My teaching skills have improved significantly throughout
this course. Planning for instruction has become easier for me to
accomplish. I have become more aware of
students who needs differentiated instruction and now know how to accommodate their
needs. My job is to challenge the students while creating an interest in their
work and allowing them to use and apply the knowledge they gain. Once I became
aware of this, planning became more complex, yet thorough. I have learned that over
planning is much better than under planning. Teachers must not waste a minute
that will bring a student closer to reaching his/her potential.
Once of the most important things I have learned this
semester was the difference between the three types of lesson planning. These
three lessons are direct, inquiry, and cooperative learning methods. Direct
instruction occurs when teachers introduce new information to the students and
is a teacher-centered strategy. An example of this would be presenting a PowerPoint
to the students and telling them to take notes on an outline. Inquiry-based
instructions describe approaches to
learning that are based on the investigation of questions, scenarios or
problems - often assisted by a facilitator.
Inquirers will identify and research issues and questions to develop their
knowledge or solutions. An example of this would be using an artifact bag to
present the student with several objects from the past and allowing him/her to
research its origin. Cooperative learning involves more than students
working together on a lab or field project. It requires teachers to structure
cooperative interdependence among the students. Positive interdependence,
individual accountability, face-to-face interaction, interpersonal and small
group social skills, and group processing are all promoted with cooperative
learning. An example of this would be putting students into groups based on
their interest and cover social skills and roles before immersing them into
their given activities. Activities could include poetry, acting in a skit,
creating a song, or creating an ad.
Collaboration was a huge component to my success this
semester. From my fieldwork group groups for jigsaw assignments, I could not
have learned as much as I have in in this course without my fellow future
teachers. They have introduced me to different perspectives and concepts
throughout the course. It is beneficial for any student to engage in
collaboration. The acknowledgment of individual differences is important. When
questions are raised, different students will have a variety of responses. Each
of these can help the group create a product that reflects a wide range of perspectives and is thus more complete and comprehensive. Collaboration
also provides more opportunities for personal feedback. Because
Watching my own teaching and my peers’ teaching has
allowed me to enhance my reflective practice
skills and professional growth.
The more lessons I observed and conducted, the better I became at
reflecting on
my progress and that of the students. I
also grew more knowledgeable in the types of
lessons. When observing a direct
lesson, I noticed that it was teacher-centered and that the students
only spoke
when formative assessment was occurring. Teachers would ask convergent and
divergent
questions to assess understanding throughout the presentation of new
information. When observing
an inquiry lesson, I noticed that no new
information was presented. Students had to draw their own
conclusions based on their
knowledge and research conducted. When observing cooperative lessons,
there was
plenty of student to student interaction. The teacher walked around to monitor progress
while students worked together to accomplish a goal.
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