First of all, I just want to say that I am really excited for this section of the course. It actually gives a chance to hone our teaching skills, which is something we haven't had the chance to do much of. I liked the first week when we had to randomly teach a subject that we may not have even ever learned about (tiki gods). The element of surprise is pretty cool.
I was completely ready to destroy this lesson today as I prepared. But as soon as the students were about to come in from the hall, my thoughts became disorganized as if I was doubting what I had already planned. This feeling, combined with the "chatty" and "class-clown" students in my class aided in me forgetting a lot of key points I wanted to make. I was wondering what are the best ways that everyone is able to stay on task and keep their train of thought.
Another thing I didn't do so well on was presenting my expectations and consequences in a visual list form. I tried to keep it simple with my big rule of "No Meanness, All Respect", but I think the list method is a more effective way of getting people to remember rather than just talking through it.
I named my classroom the "Kingdom of Cognition" from the start and deemed the students AND MYSELF as knights, and said that it is both of our duties to uphold these principles. Dave Burgess in "Teach Like A Pirate" said it is important to equate yourself with the students from the start, so I tried to do that. Perhaps the college kids are a little too cool for this idea, but I think that it could spark excitement in the high school kids (Sank was a fan).
All in all, I learned from this lesson. I learned that preparation is so vital to success, and that minor speed bumps may surface throughout your lesson and that you just gotta keep on chugging along. I am excited for next week and appreciate any feedback.
I agree, it is really easy to lose your train of though while everyone is looking at you and the class is not paying attention. I liked your idea of the knighthood, I think you will really have to sell it though for the students to really catch on. High school students are too cool for school and need to be pushed.
ReplyDeleteTyler
ReplyDeleteYou are so awesome and have so many good ideas for getting the students engaged and excited about your class. You have such a great sense of humor I don't think the students will be "too cool" for your ideas. Just remember that great teaching comes with practice keep the good attitude and the rest will fall into place. All we can do is keep preparing and practicing for labs and it will get easier.
Hi Tyler!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more! No matter how prepared you think you are when the kids are waiting in the hall way to come in, reality hits. I think you did a great job for the first lab and it's awesome that you were taking what you learned from your summer reading and bringing it into the classroom. What's great about this lab is that we can work all the kinks out of what we want to do in the future. Now that you know what worked well and what didn't you can fix it for next time. Good luck with your next lab!
I love how you brought your summer reading into this. It is awesome that you are knighting yourself along with your students. We never stop learning, and it is important that we convey that on to our students and I think you are doing a great job at preparing for that! It is good to see that you are thinking of how you can change what you did to get better results next time, that is what this lab is all about! Great job!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your teaching short. Several things I noticed right off the bat were how you welcomed your students . it was very fun and inviting. I thought that giving them clear directions and what paper to use was a really good teaching point. Your cognitive kingdom was fantastic. You were on your students level with vivid imagery by using this.keep up the good work
ReplyDeleteGood job T-Dog! It doesn't matter how much you prepare, there will always be those emotions that overwhelm you and cause you to stray off the plan a bit and maybe even forget a few things. It was cool how you named your classroom and deimed all the students as knights. I also like how you show what your learned from the summer reading and how to implement it into your teaching. Just keep on chugging along!
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