now understand why some people have such a big heart for sixth graders.
I have continued my research for my PDP this week. I have mostly focused on the portion about ELL students so far, so I did a little research on student-teacher relationships. My favorite portion of information came from a website called Learn.Teach.Lead. The link to the website is http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/105124/chapters/Developing_Positive_Teacher-Student_Relations.aspx. The most effective portion of this website was in a paragraph titled Communicating Positive Expectations. This paragraph basically discussed good strategies for calling on students and getting them to participate individually.
I'm pretty excited this semester is coming to a close but I am really thankful for everything I have learned. This semester has been the ultimate challenge for me thus far in college, but it has really pushed me to try new things and give my all more than ever before.
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Thursday, April 6, 2017
SSED Week Twelve
Well I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for sure!!! We only have a few more weeks to get everything wrapped up and turned in! While I am SO looking forward to the break, I am not ready for everything that is going to be due so very soon!
I am happy to finally be almost done with my flipped lesson plan. My group plans to teach one another on Monday and I look forward to seeing how that goes. I am excited to teach to my peers but I am keeping in mind that it will not be nearly the same as teaching to actual second graders. The video I created is probably a little bit odd for college students to watch, but I tried to speak slowly and explain things in detail as if second graders were watching the video. I can definitely see how a flipped classroom could be very beneficial to my future teaching, because students (hopefully) have nothing to distract them from the video and then will come in the classroom with their questions ready to go. It would allow much more class time for discussing and activities. As far as my first flipped lesson goes, I am really excited to see how the learning activity plays out on Monday!
In my clinical classroom this week, I observed a class that I hadn't before since I wanted to teach to both the core one (lower level) and core two (students). It was interesting to see how my CE didn't change the content or the skills that she expected the students to know and perform. She only changed the presentation of the skills and the application. For example, both classes had a discussion about the text they read about King Tut, but the core one class discussed as a class so she could guide the discussion and keep the central focus and the core two students discussed in smaller groups without my CE's direction. The discussion questions she asked them didn't vary much but the facilitation (standard 4) for each class greatly varied. It was a good reminder that every student can reach the same goals, some just need different encouragement and a different path to reach that goal.
I am happy to finally be almost done with my flipped lesson plan. My group plans to teach one another on Monday and I look forward to seeing how that goes. I am excited to teach to my peers but I am keeping in mind that it will not be nearly the same as teaching to actual second graders. The video I created is probably a little bit odd for college students to watch, but I tried to speak slowly and explain things in detail as if second graders were watching the video. I can definitely see how a flipped classroom could be very beneficial to my future teaching, because students (hopefully) have nothing to distract them from the video and then will come in the classroom with their questions ready to go. It would allow much more class time for discussing and activities. As far as my first flipped lesson goes, I am really excited to see how the learning activity plays out on Monday!
In my clinical classroom this week, I observed a class that I hadn't before since I wanted to teach to both the core one (lower level) and core two (students). It was interesting to see how my CE didn't change the content or the skills that she expected the students to know and perform. She only changed the presentation of the skills and the application. For example, both classes had a discussion about the text they read about King Tut, but the core one class discussed as a class so she could guide the discussion and keep the central focus and the core two students discussed in smaller groups without my CE's direction. The discussion questions she asked them didn't vary much but the facilitation (standard 4) for each class greatly varied. It was a good reminder that every student can reach the same goals, some just need different encouragement and a different path to reach that goal.
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