The Other Group

I was very impressed with the teaching of the other group. They taught about Global Positioning Systems. I even learned a little bit myself. I was impressed with the clarity in their explanation of how the technology works, and then the application of how to use a GPS.
One thing that I felt I could work on from observing them is being innovative in the middle of teaching. I really enjoyed watching Scott as he walked around with his group. He did a great job of being creative to help the students understand the concepts, and to resolve their concerns.
I give them an A for the day!

A Sigh of Relief

I must admit, I was a little nervous going into today's teaching. Not because I didn't know our lesson plan, but because I was worried about being able to keep the attention of the students the whole time. In retrospect, I didn't need to be worried. I learned 2 valuable lessons today.
First, you don't need to have their attention the whole time. Students need to feel the freedom to choose what they want to do. This doesn't mean I shouldn't try to keep their attention, but that sometimes they will wander off, but will return to focus eventually.
Second, being prepared aids in keeping the students interested. Being well prepared allows you to have a good plan, but also the ability to vary from your plan according to student questions because you know you can get back on track where you left off. If you aren't prepared, and are relying far too much on lecture notes or a power point, it becomes much harder to vary your lesson plan as needed.
I am grateful for the opportunity that we had to prepare and to teach. It was a great experience and helped me to learn and grow.

Planning: Phase 2

First of all, we have revamped a lot of our plan. In the midst of doing so, there was much frustration and Jess almost went postal on us all. :) OK, so it was all in good fun. Our plan is in action, and we have just a few more things to put together in order to be ready for Tuesday. Once it is all together, we should have an interesting teaching experience and hopefully enjoy it while learning to do better.

Planning: Phase 1

Today we began our plans for our teaching adventures next week. I am very excited to get to teach a little. It is like the pre-season games. We are working to prepare for real teaching, but still have a lot of kinks to work out. This will give us a chance to see our weaknesses and work to improve them as we go.

Evaluation

I find it hard to evaluate myself in my teaching. I realize that this is a skill that I should develop. It is great to create constructive feedback for myself because then I can always be improving. I am not sure where the struggle comes from. Perhaps it is that I feel I am perfect...ok, so that's definitely not it. It could be that I don't know what to look for. Another reason might relate to fact that I focus on the wrong things while reviewing my performance. I tend to be very critical of all the wrong things. I worry about my appearance, about the clarity of my voice, about my vernacular and articulation. I become very self conscious when watching me. If I can find a way to look past those items, and concentrate on my teaching styles and techniques, I might improve in my self-evaluations.

The Tests

I have decided that the Technology Skills Assessments need to be revamped. It is a good process so that educators can have at least a basic level of understanding in regards to essential programs that will be used in the classroom. However, I found it to be a nuisance for myself. The programs and skills we are tested on are rudimentary at best for certain future educators. I feel that a more in depth assessment should be given, or perhaps, there should be an assessment offered on other programs that we will use in the classroom. This would motivate me more to prepare for them, and actually feel challenged instead of becoming frustrated at the simpleness and ineffectiveness of the current tests.