Because In the end... It was all worth it

I can't believe that this semester is actually over! I am so thankful for the wonderful people I met in this class, the abundance of information I learned and the final outcome of this year. I must admit that this really was a tough semester. Taking three methods classes, a full schedule and working at the same time definitely took a toll on me! But as one of my favorite quotes states, it might not be easy, but it will be worth it. There were countless nights that I had no sleep, and many weekends spent doing homework, projects or lesson plans. I cried on my first day of classes on my way home in fear of this semester. I wasn't sure if I would be able to do it... but I'm here.. I'm alive... I have maintained an A in all my classes so far and... I DID IT! Life is hardly every easy, so you have to buckle up, get ready, hit the pedal to the floor and aim for the finish line. I am proud of how hard I have worked in this class. I have been determined and with a lot of effort I was able to get through it all. I can honestly say that I learned so much from this class. I can't believe how far I have come over the semester.

 

The first day of class, I was not completely sold on the fact of learning technology. I am a big supporter of having students do hands-on activities and being outside instead of playing with technological devices. However, I have realized that this is the new generation, and there is no way that I can possibly reverse it. I have learned how both of these sides can be used in order to create an engaging classroom. Student's need both of these sides for their own learning. They need time to experience things in real-life and have a kinesthetic approach, however technology can be helpful in involving the students directly in their learning. There were so many different websites and sources I learned about that I am actually very excited to use in my future classroom!

 The one thing I was most nervous about in this class, was teaching in front of two classes, not just the 2nd grade class but also our class too! I was beyond scared at first, but as the time approached I overcame my fear. I have worked with children since I was 14 years old. I spend more time with children then I do with anyone else and it is honestly my passion. I came to the realization, that I shouldn't be nervous to teach children... I am around them all the time. The children I am teaching are just like the children I babysit every single day. When I got up in front of the class, my whole class of students disappeared, the observing teacher disappeared, and I felt like I was finally where I belonged. Nothing has prepared me more than that experience did. I truly believe that every student should have this experience because it helped me so much and I am forever thankful for it.

 

I am sad for this class to be over, because as the time continued I began to enjoy it more and more. I made so many great friends that will someday be amazing teachers and I had a great teacher that has motivated us all to work hard and pushed us to do our best. However, ever end is a new beginning. I am excited for my new journey. I have a new outlook on teaching now and am excited for my future experiences. This class was definitely a long journey, but the view at the end was the most rewarding. I am ready... and determined.

 

My Comments on Other Blogs:

Mallory Mennecci:

Native American Jigsaw Blog & First day of a New Adventure blog

Rose Linehan:

 Twas the Night before Fieldwork & Assessments Blog

Kim Rivera:

 Mock Interview Extravaganza & What is Tellagami

Erin Correa:

Surprise Artifact Bag & The 5E’s

 



My Philosophy of Teaching

My philosophy is that teaching in passion driven. If you are passionate about teaching and don’t just look at teaching as a job, then you will be successful in exceeding your students’ needs and in encouraging your students to learn. Teaching is demanding, challenging and a stressful profession. My main goal of teaching is to reach my students, to engage them and to encourage them to love learning. Teaching is about finding ways to grasp each student and also accommodating a classroom of students. It is important to be an expert in what you’re teaching but even more important is that you know how to communicate your knowledge to your students.

It is important for a teacher to relate what they are teaching to their lives and their future. As a teacher I will always strive to make the classroom a meaningful environment for student learning. In addition, a teacher should always work his or her hardest to generate continuous growth within their students. I believe in including student centered learning and using technology to bring independence into the classroom. A teacher should be able to have complete control over their students and classroom but also be compassionate and approachable. Also, a teacher should be patient, flexible, hard-working and loving. Teachers inspire students and play a large role in the future of their students. This is why they should always try to teach the importance of what students are learning in relation to

how they will somehow use it in their future. If students feel that they will never use the information they are learning, then they will have no motivation to study it. A teacher doesn’t just teach, they learn. They are always learning new ways to improve themselves. A teacher needs to continue their education and stay current on their knowledge and also incorporate student’s interests in their teaching. A teacher should also actively be involved in their students learning at all times. Finally, they should teach respect, honesty, compassion, and kindness in their classroom every single day in order to shape their students to better people.

