I really loved to get specific feedback. I think this was one of the main highlights of the week. Here's some of the main feedback I took note on:
1. Don't use vague questions like "Who knows...?". I agree that I overused that type of question. Vague questions can be good if they are followed up by specific questions directly after... my opinion.
2. Make sure the lesson is well structured. We can present lots of information on a subject, but if the lesson is not building upon itself students will have a hard time to find connections among all the information taught.
3. In time sensitive situations, avoid excessive randomness. Randomness can be fun and entertaining, but if used excessively can rob both teacher and students of important teaching moments that would be useful.
4. Be specific with people. Students respect teachers that use their names more than those that do not.
5. Pretesting. Begin your teaching with questions to determine how familiar the students are with a subject, then build upon their understanding. I think this an effective technique for it shows the teacher where to begin and the students are more attentive for they can relate better to whats being taught for it's building upon their schema.
On Thursday Tyler and I went to observe the Centennial Middle School. The first thing that I learned as we entered the school was the jr. high kids are very small. I had kind of forgotten that. The observations went well enough. Unfortunately the entire day was a lab day so there was no direct instruction... actually there was no real instruction by the main teacher at all. The students all worked fairly determinately so this showed good classroom management. There was a student teacher who did a good job of giving one-on-one instruction as the class had their hands-on time while they built bridges. I loved the experience just to be able to see how it really is to try to maintain order and keep the kids working for the entire time they are in the classroom.
Another highlight of this week was how we discussed the three types of learners, that are:
1. Visual Learners – Learn from diagrams, illustrated text books, overhead transparencies, videos, flip charts, & handouts.
2. Auditory Learners – Learn from Cognitive practices. Verbal lectures, discussions, talking things through, and listening to others.
3. Tactile/Kinesthetic Learners – Hands on stuff. Get bored and distracted when sitting still for so long.
I'm not sure how I would classify what type of learner that I am. I would have to say that I'm about 70% tactile, 20% auditory, and 10% visual.
One last note about this week - the Seinfeld clip. We laughed at this, for it was funny since most of us can relate to it, but I wonder how many classes are really like this...probably not quite as dramatic as shown. He used some good techniques but had absolutely zero effectiveness. I think this shows that just by using certain techniques doesn't make us an effective teacher; a good teacher firstly has a loving, concerned attitude and then uses whichever of Howard Gardner's teaching styles that works best for the students, not the teacher.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Reflection 3
These week had some highs and lows. The timeline of industrial education was a little dry, I'll admit, but other than that I found the class very enlightening. To begin:
The Moral Dimensions of Teaching
1. Ensure responsible stewardship of schools
Ensure educators’ competence in and commitment to serving as stewards of schools
2. Providing equal access to knowledge for all children and youth
3. Enculturating the young in a social & political democracy
Help them be good members of society
4. Practicing a nurturing pedagogy (the art and science of teaching)
Develop educators who nurture the learning and well-being of every student
I really enjoyed the stories that illustrated how to apply these dimensions in the classroom.
Respect x 3
Respect for Self - If you respect yourself, you will have good personal hygiene, be honest, etc.
Respect for Others - If you respect others, you will not bully, insult, annoy, etc.
Respect for Environment - If you respect the Environment, you will keep your school clean, etc.
I found this to be an interesting concept. I think if the classroom was small enough this would work well, but as the class grows, chances are you will get one wayward student that will take advantage of the fact that there are no exact rules. If you could get the students like this to actually live by this concept then it would be quite an achievement though. I'm looking forward to observing the schools this week.
The Moral Dimensions of Teaching
1. Ensure responsible stewardship of schools
Ensure educators’ competence in and commitment to serving as stewards of schools
2. Providing equal access to knowledge for all children and youth
3. Enculturating the young in a social & political democracy
Help them be good members of society
4. Practicing a nurturing pedagogy (the art and science of teaching)
Develop educators who nurture the learning and well-being of every student
I really enjoyed the stories that illustrated how to apply these dimensions in the classroom.
Respect x 3
Respect for Self - If you respect yourself, you will have good personal hygiene, be honest, etc.
Respect for Others - If you respect others, you will not bully, insult, annoy, etc.
Respect for Environment - If you respect the Environment, you will keep your school clean, etc.
I found this to be an interesting concept. I think if the classroom was small enough this would work well, but as the class grows, chances are you will get one wayward student that will take advantage of the fact that there are no exact rules. If you could get the students like this to actually live by this concept then it would be quite an achievement though. I'm looking forward to observing the schools this week.
A Three Person Problem
Ok I really liked this book. This was a lot better read compared the last one. I took a few notes so I decided to just past them here. Basically this is my capture of this book:
A Three Person Problem
The “Take 1 or 2 Game” of 20 coins is played by two people who on their turn can take one or two pennies. Whoever takes the last penny wins. The formula for winning is counting the total, dividing by three, and taking the remainder for the amount of pennies on your turn. P. 9
This game illustrates ‘the simplest case’.
