Capture/ Reflection 4

This week we learned about Lesson plans. After learning about them more I feel like they are pretty important/ helpful. We talked a tiny bit about if we use them teaching at church, which I never thought of before. Usually when I teach I just use the manual as my lesson plan. Now I am thinking it might be a good idea to have a lesson plan that way the young men I teach what the object of the lesson is, and the things we will cover. It will be good for me in the fact that I will have general outline of my lesson. Also after reading the Gong book I feel that the teaching/learning trifecta is so true. After I learn something, I learn it a lot better if I teach it to somebody else. I try to use this method with my four year old and ask him what he learned about at preschool, but he rarely can recall the thing he did a school. I am glad I was using this teaching/ learning trifecta with out even knowing.

Capture/ Reflection 3

This week we had to evaluate other students on their teaching. I really don't like to evaluate. I don't feel like I know what I am looking for. I guess I am amateur teacher. I feel like most students do well, so it is hard to look for things that they can improve on. I am hopeful that I won't always feel this way. I feel that there are so many different aspects of teaching to look at, which Geoff reminds me every time he points something out that someone could improve on. I personally feel like I do well at teaching, but we shall see once I get my feedback from Teaching Something 2.

Teach Something 2

I taught the students in my group how to make an Ethernet cable. I would say all of them knew what an Ethernet cable is used for. The student learned a little bit about the different wires inside and how they are in pairs. The students were then given a handout that gave steps and illustrations on how to put a RJ 45 connector on the end of the cat5 cable. Most followed the steps, but some didn't so I gave them a little direction to get back on course. Overall I felt like this teaching experience went well.

Capture/ Reflection 2

I have already learned so much in this class. As we all finished up our "Teaching Something 1", I now a a good list of tips on teaching. Pretest was one of the things. I never thought about it before, but it makes sense. If I pretest the students then I will have an idea of where they are at as far as knowing the material. At that point I can know what I need to put more of an emphasis on and what I don't need to cover as much. Anticipating the problems the students may have is another great tip that I learned. If I think through what questions or problems student might have it not only helps be be able to answer their questions, but I too will have a better understanding of what I will be teaching.

This week we were taught the Primary Categories of Education Psychology and about all the different philosophers. I will have to say that it will be hard for me to remember all of that stuff. I am not good at memorizing things. Even if I have a hard time, I will definitely learn different methods or styles that I can use to be a better teacher.

Communication Collage

Here is a wonderful collage on different types of communication.

Teach Something 1

I taught how to wire an electrical outlet. I taught the students that there are different colored screws on the outlet. There are gold, silver, and green screws. Then, I taght them that there are different colors of wires in a outlet box. In the box there were two white wires, two black wires and one bare copper wire. I told them that the black wires go to the gold screws, white wires go to the silver screws, and the bare copper wire goes to the green screw. That is all that I really covered then I ran out of time.

I felt like it went pretty well overall. I wish that I had a couple more minutes so that some students could connect the wires to the outlet. I did however, ask a few students questions on which wires went to which screws and two of the three got them right. The student that didn't know the answer said that it he wasn't clear on where the bare copper wire went. That tells me that I didn't explain it very well. I explained again which one it connects to and I feel that he understood. I feel like I have a lot of work to do in order to be an effective teacher.

Reflection / Capture 1

My teaching philosophy comes from how I learned as a young student growing up in Orem. My best learning moments came from teachers who showed a personal interest in my learning abilities. I would try to create the same kind of experience for my own students. In my opinion students tend to try harder in the class when they are listening to a teacher who they believe cares about them and the subject being taught.

My favorite teacher was at Orem High. His name was Mr. Brailsford and he was a drafting teacher. In that class, he was very laid back and very easy to work with. There was a lot of project time, so when we would get stuck on something, he would give us one-on-one time until we understood how to do it correctly. By doing this, he showed that he cared and wanted me to succeed.

I learn best by doing. When I am working with my hands and solving something, it is much easier for me to understand new ideas. I believe that everybody learns in different ways. I know that the way that works best for me may not work for someone else. I think that if I am able to provide one-on-one time with my students, they can be successful and I will know best how to help them individually.

In the book, it explains the three characteristics of an effective teacher. Which are positive expectations for student success, extremely good classroom manager, and knows how to design lessons for student mastery. I feel that Mr. Brailsford had very positive expectations for us as his students. He was very good at managing his classroom and giving the students the one-on-one time that they needed, and showing that he cared. He always had lessons every day that built upon each other to help us be better at drafting by learning new skills.

I hope I can have positive expectations, like Mr. Brailsford and as described in the book. I agree that it is important to have a good lesson plan that allows you to lead the students in a thoughtful direction. A direct quote from the book states, “When you look at the truly effective teachers, you will also find caring, warm, lovable people.” I will try my hardest to be a truly effective teacher by incorporating the things I learn about teaching.

I want to be a teacher because I want to be able to help other people. A lot of my happiness comes from service and helping others succeed. I hope that when I do start teaching, my students will be able to see this from my actions. I am passionate about technology, so I am excited to be able to share information with others.

The purpose of a technology teacher is to present new ideas and concepts. Technology is constantly changing and the kids want to keep up with the latest. Some kids will be interested in technology and others won’t. I hope that most students will be affected positively by my teaching. However, if I can spark interest into even one student’s life and change the way they think about technology, I will get some gratification from my job.