Before taking this class I was only familiar with direct instruction. That is how I was taught most of my life. I remember my teachers in front of the classroom delivering information with almost no interaction between the teacher and the student. Even at home my mom was always giving direct instruction about which duties should be done. The only times when she checked for my understanding was to make sure I knew my curfew!
When I took science in high school I did have to work on labs, follow a procedure for the experiment, and develop my conclusions. At the time I did not know that my teacher was utilizing the Information Processsing Strategy. I also recall having to prepare presentations in groups, where the responsabilities were unfair and not equal and where only the final product was graded and not the collaborative effort of the members. Now I know that the collaborative learning model allows both for group grades and individual grades making this feeling less of a problem for students in classrooms today.
After my Methods of Teaching class I can now put a name to the type of instruction that a teacher is using. I can figure out how the lesson plan has been built upon that type of instruction and I can better reflect on lessons that are being taught around me. I now feel that I have the ability to implement many different strategies in my own lessons in my future classrooms.
Part of my job in Methods class was to complete fieldwork and teach one of the lessons I developed. The whole purpose of fieldwork is to learn and observe new and different teaching strategies and styles. My fieldwork has been an extremely beneficial experience this semester, much more beneficial than in past years, because now I possessed the knowledge about different teaching approaches and I could easily distinguish one from the other when the teacher I observed was using them. I was lucky to be able to observe an excellent first grade teacher. The first grade curriculum in that particular district is only composed of the reading, writing, and math subject areas so, therefore, I could not implement any of my lesson plans that were all built around a science curriculum. Still, the fieldwork experience has really enhanced my knowledge about how to teach and what it is going to be like as a future educator.
One of the most important assigments during this semester, was the creation of my WebQuest, "Animals from the Galapagos Islands." This was extremely challenging becuase I was never very computer saavy and after I put in my time, heart, and dedication into building it I feel very proud of the result. One of the most rewarding experiences was when, during my fieldwork hours, the students got to see my WebQuest. Several factors prevented the students from participating in the WebQuest in the appropriate way. The grade level and the course content did not allow me to teach the Cooperative Learning lesson which was written to utilize the WebQuest. I was able to project the WebQuest for the whole class and used it as material for a more direct instructional type of lesson. I was able to see that the pictures and videos presented in the WebQuest were great and the kids loved them. It was an awesome feeling because the kids were having fun and learning from something that I created.
I was able to read information from the WebQuest about the animals from the Galapagos to the class and was also able to ask them how they would solve the animals problem. The entire class participated and gave many great ideas. They also wanted to share experiences that they had with other types of animals. They answered my questions and they wanted to keep looking at the animal pictures. Even though the students were not asked to create something after the lesson and did not work in small groups, I could still see that WebQuest is designed to promote high-level thinking in the students. I feel that the use of the WebQuest made teaching fun for me and learning fun for the students. This was the first time I taught in front of a class in the Unites States and I have to say, I felt very confident and comfortable teaching those wonderful students!
I now possess a very complete understanding of how to create a WebQuest and I will do it again because they are an extremely beneficial tool to use in any classroom. Since technology plays such a huge role in all childrens' lives, I feel it is the perfect tool for modern educators.
When I took science in high school I did have to work on labs, follow a procedure for the experiment, and develop my conclusions. At the time I did not know that my teacher was utilizing the Information Processsing Strategy. I also recall having to prepare presentations in groups, where the responsabilities were unfair and not equal and where only the final product was graded and not the collaborative effort of the members. Now I know that the collaborative learning model allows both for group grades and individual grades making this feeling less of a problem for students in classrooms today.
After my Methods of Teaching class I can now put a name to the type of instruction that a teacher is using. I can figure out how the lesson plan has been built upon that type of instruction and I can better reflect on lessons that are being taught around me. I now feel that I have the ability to implement many different strategies in my own lessons in my future classrooms.
Part of my job in Methods class was to complete fieldwork and teach one of the lessons I developed. The whole purpose of fieldwork is to learn and observe new and different teaching strategies and styles. My fieldwork has been an extremely beneficial experience this semester, much more beneficial than in past years, because now I possessed the knowledge about different teaching approaches and I could easily distinguish one from the other when the teacher I observed was using them. I was lucky to be able to observe an excellent first grade teacher. The first grade curriculum in that particular district is only composed of the reading, writing, and math subject areas so, therefore, I could not implement any of my lesson plans that were all built around a science curriculum. Still, the fieldwork experience has really enhanced my knowledge about how to teach and what it is going to be like as a future educator.
One of the most important assigments during this semester, was the creation of my WebQuest, "Animals from the Galapagos Islands." This was extremely challenging becuase I was never very computer saavy and after I put in my time, heart, and dedication into building it I feel very proud of the result. One of the most rewarding experiences was when, during my fieldwork hours, the students got to see my WebQuest. Several factors prevented the students from participating in the WebQuest in the appropriate way. The grade level and the course content did not allow me to teach the Cooperative Learning lesson which was written to utilize the WebQuest. I was able to project the WebQuest for the whole class and used it as material for a more direct instructional type of lesson. I was able to see that the pictures and videos presented in the WebQuest were great and the kids loved them. It was an awesome feeling because the kids were having fun and learning from something that I created.
I was able to read information from the WebQuest about the animals from the Galapagos to the class and was also able to ask them how they would solve the animals problem. The entire class participated and gave many great ideas. They also wanted to share experiences that they had with other types of animals. They answered my questions and they wanted to keep looking at the animal pictures. Even though the students were not asked to create something after the lesson and did not work in small groups, I could still see that WebQuest is designed to promote high-level thinking in the students. I feel that the use of the WebQuest made teaching fun for me and learning fun for the students. This was the first time I taught in front of a class in the Unites States and I have to say, I felt very confident and comfortable teaching those wonderful students!
I now possess a very complete understanding of how to create a WebQuest and I will do it again because they are an extremely beneficial tool to use in any classroom. Since technology plays such a huge role in all childrens' lives, I feel it is the perfect tool for modern educators.
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