The key attributes of learning are roles, experiences, and knowledge. P. 10
The three person problem starts with a teacher, he/she teaches a student, the student then goes on to teach someone else thus becoming a teacher him/herself. Thus by changing roles, they have experiences and then gain knowledge.
The best way to learn something is to teach it.
The fourfold framework of knowledge is a framework to organize and process information:
Purpose – Why? Values – So what?
Central Message – What? Validations/Applications – How?
The Purpose is the question that begs to be answered, the hypothesis that needs to be proved.
The Central Message is the thesis statement, the main idea. The Central Message gives the L/T the ability to store many pieces of information by connecting them.
The Validations and Applications are evidences through examples and experiments that prove how this knowledge can be applied to life.
Values are assumptions about what is true, important, good, or beautiful. P. 16-22
The four experiences transform a student into a Learner/Teacher.
Capture – between teacher and student: Capture is the experience of absorbing and organizing information for long-term growth.
“When you expect to teach, your mind is prepared to learn” – Stephen Covey
Expand – the student independently: the process of exploring, researching, integrating, and practicing for excellence. It also shifts the role from focusing on the teacher’s purposes, ideas, and values to focusing on the student’s own purposes, ideas, and values.
Teach – between the student and others: As students assume the teaching role, they take on new responsibility. The students thus need to rearrange and refocus the knowledge framework to be able to teach others whose needs are different.
Evaluate – a process that underlies the whole series: Evaluation is essential to growth. The L/T needs to give/receive evaluations that are correct, complete, connected, and concise. P. 23-29
“So and so doesn’t know what he wants until after he has had the experience. No one can choose freely before they understand.” P. 33
“We shall not cease from exploration….
And the end of all our exploring…
Will be to arrive where we started…
And know the place for the first time.”
-T.S. Eliot, poet P.38
“We need to demand more and less. We need to focus on the important and central ideas and really ask the students to do what it takes to learn them. And we need to cut out any busy work that doesn’t contribute to our focus.” P 42
Story of a teacher, a student, and a fish: The student tells the student to stare at the fish and learn all he can about it. After a while the teacher comes to get a report, the student tells him some basics of the fish. He has the student study the fish for a day, then two days. The teacher left the student there until the student had learned to see for himself, for if the student had been told what to see, he never would see enough. P. 51
“Failure is a great teacher. No memories are so long lasting as mistakes are.” P. 55
“Cramming to prepare for a test stops the learning. A student will just forget.” – Walter Gong.
“Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you.” –Aldous Haxley
Learners find out how to have experience. Teachers learn how to create experiences for others. P. 64
How to Evaluate a Capture:
Concise: A captured framework requires the L/T to condense the information.
Complete: It accounts for everything in the frame.
Correct: The information captured has to be true.
Connected: A good framework all ties together. The central message answers the purpose; the validations/applications prove and support the central message; Etc. p. 77
“Each piece of information in a captured framework becomes a basis for a new framework.” –Oscar Firschein. Or in other words, it is always possible to expand our knowledge and understanding. P. 78
The L/T2
The L/T doesn’t’ just capture; he captures with humility. He doesn’t just expand; he expands with integrity. He teaches with love. He evaluates with praise and true concern. P. 89
The L/T2 is the integration of love and humility into the teaching process.
A Three Person Problem
The “Take 1 or 2 Game” of 20 coins is played by two people who on their turn can take one or two pennies. Whoever takes the last penny wins. The formula for winning is counting the total, dividing by three, and taking the remainder for the amount of pennies on your turn. P. 9
This game illustrates ‘the simplest case’.
The key attributes of learning are roles, experiences, and knowledge. P. 10
The three person problem starts with a teacher, he/she teaches a student, the student then goes on to teach someone else thus becoming a teacher him/herself. Thus by changing roles, they have experiences and then gain knowledge.
The best way to learn something is to teach it.
The fourfold framework of knowledge is a framework to organize and process information:
Purpose – Why? Values – So what?
Central Message – What? Validations/Applications – How?
The Purpose is the question that begs to be answered, the hypothesis that needs to be proved.
The Central Message is the thesis statement, the main idea. The Central Message gives the L/T the ability to store many pieces of information by connecting them.
The Validations and Applications are evidences through examples and experiments that prove how this knowledge can be applied to life.
Values are assumptions about what is true, important, good, or beautiful. P. 16-22
The four experiences transform a student into a Learner/Teacher.
Capture – between teacher and student: Capture is the experience of absorbing and organizing information for long-term growth.
“When you expect to teach, your mind is prepared to learn” – Stephen Covey
Expand – the student independently: the process of exploring, researching, integrating, and practicing for excellence. It also shifts the role from focusing on the teacher’s purposes, ideas, and values to focusing on the student’s own purposes, ideas, and values.
Teach – between the student and others: As students assume the teaching role, they take on new responsibility. The students thus need to rearrange and refocus the knowledge framework to be able to teach others whose needs are different.