 

Teaching VS. Learning

Teaching and learning are very different. Teaching is the act of giving lessons on a subject to a class or to students and it aims at showing students how to do something. Teaching can be both formal and informal. The main purpose of teaching is to provide information and knowledge for a student in particular fields and topics for them to learn. Teaching focuses on academic subjects and concepts but also on behavior and discipline in settings. The person teaching guides the students and facilitates learning. Learning however, is knowledge that is gained from studying and from being taught. Learning pertains to acquiring information, skills, behaviors, concepts, and values. Learning is continuous from the day you are born. Whether it is in a classroom or at home, or anywhere, you can always be learning something. Technology can be used in a classroom to teach students and also to help student learn. In two of my methods classes I learned about various types of technology that can be used in a classroom. When using PowerPoints, I incorporated animated clipart in order to catch the student’s attention. In addition we used technology for formative and summative assessments through websites.

For example, Kahoot is a great game that can be used to see how much the students understood. It is questions-answer game in which students compete to figure out the answers. It was very fun for the students and they were all intrigued to answer the questions because they wanted to win. I can also use technology to assist students who might need extra help. Some students have a hard time sitting and focusing on a worksheet, so technology can be used to help some students learn in a different way. Different students have different learning styles and technology helps them to learn in thw way that they prefer. Using technological devices in education is a great way to engage students because it is something they usually find interest in and it also provides them with a fun learning environment. Rote memorization is a learning technique based on repetition. Worksheets I feel can sometimes be boring for students but are helpful in practice. It can help a student to continuously practice their math facts. Worksheets in my classroom will be primarily to practice but not for primarily learning. I feel that learning should not be based on a worksheet. However worksheets can be a form of assessment every day to see how much each student is improving. Rote memorization is important and should be used every day in a classroom. Students do not learn from hearing something one time. Children, especially at a young

age learn by constant repetition. The more repetition used the more the student will most likely remember. There are ways to encourage rote memorization. For example, my teachers used songs sometimes for rote memorization. This is a great idea at a younger age level because students love singing and songs and they will continuously sing them over and over and without realizing it they are continuously repeating and before they know it they have the information memorized. Mad minutes can be used in repetition of addition, subtraction and multiplication. The students continuously repeat the questions over and over again each day until they can quickly answer the questions and then move onto the next level.

 

Successful Teaching

Being a successful teacher requires preparation, knowledge, flexibility, compassion and an understanding of student’s needs as well as an ability to use a variety of teaching styles within the classroom. I had a lot of trouble categorizing these items because to me each of these are equally important in a classroom and should not take precedence over one another. If one becomes more important than the others may suffer so it is extremely important to use all of these categories in an equal manner. However, the two categories that I feel are extremely important are understanding the student’s strengths and weaknesses and being able to utilize a variety of teaching styles. Each student varies in their abilities, there type of learning and in their effort. While one student might struggle with math, another may excel. However, if when you teach you only address the students that do well with social studies, the struggling students will fall further and further back. In addition, if you only address the students who are struggling, then the students who are excelling will be bored and held back from further learning. Each student is unique in their strengths and weaknesses because each student is different. As a teacher, it is important to address EVERY student in the classroom. There should always be work of varying levels such as additional complex work that challenges the students who are excelling in the subject, and simpler work for students who are struggling, as well as extra help offered. It is almost impossible to have each student be on the same level in a subject so it is crucial to provide the appropriate material for varying abilities. In addition, using a variety of teaching styles can reach all different types of learners. I have worked with students that learn from reading, ones that learn from watching, and with others that learn the best with hands-on experiences. If you somehow incorporate different learning styles into your instruction of a lesson, it can help ensure that the majority of the students will be taught in the way they learn best. This will maximize the success of the student’s learning and will include all different students. Another important category is preparation. Preparation is so important because if the teacher is not prepared, how can they expect the student to be prepared. The teacher should be ready for the day or week and know what will be taught and how in order to help the students. If a teacher is unorganized or unprepared then a chaotic atmosphere develops in the classroom. This wouldn’t be good because the students wouldn’t know that to do or when to do it, and if the teacher doesn’t either than time can be wasted when students should really be learning.

