This semester was very helpful, giving me things to think about from how I want to each and ways to make my teaching impactful. From watching Mr.Hunter having his students playing the world crisis game where the students were able to do anything they wanted from make decisions and who they wanted to have alliances with. Mr.Hunter taught me that our students are more likely to learn when they are the ones discovering and being creative which allows them problem solve and work on communicating with other students as well as making the information the are learning is retained better. I also learned about how to help students retain information and what ways help them, like having the students be involved and moving is a better way for them to retain and remember what they were taught compared to just lecturing at them where they are not engaged and more than likely tuning you out. Blooms Taxonomy is a great tool for a teach as well because I can look at it and select different things I want the students to learn and use while either working on a project I assigned or an activity I want the students I part take in. We had used these different levels of Blooms Taxonomy from making our game and our web video designs. Blooms Taxonomy will a tool I will always use as a teacher because as I stated before it is a useful tool to use in lessons.
I was able to go back to my old high school and shadow my history teacher. The whole time I was sitting there I was thinking structures we learned in from Blooms Taxonomy and the way children learn. While watching I noticed that when the teacher was just lecturing and reading information off of the white board students but their heads down, laid back in their seats, and began to just disengage with the content she was teaching. As soon as she started connecting seventies music and the course content students began to slowly reengage when she asked if any students had heard this song and knows who rote the songs. This happened the three times that day because she taught the same content for three classes that day. I did notice the importance of spreading out our content through out each class because there is actually to much time because at this high school each class is one and a half ours long, I noticed that there was so much time during one class that after one hour she got through one lesson and onto the next half of a lesson a different lesson but couldn’t get to into it because in a half hour the class was over. Showing how time manage meant in the classroom is important, along with keeping the students engaged as long as possible because when I was talking with my high school teacher she said that there is some times you have to go on the board and lecture through and give back round information about the point of the lesson. I also noticed that she did have a class project where the students could create and use their imagination.
- Helping young boys learn manners and how they should let a lady go in the door first say yes sir and yes ma’am to adults hold eye contact don’t swear in front of ladies
One of my greatest teachers my father told me and would always remind me when I didn’t open a door for a girl or hold eye contact with another man and or saying yes sir or yes mama where I would like all these young men to be respectful and that these small things are going to help them when they get older because a lot of kids in today’s time dont say or do very little of these things or don’t do them at all.
- Meeting students where they are at.
One of my math teachers had helped me out a lot when she started to try and help me understand math when I was struggling. I was not able to learn or understand how to do the math equations in class when she would only talk us through and give us some examples on how to do equations. So she had to start giving me physical work sheets to let my brain click when it came to figuring out the algorithm of the equation. This made the rest of my high school math a lot easier because she always gave me a sheet and met me where I was at with math and my learning and helped it expand. A teacher has to meet all students no matter what level they are at to help them get to what is standard what all students need to be at or helping a student who is there and is ready to learn more you need to assist in helping that child be above proficient.
- Make learning fun and teach me or show me multiple ways to do a problem or equation.
My law and psychology teacher (the same person) had always made his class so much fun to go to, making me and many of my other classmates want to go to class. He made learning his course so much fun that it never seemed like learning, for example he would bring in local police officers to class and have us ask them any questions we wanted about things they have experienced. Mr.Johnson was an example of a teacher making learning fun causing students to enjoy coming to class because it’s fun. It makes the student more willing to learn and accept the information I am trying to teach them. So I will try to integrate things that my students like at that time to try and make it fun because they are interested in the information I am giving to them. But not all students learn the same way so if I can show them in many different ways how to do something like talking about it for our audible learners hands on ways for my people who like to actually learn by doing.
- Giving good feedback to understand what they had gotten wrong.
