"Sorry"

One of my sorries was that I was not as assertive as I should have been when I first started student teaching. It hasn't been a big deal with my classes this semester, but I can see that it could potentially be a problem with slightly worse-acting kids. There wasn't a lot for me to say for my sorries, and I know that is not anything I did. My students are awesome and my cooperating teacher is awesome. The faculty here is great, and the school is too. If I had been more assertive teaching at first, the students would have an easier time of seeing me as the main teacher instead of Mr. Bachman. They still report to me and ask me questions, but sometimes I get the "should I ask you, or Bachman?" or... "Where is Mr. Bachman? I need to ask him something.". And I want to say "I'm your teacher, not him!" haha Other than small problems like these, I am very happy with my experience.

Classroom Management

1. Classroom set-up : Mr. Bachman helped to make sure that the class was set up pretty appropriately for me to begin. While I was still observing and he was teaching, I noticed that two students in the 4th block class were very... energetic and talkative around each other. I asked himhe minded me moving them away from each other when I started teaching. That was fine and I feel really good about that move. Other than that, the way Mr. Bachman set up the classroom has worked very well. Students face forward toward the board and the overhead projector, which is what is use every day.

2. Time management : Another way to prevent classroom disruptions and behavior problems is to make sure you don't have down time. I have made sure to take up all time in my class with work and activities. If the students feel they are done early or that they don't have any more work to do, that is when you will see behavior problems, so I always make sure they have something meaningful to work on.

3. Consistency : The kids in my classes know that they will come in and 1. Take notes for the chapter, 2. Do activities on that chapter, and 3. write a journal entry about what they learned. The only thing that changes daily is the content of the notes and the activities afterwords. The process is always the same. Since they know what the expect, it helps them to prepare themselves for work, then a little fun (with some of the activities), then a wrap-up.

Action Plan

One comment on my curriculum unit plan was that I should add more activities and supplements to aid in the learning because I might not have enough to fill all of the time. Looking back on my curriculum plan and having the experience I have now in the classroom, I definitely agree that what I had wasn't enough for a 90 minute class. Now, I intentionally way over-plan for each block. I have never run out of things to do because I have a million activities ready for each block. Most times, we don't finish anywhere near all of the activities I have planned, but we always get to the content, as it comes first. Then, I move on from there in order of importance and coolness (ha!). The kids are never sitting around waiting on the bell to ring... they are always producing something fruitful and doing something important and meaningful to learning the content.

Another comment that I had on my curriculum unit plan was that I should add more visual aids on my Power Points. I have done that as well. Almost every slide has a little picture to help the students to grasp the material. If I am talking about a primary reinforcer, there is a picture of a snickers bar (food); If I am talking about a secondary reinforcer, there is a picture of a $5 (money to buy food). If I am talking about Pavlov's Dogs, there is a cartoon of how the experiment happened, and pictures to visually represent the UCS, CS, UCR, and CR. For the States of Consciousness, on the slide about sleep walking, I have a little man in his nightgown walking around (he's animated)... it's cute. =) I have also added clips to them for openers and as little aids to help them learn a particular thing.

A third comment on my curriculum unit plan was that I should put more information on my Power Points and make them longer. This has also just happened, without even trying. My lessons are longer than they were in my curriculum unit, and my lecture is longer as well. The students get a great deal of information in one day... they learn 1/3 to 1/2 of a chapter per 90 minute block, so this makes my Power Points a lot more detailed and elaborate. I put a lot of time into them with all of the information and animation that I do.

SC Council for the Social Studies

The South Carolina Council for the Social Studies is an organization for Social Studies teachers in South Carolina. It is affiliated with the National Council for the Social Studies. From what I have gathered, the main goal of the South Carolina COuncil for the Social Studies is to share cool ideas and educational techniques and tools with other teachers throughout South Carolina. You can also link up with teachers from other parts of the South East, this way being able to connect with others who share your interest in teaching social studies. My cooperating teacher has joined the SCCSS in the past, but is not currently a member.

Refined Philosophy - Blog 2

I have actually realized my passion for using technology as such a huge resource in my instruction by being at this school this semester. I think combining my goal to push students to communicate openly and freely among each other and my goal to use technology in the classroom is definitely a doable thing. My fiance is a computer science major, and I feel very lucky to have acquired a ton of knowledge about computers and technologial information from him. It has really come to be a huge advantage that I have over other teachers at the school. They envy my abilities with powerpoint, (like, embedding videos without having to be online because EVERYTHING is blocked at this school, even teachertube.com). The fact that I can connect with the students this way really makes up for me in areas where I may be lacking. I may not be the best story teller or the most exciting speaker in the world, but they get excited about the videos that I show as lesson openers and the interactive lectures that I have for them.

Pulling the students out of their shell has been easy for me because of technology. They see me as a competant individual who understands them. Suddenly, because they see proof that I understand youtube and powerpoints, they want my opinions. It has actually made them respect me; a side effect I was not looking for, but very happily accept. I think they feel more comfortable with a teacher who has grown up in the era of technology. I'm so glad to see them talking freely about personal matters to me and each other. Being a psychology class, we have lots of opportunities to tell stories and speak about our own life's experiences. It is very useful, for instance, when discussing dreaming if someone tells us how they have witnessed their dog during REM sleep. This connects them to something on a personal level.

Furthermore, since I have the abilities, I could go online and embed a youtube video into my powerpoint that shows the effects on the eye during REM sleep. I used an example of "Call of Duty 5" in one of my lectures on spatial ability and inserted a video game still right on my powerpoint. That knowledge I must attribute to my fiance, but it is still an example of how to connect with them and make things relevant using technology. I believe I will always think technology is the best way to connect with my students, and I am very thankful that I grew up in the era that I did and that I am personally open to learning new technologies. I think my students are just as thankful.

This I believe

I believe that in this ever changing and evolving world, students now have more opportunities to learn than ever, and that as an educator, it is my responsibility to utilize these opportunities so that they are not lost. As I look around the classes I have attended and the classes I am currently observing and teaching, I see so many opportunities that weren't available even a few years ago. Technology and the ability to have the world at your finger tips is a huge advantage to students right now, in 2009. Students crave knowledge; it is a natural desire for the human brain to learn and be challenged. Students lose this desire over time from being bored to tears in classes where teachers fail to utilize the students modern technological tools - everything from computers to phones can be used in the classroom. Instead, so often, what I see is teachers who are absolutely adamant that the use of these things in the classroom should be prohibited. I believe it should be encouraged. If students are expected to be excited about learning, educators have to meet them where they can understand, create, and grow. If I want to connect to my students, I need to use means which are relevant, as well as content. What better way to relate an assignment to a student than to use tools that they love? What a great way to capture their attention, with technologies that they are excited about, that they have an innate desire to learn about. Sit a student down with a book and watch his eyes glaze over, but sit him down in front of a computer and watch him come to life. There, on that computer, are endless books of knowledge. He can find anything he desires. He can research any topic, and he can create countless numbers of different projects for learning. We have graduated from a level of education that is stuck on pen and paper. We are moving into a world that will never stay the same. Type something into google, search a video on youtube, tivo your favorite discovery channel show. I believe it is simple to use the technology at hand. Teachers are the most useful tool to learning for the students, and next is the great array of technology that is available to us today.