Evaluate – a process that underlies the whole series: Evaluation is essential to growth. The L/T needs to give/receive evaluations that are correct, complete, connected, and concise. P. 23-29
“So and so doesn’t know what he wants until after he has had the experience. No one can choose freely before they understand.” P. 33
“We shall not cease from exploration….
And the end of all our exploring…
Will be to arrive where we started…
And know the place for the first time.”
-T.S. Eliot, poet P.38
“We need to demand more and less. We need to focus on the important and central ideas and really ask the students to do what it takes to learn them. And we need to cut out any busy work that doesn’t contribute to our focus.” P 42
Story of a teacher, a student, and a fish: The student tells the student to stare at the fish and learn all he can about it. After a while the teacher comes to get a report, the student tells him some basics of the fish. He has the student study the fish for a day, then two days. The teacher left the student there until the student had learned to see for himself, for if the student had been told what to see, he never would see enough. P. 51
“Failure is a great teacher. No memories are so long lasting as mistakes are.” P. 55
“Cramming to prepare for a test stops the learning. A student will just forget.” – Walter Gong.
“Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you.” –Aldous Haxley
Learners find out how to have experience. Teachers learn how to create experiences for others. P. 64
How to Evaluate a Capture:
Concise: A captured framework requires the L/T to condense the information.
Complete: It accounts for everything in the frame.
Correct: The information captured has to be true.
Connected: A good framework all ties together. The central message answers the purpose; the validations/applications prove and support the central message; Etc. p. 77
“Each piece of information in a captured framework becomes a basis for a new framework.” –Oscar Firschein. Or in other words, it is always possible to expand our knowledge and understanding. P. 78
The L/T2
The L/T doesn’t’ just capture; he captures with humility. He doesn’t just expand; he expands with integrity. He teaches with love. He evaluates with praise and true concern. P. 89
The L/T2 is the integration of love and humility into the teaching process.
Reflection 2
Honestly, the class period where we taught and were critiqued is the period where I learned the most. I decided to teach while I was on the mission in Portugal. I not only taught the gospel but also trainings at conferences and english classes to whoever wanted to learn. I haven't really taught much of anything since then. So it's been awhile. This week made me start to feel more confident and relaxed in my teaching. It's obvious that the more we teach the better we'll be. I like the specific critique we received, such as: don't us the 'hmm', 'umm', 'and...' lingo, and be sure to check for understanding every time we teach. I also liked the broader critique about how we should use both indirect and direct instruction to change our teaching from just presentations to real teaching.
Reflection 1
I liked how this class was started with a scripture, specifically D&C42:14. Brother Wright explained how it's the spirit of teaching that is required to truly be an effective teacher.
It was interesting how we have to define what our major is and how we came up with many different definitions. I liked the idea that today's teaching is different than that of olden times. Today's teaching is much more like mentoring. The teacher is not the source of all light and knowledge, yet he/she is merely a student except with more experience that than the rest.
During class I started to take side notes about teaching techniques that Bro. Wright utilized throughout the class. We watched parts of School of Rock from which we did the same thing (pick out the good techniques). Some of these were: using the names of the new kids, using the names of those not actively participating, fun activities, passionate about the subject being taught, specific praise, asking open ended questions, building upon the students' input, visual aids, one-on-one time, and much more.
Overall, it was a very good introductory class. I also like how all the assignments are already laid out in the syllabus. This makes it easier to know exactly what's expected.
It was interesting how we have to define what our major is and how we came up with many different definitions. I liked the idea that today's teaching is different than that of olden times. Today's teaching is much more like mentoring. The teacher is not the source of all light and knowledge, yet he/she is merely a student except with more experience that than the rest.
During class I started to take side notes about teaching techniques that Bro. Wright utilized throughout the class. We watched parts of School of Rock from which we did the same thing (pick out the good techniques). Some of these were: using the names of the new kids, using the names of those not actively participating, fun activities, passionate about the subject being taught, specific praise, asking open ended questions, building upon the students' input, visual aids, one-on-one time, and much more.
Overall, it was a very good introductory class. I also like how all the assignments are already laid out in the syllabus. This makes it easier to know exactly what's expected.
Orange Julius
Orange Julius
Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1 tray of ice (12 cubes)
½ cup orange juice concentrate
¼ to ½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Optional Ingredients:
Banana
Yogurt (any flavor)
Ice Cream (vanilla or fruit flavor)
Strawberries
Directions:
Add to blender in order.
Blend. Let sit for 10 seconds.
Blend again until all ice is crushed.
Stop and restart as necessary.
Enjoy
Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1 tray of ice (12 cubes)
½ cup orange juice concentrate
¼ to ½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Optional Ingredients:
Banana
Yogurt (any flavor)
Ice Cream (vanilla or fruit flavor)
Strawberries
Directions:
Add to blender in order.
Blend. Let sit for 10 seconds.
Blend again until all ice is crushed.
Stop and restart as necessary.
Enjoy
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