 

The next category is flexibility. Flexibility and Adaptability in the classroom are two important qualities that every teacher must possess. As a teacher is important to be flexible and to know that your plans can change very quickly, sometimes with notice and sometimes without. No one can predict the day in a classroom because you can’t predict what 20 something students may do or act that day. Things change on the spot in the classroom and a teacher needs to be able to adjust to those changes and work with them at any time. If you’re not able to accommodate and adjust to changes than it may become hard to give students a learning experience that they deserve. There is only so much you can prepare, but you need to always account for any changes or altercations and be able to work with them to accommodate the class.  Finally the last two are compassion and knowledge. Compassion is important because students need this as an important foundation with a teacher especially when they are younger. Let’s face it, no one ever liked the teacher who wasn’t sympathetic or considerate in situations. Being compassionate can help develop a closer student-teacher relationship. I feel that students always do better in classes when they feel as if they can go to their teacher for questions or help and if the teacher is understanding. Students won’t approach for help if the teacher is not kind and compassionate. Finally the last important category is knowledge. It is vital for teachers to have knowledge in the concepts and lessons they are teaching because if they are not knowledgeable they might be teaching the students the wrong information. In addition, if the students ask questions, the teacher should be able to answer them without researching. The more knowledge that the teacher has about the topic, the more it will reflect on his/her teaching and in addition the students will learn more. Also, students can detect confidence and teachers should present the information to the students will full confidence to give them a better platform for learning.

 

Did I Get the Job?

 

Mock Interviews!

For this weeks class we conducted the mock interviews. Preparing for an interview requires a lot of work and thinking, especially for career positions. As aspiring educators it is important to get as much practice at interviewing as possible. The mock interview we did in class was a great worthwhile experience. Several of the students were the principals and the remainder of the class was interviewees. Each "principal" came up with a background of themselves, a pretend school and several questions to pose to each of us being interviewed. As the interviewees we had to bring our resumes and look over the content we learned throughout the semester. At first I had a hard time taking the activity too seriously because I was being interviewed by my friends, but once the questions started rolling, I looked at the activity more in depth. The questions the "principals" created could all be potential questions we are all asked as teacher candidates. The questions were in-depth and thought provoking. Some of the questions stumped me! 

This activity really opened my eyes to what principals may potentially ask at an interview and what content I need to review more. We were also interviewed in groups. It was interesting to see how my peers answered the question compared to how I would have. I didn't exactly like being interviewed in groups because I was influenced by my peer's answers and I also felt more nervous and pressured with 5 other people listening. It threw me off track because I was trying to think of the question asked and think of my response while my peer was answering. It made it a little hard to concentrate. One of the most important questions often asked on interviews are questions about oneself. All of the class agreed that questions about yourself are what make you different from the other interviewees. The answers to "about you" questions are what make you stand out from the crowd. It is also important to say "I do not know but I will read up more on that topic" if you are unsure of an answer. 

 

I also learned about the importance of the way you dress and the way you compose yourself. Always dress professionally and use good posture. Make sure to speak slow but not too slow! Be polite and use a good handshake when meeting the interviewees. Always show excitement and confidence in yourself and in the job you are going for.

  

Overall, I really enjoyed this activity. I feel that this activity was highly valuable in my education career. Upon graduating, there should be a optional "interview" session similar to Kappa Delta Pi's Principal Panel. I would definitely recommend that everyone attends the Principal Panel prior to graduating also. You can never be too prepared for the interview for your dream job.