Today was finally my chance to perform my micro-teaching lesson on Data Management and Probability. First off I have to congratulate everyone else on their wonderful performance and creative lesson ideas. It is really easy to tell that we have a wonderful counselling group and that we are all well on our way to becoming effective classroom instructors. I had a good time today watching students of all ages participate in various activities guided towards different learning styles today and I am very eager to take some of what I have seen today and see how it will work within my own classroom placement.
In regards to my own lesson, I still cannot believe how different of a perspective I gain from watching my DVD video of my lesson. I can really pick out moments in which I need to improve on certain speach patterns, as well as moments in which I can include teachable moments and expand on student knowledge. The videos open up a whole new window into the realm of lesson planning and allowed me to reflect upon my own created lesson and how I can improve on my prior teaching techniques to more effectively benefit the students and allow for optimal growth and development to occur.
The main theme that I will be taking from today is that, in order for a lesson to be fully effective and allow you as a teacher to reach all of the desired outcomes, you must first put in the effort into making a lesson plan that is well thought out and organized, following various themes. Well planned lessons help maintain classroom discipline, as seen in each of the micros today, as well as ensures that all students understand the task and follow the proper instructions. The only advice I can give is to take the time to plan effective lessons and take a moment to quickly run through how you would teach the lesson, or speak during important parts of the lesson so that it becomes easier to teach in the class.
Again, great job everyone and good luck with your future planning.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Guest Speaker on Classroom Management
I just returned from my last class of the day in which we had a guest speaker come in and discuss her experiences relating to classroom management in the Catholic School Board. With all the information that I took from the lecture, there are a few messages that stood out the most for me:
- Don't just manage the class, you should also teach the class how to behave when you are not around;
- The best teachers are those that you most often find attending seminars and workshops on how to improve their practice and grow as professionals;
- There is a difference between being equal in the classroom and being fair and it is up to you as a teacher to ensure that your class understands why one student's learning experiences may differ form their own (differentiated learning);
- Having IF...THEN... rules set the stage to allow children to do bad things and break the rules, becuase it is expected, due to a discipline already set in place. Schools should adopt a philosophy of "At our school, we are kind to one another, etc." Use the At this school, or at our school phrases to better reach the students;
- Tell students what to do, instead of constantly telling them what not to do;
- Practice your recess with the class, practice going to a service of any kind. Don't just assume that your class will listen and behave appropriately the day of with no prior learning (i.e. need to practice math before they are tested on the subject);
- Role play hurtful situations with your students to teach respect among peers;
- Finally, the last message I took from the lecture was that children do well when they can, if they cannot do well, then we need to find a way to help them.
I found that I learned quite a bit from our guest speaker and as you see, these are only a few of the points discussed in our lecture. The main idea of the day was to allow for your class to practice being behaved and respecting one another, don't just assume it will occur naturally. Guide them to where you want them to be as a teacher and stay aware of the individual needs of your students and be willing to grow as a professional to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to benefit from your lessons and teaching.
- Don't just manage the class, you should also teach the class how to behave when you are not around;
- The best teachers are those that you most often find attending seminars and workshops on how to improve their practice and grow as professionals;
- There is a difference between being equal in the classroom and being fair and it is up to you as a teacher to ensure that your class understands why one student's learning experiences may differ form their own (differentiated learning);
- Having IF...THEN... rules set the stage to allow children to do bad things and break the rules, becuase it is expected, due to a discipline already set in place. Schools should adopt a philosophy of "At our school, we are kind to one another, etc." Use the At this school, or at our school phrases to better reach the students;
- Tell students what to do, instead of constantly telling them what not to do;
- Practice your recess with the class, practice going to a service of any kind. Don't just assume that your class will listen and behave appropriately the day of with no prior learning (i.e. need to practice math before they are tested on the subject);
- Role play hurtful situations with your students to teach respect among peers;
- Finally, the last message I took from the lecture was that children do well when they can, if they cannot do well, then we need to find a way to help them.
I found that I learned quite a bit from our guest speaker and as you see, these are only a few of the points discussed in our lecture. The main idea of the day was to allow for your class to practice being behaved and respecting one another, don't just assume it will occur naturally. Guide them to where you want them to be as a teacher and stay aware of the individual needs of your students and be willing to grow as a professional to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to benefit from your lessons and teaching.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
The Dead fishy
This morning was my first experience of going to mass with my Grade 3 class. The bus ride to the church was very loud and stressful, because Grade 3's plus a bus, add in a few bumps and tight turns = fun for them but work for teachers. I had to constantly ensure that the children sat in their seats and stopped leaning over chairs to hit one another, but after a few disciplinary measures we finally got to the church.
The mass went well and the children behaved and sang the Hymns and all seemed to be going well until one of my students got my attention to tell me that another girl in the class was in tears. I worked my way over to her and found out that she was crying because her pet fish had died some time ago and the experience of church, God and Heaven tended to bring back the memories of her cherished pet. I almost did not know what to do, so I comforted her for a bit until she let me know that her grandmother was actually at the mass and she asked to sit with her. My associate allowed it and the little girl was comforted for the rest of the service.
