Reflection 4

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.