One of my English teachers never gave me good feedback on why I was getting such low grades on my papers. Due to the fact that I never knew why I was getting the grade I was getting I was never able to change what I was doing making the same mistakes without knowing what was wanted of me. Many students may not know why they had gotten something wrong and or may not know how to do or fix what they had done. That’s why giving feedback is important and even better is positive feedback even if it’s just a little bit just so they can believe in themselves and know they are getting better and understanding the information better and better
Added teaching Philosophy
5. Motivating students to do work
I have had many teachers that would hand out homework and tell me to do it and when I was done I would go and get another sheet. That teacher would only have us do these sheets for my math class over and over again and never change the way she taught us. In the end it led me to not wanting to even complete the first sheet because I knew once I was done it would just be the same thing on the next shee. In the second half of the village project I had a hard time motivating students I worked with to get some of their work done and realized asking them just wasn’t going to be enough. I learned that when I was working with one boy he never was on task and was having a hard time focusing on the task at hand, so I had come up with a small incentive for him. The incentive was I would time him and this would motivate him to beat the timer and this made him happy to do his work without arguing or any frustration. Along with the fact that he had begun to ask me to start lowering the amount of time he had to do his work to make it harder on himself. This is just about how we don’t need large and crazy incentives to motivate our students but we need to know what motivates them so they can focus on the task at hand.
6. Self learning activities
Whenever I was in a hands-on class like welding or shop class in high school I was always better at retaining the information and was able to apply it later. Along with having the freedom to make mistakes and learn from them so I would not make the same mistake again later on when I tried again. When we watched Mr. Hunters class playing the game we noticed the kids were engaged and excited to learn without the teacher stepping in when needed. As a teacher I want class to not only be a place to learn and have fun and a place where students can come and learn without me telling them exactly what they need to do to complete the activity. I want to be out of the equation and watch how they handle challenges and see how they handle things when it doesn’t go their way along with working with others and talking to others. Things that they are going to need later down the road in life will be helpful.
7. Bloom’s Taxonomy Create
While being a student and learning about teaching, being able to create or own unique ideas is important because being creative can go a long way not only in the classroom but in life. From all grades from elementary school to college, being able to come up with your own ideas and express them is important when working with others along with expressing yourself through your work. There are many times in life when I have worked with others and it was difficult because they were not able to come up with original ideas and express them to the class. It is important to be original because when working on projects I want students to show who they are and things they like through being creative and expressive. This will lead to them being more engaged because it is their work and ideas they are showing and it is also an example of who they are.
For my time in the spring at the Village Project I had a better connection with kids at the school and this made it a lot easier to go out to recess with them and play games because I knew them better than in the fall. I had also noticed that they had also trusted me more and were smiling and yelling my name as I walked up, this was a great experience because even the high school football coach had even come up to me and had asked if we could help out with their football team in my free time on the weekend. These connections with teachers and other members of the after school program are truly valuable and something I never would have gotten without talking to other teachers at the school. It was also easier to keep students on track and have a real connection with them due to the amount of time we had spent with them and were able to know more about their tendencies. The Village Project was a great experience and I was very fortunate to be able to experience it
- Helping young boys learn manners and how they should let a lady go in the door first say yes sir and yes ma’am to adults hold eye contact don’t swear in front of ladies
One of my greatest teachers my father told me and would always remind me when I didn’t open a door for a girl or hold eye contact with another man and or saying yes sir or yes mama where I would like all these young men to be respectful and that these small things are going to help them when they get older because a lot of kids in today’s time dont say or do very little of these things or don’t do them at all.
- Meeting students where they are at.
One of my math teachers had helped me out a lot when she started to try and help me understand math when I was struggling. I was not able to learn or understand how to do the math equations in class when she would only talk us through and give us some examples on how to do equations. So she had to start giving me physical work sheets to let my brain click when it came to figuring out the algorithm of the equation. This made the rest of my high school math a lot easier because she always gave me a sheet and met me where I was at with math and my learning and helped it expand. A teacher has to meet all students no matter what level they are at to help them get to what is standard what all students need to be at or helping a student who is there and is ready to learn more you need to assist in helping that child be above proficient.
- Make learning fun and teach me or show me multiple ways to do a problem or equation.
My law and psychology teacher (the same person) had always made his class so much fun to go to, making me and many of my other classmates want to go to class. He made learning his course so much fun that it never seemed like learning, for example he would bring in local police officers to class and have us ask them any questions we wanted about things they have experienced. Mr.Johnson was an example of a teacher making learning fun causing students to enjoy coming to class because it’s fun. It makes the student more willing to learn and accept the information I am trying to teach them. So I will try to integrate things that my students like at that time to try and make it fun because they are interested in the information I am giving to them. But not all students learn the same way so if I can show them in many different ways how to do something like talking about it for our audible learners hands on ways for my people who like to actually learn by doing.
- Giving good feedback to understand what they had gotten wrong.