This experience was an eye opener for myself because, I have had many pet fish die, and other kinds of pets run away or die and I have never responded in that manner. However, this experience has helped me grow more as a professional because I see the diversity in the class in terms of how students may respond to similar events in their life, as well as being aware to the sensitivity of students towards certain issues, such as dying pets.
Church was quite the experience today and I am glad that it happend. The bus ride back to the school was even better because we had to stop really quick for a light and students pretended to fly out of their seats. This event took up most of the morning and gave me another example of events that may occur that change your daily lesson plans as well. I hope everyone enjoys the read and I also hope that none of your young students ever go through the loss of a loved one, pet or family, because it has as big of an impact on you as a teacher as it does on them as a student. Again, the event has led to my further development as a primary teacher and I have now become more aware of the necessity to consider how students may respond to certain events in the classroom before I allow them to happen.
The mass went well and the children behaved and sang the Hymns and all seemed to be going well until one of my students got my attention to tell me that another girl in the class was in tears. I worked my way over to her and found out that she was crying because her pet fish had died some time ago and the experience of church, God and Heaven tended to bring back the memories of her cherished pet. I almost did not know what to do, so I comforted her for a bit until she let me know that her grandmother was actually at the mass and she asked to sit with her. My associate allowed it and the little girl was comforted for the rest of the service.
This experience was an eye opener for myself because, I have had many pet fish die, and other kinds of pets run away or die and I have never responded in that manner. However, this experience has helped me grow more as a professional because I see the diversity in the class in terms of how students may respond to similar events in their life, as well as being aware to the sensitivity of students towards certain issues, such as dying pets.
Church was quite the experience today and I am glad that it happend. The bus ride back to the school was even better because we had to stop really quick for a light and students pretended to fly out of their seats. This event took up most of the morning and gave me another example of events that may occur that change your daily lesson plans as well. I hope everyone enjoys the read and I also hope that none of your young students ever go through the loss of a loved one, pet or family, because it has as big of an impact on you as a teacher as it does on them as a student. Again, the event has led to my further development as a primary teacher and I have now become more aware of the necessity to consider how students may respond to certain events in the classroom before I allow them to happen.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
PD Day
This posting is just a little late, but I just wanted to post a little comment on the first PD Day that I had attended last Friday. I participated in two workshops, as well as listening to a keynote speaker (Larry Swartz). Larry Swartz is a professor from the University of Toronto and specializes in literacy education. He provided great resources and examples on how to incorporate literacy into the everyday activities in the classroom, as well as sharing stories about his past teaching experiences and comments he had received from students over the years. I love hearing stories about other people's teaching experiences, as well as how their experiences have helped them to grow on a professional level and I am grateful for the opportunity to sit in on a lecture given by such a great individual.
The first workshop I attended that day was put on by OPHEA and dealt with how to manage your own Physical Education class and all of the teachers and myself had a blast. I personnally took nothing from the course because I am a Phys. Ed. major, but the experience was welcoming and I feel that understanding how to properly manage a class while in the gym is completely necessary to ensure that students maximize their movement time, considering they barely have any these days.
The last workshop of the day was a Religion/Reading workshop and was actually the hardest to sit through becuase it was right after the huge lunch break and before leaving to go home. The focus of the workshop was to discuss ways to introduce students to story telling and relating the themes to religious expectations. The material was interesting but presented in a slideshow fashion with the presenter reading right of the screen. One of the teachers present even rested their head down on their desk and made a comment about how they felt sorry for what their kids had to go through. This got me thinking that, for effective instruction, we do need to get the children active in the lesson and foster creativity and collaboration to ensure that students stay ingaged and that learning occurs. This was my general thought, but I could talk forever about how I would have done things differently.
That was the day and I feel that I managed to take much information from the workshops. I definitely would have enjoyed it more if I got paid for it like the other teachers, but my day will come, I hope. I definitely cannot wait for the next PD Day, because I feel continual learning is very important for teachers and I am looking forward to becoming a part of that community.
The first workshop I attended that day was put on by OPHEA and dealt with how to manage your own Physical Education class and all of the teachers and myself had a blast. I personnally took nothing from the course because I am a Phys. Ed. major, but the experience was welcoming and I feel that understanding how to properly manage a class while in the gym is completely necessary to ensure that students maximize their movement time, considering they barely have any these days.
The last workshop of the day was a Religion/Reading workshop and was actually the hardest to sit through becuase it was right after the huge lunch break and before leaving to go home. The focus of the workshop was to discuss ways to introduce students to story telling and relating the themes to religious expectations. The material was interesting but presented in a slideshow fashion with the presenter reading right of the screen. One of the teachers present even rested their head down on their desk and made a comment about how they felt sorry for what their kids had to go through. This got me thinking that, for effective instruction, we do need to get the children active in the lesson and foster creativity and collaboration to ensure that students stay ingaged and that learning occurs. This was my general thought, but I could talk forever about how I would have done things differently.
That was the day and I feel that I managed to take much information from the workshops. I definitely would have enjoyed it more if I got paid for it like the other teachers, but my day will come, I hope. I definitely cannot wait for the next PD Day, because I feel continual learning is very important for teachers and I am looking forward to becoming a part of that community.
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