This morning really ended on a TPA note, and when I think back to this morning's class, that is the main thing on my mind. Probably because it is overwhelming to think about the very end result (and the cost involved), but it's also very nice to have an idea of what the end result is so we can start building the foundation we need to be successful right now. I'm also just curious about pearson's role in this and in other assessments of teacher candidates. It seems like they have a monopoly on the whole thing. I wonder how much money they make doing what they do?
Though, to be fair, I do think the TPA (much more so than any West B/E) will be a much better assessment of what we know and if we will be successful at helping students learn. I also think it will give me a push to think critically about everything I do as a teacher... seeing as I'll be writing a mini novel by the end of it (50 pages? Whew!).
Other take-aways I had from today were thinking about the importance of covering issues of body image. It's a shame we only had a moment to cover such an important topic. But that's kind of the theme in a class where you only get to meet 8 times! I really like Dove's Real Beauty Campaign (awesome message)- however, I just want to throw this out there, I think it's interesting that the same parent company who owns Dove also owns AXE brand body spray. Anyone recall the AXE commercials of hypersexualized women chasing down men after they spray themselves with AXE? Amazing that one company could own such polar opposite brands!
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Mr. Yuk Box & Assessments
Phew! Today was a full day. It's good to have a few minutes to reflect on class this morning, even if it feels like it was days ago already.
We had our presentation and I feel like I took away a lot from it. One thing I wasn't expecting to experience were those "teaching moments" that come up. I think our class did such a good job of putting themselves in 1st grader mode that they actually had some very realistic questions that, in a real life context, would have been very important to answer. For example, in my small group, I think it would have been helpful to go over what to do in an emergency if the emergency is still happening. If you're drowning, your house is on fire, etc, you clearly don't want to call 911 first- you want to make sure you're safe, and then call 911. I wasn't anticipating a lot of that, and it honestly just threw me for a loop. It definitely kept me on my toes! Overall I had a good experience with the micro teaching lesson and I appreciated all of the constructive feedback.
Another thing that really stretched my thinking today was going over all the different ways to assess students. Originally, I mostly thought of assessments being at the end of the lesson- i.e. how much did this student take away from this lesson or what did they learn. Then, I thought about assessments from a two-pronged approach, where students ought to be assessed before a lesson to see what knowledge they already have about the subject, and then later determine what they learned. Now, I'm thinking about assessments as a constant, integral part of lessons, which really makes sense to me. Especially when you think about those teaching moments that I wrote about above, it's important to gauge what information students are understanding and what is still unclear so that you can use that moment to help clarify what students will need to know to be successful.
We had our presentation and I feel like I took away a lot from it. One thing I wasn't expecting to experience were those "teaching moments" that come up. I think our class did such a good job of putting themselves in 1st grader mode that they actually had some very realistic questions that, in a real life context, would have been very important to answer. For example, in my small group, I think it would have been helpful to go over what to do in an emergency if the emergency is still happening. If you're drowning, your house is on fire, etc, you clearly don't want to call 911 first- you want to make sure you're safe, and then call 911. I wasn't anticipating a lot of that, and it honestly just threw me for a loop. It definitely kept me on my toes! Overall I had a good experience with the micro teaching lesson and I appreciated all of the constructive feedback.
Another thing that really stretched my thinking today was going over all the different ways to assess students. Originally, I mostly thought of assessments being at the end of the lesson- i.e. how much did this student take away from this lesson or what did they learn. Then, I thought about assessments from a two-pronged approach, where students ought to be assessed before a lesson to see what knowledge they already have about the subject, and then later determine what they learned. Now, I'm thinking about assessments as a constant, integral part of lessons, which really makes sense to me. Especially when you think about those teaching moments that I wrote about above, it's important to gauge what information students are understanding and what is still unclear so that you can use that moment to help clarify what students will need to know to be successful.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
So many good ideas
Looking back on this morning's class, there are so many fun activities that get kids up and running about! The activity where the foam noodles were germs was probably my favorite. I think being able to incorporate lessons about germs to an activity like that was genius! Fun and we learned something. I'm sad that I didn't catch the whole day's lessons due to re injuring my knee injury. I did catch the beginning of the lesson about creating a jump rope rhyme, and I can't wait to hear the winning rhyme tomorrow!
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Day 3
Last night I started delving into "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down", and this morning we had our class on issues of abuse and neglect. It fit well for me to think about these issues this morning, after reflecting on the issues in our book for this class. These issues can sometimes have a pretty significant grey area, and sometimes culture has a lot to do with that...
Another take away for me this morning was how seriously important it is to know each student in your classroom. When you're getting to know each student so well, it becomes easier to see when something isn't quite right with them. If they're behaving in a way that isn't normal for them, you'll be able to be more attuned to seeing that. We have such a paramount responsibility, as teachers.
Another take away for me this morning was how seriously important it is to know each student in your classroom. When you're getting to know each student so well, it becomes easier to see when something isn't quite right with them. If they're behaving in a way that isn't normal for them, you'll be able to be more attuned to seeing that. We have such a paramount responsibility, as teachers.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Day Two
The relay race was so fun today! Such a rush! Who knew competitions could be so fun... The middle school learners class from last quarter stressed over and over again the importance of getting students up and moving. This was another way I'm planning on implementing that into my lessons. Relay races! I was so much more interested in the bones in the lesson after the relay race than before.
Another thing I'm thinking about after class today are our lesson plans. The differences between learning objectives and how we assess those outcomes are still a little foggy for me. It feels awkward to search through the EALR's before planning an activity, but perhaps that was because our microteaching group already had a set activity in mind for our lesson before trying to match it to a state standard. Luckily, we found an EALR that fit perfectly with what we wanted the class to learn. I think there is a lot of value to using the state standards first and then planning the lessons around them. It gives me a more clear idea of exactly what students need to grasp from a lesson.
Another thing I'm thinking about after class today are our lesson plans. The differences between learning objectives and how we assess those outcomes are still a little foggy for me. It feels awkward to search through the EALR's before planning an activity, but perhaps that was because our microteaching group already had a set activity in mind for our lesson before trying to match it to a state standard. Luckily, we found an EALR that fit perfectly with what we wanted the class to learn. I think there is a lot of value to using the state standards first and then planning the lessons around them. It gives me a more clear idea of exactly what students need to grasp from a lesson.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
First day of BEDUC 423
Class this morning spurred a lot of ideas for me about some concepts of health education. One of the most significant ideas I left with was that health education is about health and fitness for the body and the mind. Also, developing invaluable life skills such as leadership and team work. Remind me health classes are being cut again? I'm also excited to read our course book for this quarter. It was recommended to me by a friend, who is a nurse, a while ago and I never made the time to read it. It's completely serendipitous that I can read it now!
I'm also so excited to get started on lesson plans. This excitement might go away after stumbling through my first one, but it should be a good example of the trial, error, and sometimes frustration that goes with learning something new. And perhaps inevitable frustration with Google Docs formatting as well.
I'm also so excited to get started on lesson plans. This excitement might go away after stumbling through my first one, but it should be a good example of the trial, error, and sometimes frustration that goes with learning something new. And perhaps inevitable frustration with Google Docs formatting as well.
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