One of my English teachers never gave me good feedback on why I was getting such low grades on my papers. Due to the fact that I never knew why I was getting the grade I was getting I was never able to change what I was doing making the same mistakes without knowing what was wanted of me. Many students may not know why they had gotten something wrong and or may not know how to do or fix what they had done. That’s why giving feedback is important and even better is positive feedback even if it’s just a little bit just so they can believe in themselves and know they are getting better and understanding the information better and better
My first take away from the village project is that you have to be able to take your time and not get frustrated if they ask way to many questions or repeat them selves you just have to keep saying it until they get it or until you have answered all their questions. My second take away is me showing up every week to spend time with the kids means a lot and they enjoy us showing up every Thursday and Friday, I remember when we had off on a Thursday and we weren’t their and so many of the kids were asking where we were and it just shows how much they like that we are there and show up. My third take away is showing that you listening to them means a lot because they like the fact that we are acknowledging what they have to say. My fourth take away is having the opportunity to go out into the field and be with these kids and have some experience is not an oppourtinity that so many other schools do not offer and having the opportunity to spend a year with these kids are special. My fifth takeaway is that a lot of these kids use the after school program as kind of an escape and that every time we are there we should try to be a good role model and it means a lot more to these kids than we think and it also impacts us as well. My sixth take away is we show up not for our grade but for the kids and the teachers helping out with he after school program because a lot of these kids are a little wild and are a handful and we really help the teachers when we go out to recess. My seventh take away is the impact I have made on some of these kids there was one little boy and according to the teachers at the after school program said he doesn’t really talk ever and he really opened up to me and a lot to me other village project members showing we make a impact on these kids. My eight take away is the connections we have made with these kids like when we go out to recess we know what a lot of the kids like to do and the connects we have made these kids are special and we strengthen them ever week. My ninth take away is that I learned that I enjoyed teaching younger kids more than I thought I had and that I would be open to teaching grades k-8 in stead 9-12. My tenth take away is that there is nothing that makes me happier then getting to go see those kids and the smiles on their faces when we play tag or catch and reminds me why I go every week.
What I can I do for the common good as an educator? Something I told my self when I chose to the path of being an educator was I want to help change the boys who walk into my doors to become men. I want to help create a generation of men who say yessir, yes mama, and have them open the door for women. Along with that I want to help and give each and everyone of my students the opportunity find what makes them happy and send men and women into work for or for higher education knowing that they can achieve anything no matter what obstacles that challenge them. I can go through and say so many things about having the smartest kids and highest test scorers which don’t get me wrong I am going to shoot for my students to learn as much as they can and be the best. In this world I see less and less young men saying yessir and yes mama and showing respect to teachers and adults and I would to change that .
I am excited to become a teacher because I cannot wait to be in the classroom and teach my students about history, I have always be interested in it and loved learning about it and I just want to pass my love and knowledge about history on to my students. As well as hopefully being able to become a high school football coach as well and give my players life lessons while playing a game that I love and hopefully they love. What I am nervous about becoming a teacher? I am nervous of not being able to get all my students to pay attention and want to learn the material that I love and want to teach them about. I am also nervous about not fitting into the normal teacher mold I have seen going throughout high school, for example the kids that act like they don’t care and slack and never give any effort. In college if you gave that attitude that all on you and it’s your mistake and I wish it could kind of be like that. I understand meeting kids who find it challenging and are not able to figure it out and I am one hundred percent willing to help them get where they wanna be or get them past what they thought they could get to.
When I spoke to my teacher something I consistently hear that its all about how the students are acting that day because everyday is different and the way to make your lessons make sense might have to be changed due to some out liars that you may not know about. She also talked about how you have to put your self in a situations where you are you maybe new to something so you can get a understanding of how they are feeling coming into a new situation where you have no prior knowledge. She also try to correlate her lessons on things the students are interested in to help them want to learn the material. She also said the most important thing to being an impactful teacher is that you have to be able to roll with the punches because anything could distracts the students in the classroom and to be able to teach them and bring their attention back to the classroom is hard but you have to work to get their attention what they need to learn.
For my first time at my site I had a great time meeting the kids and the teachers working the site. I had enjoyed building legos, drawing and playing dodge ball with the kids. It had taken them a while before they warmed up to me but once they did they were happy to show us what they had built and what they had drawn. One challenging part so far has been keeping the kids on track it seems like almost anything can take them off task and getting them back on track is not easy either.
