Reflect upon your experiences this semester with meeting the competencies under Domain #3 (Instruction). Consider what artifacts and documents you have which fulfill this domain, namely the strategies and methods you have used to facilitate powerful teaching and learning in social studies.
You can reflect upon experiences from your field placement and in our methods course.
This blog represents the first draft of the reflective essay you will use for Domain #3 in your professional portfolio.
Instruction was one of the most significant periods of growth for me this semester. I finally got a chance to get my feet with some real action and assume complete control over a classroom. I had many opportunities to help with instruction on a one-on-one basis with the students, which I thoroughly enjoy. However, I was also able to have some instruction time and test out what it's going to be like out there, and I have to admit that I'm really excited.
ReplyDeleteThere's no better feeling for me when you see students understand something. There's almost a fire in their eyes or a visible click I can see when the student comprehends what they're supposed to be learning.
I have a few lesson plans under my belt and quite a few curriculum maps from teachers and textbooks. I also have a lot of graphic organizers and rubrics for grading. I have a used venn diagrams and graphic organizers for my lesson plans to help the students visualize and categorize information to make it more comprehendable.
I have also used many different styles of teaching and simply possessing the BEAL text book gives me access to many other ideas and persepectives for teaching, as does the internet.
So far my experiences have been very positive. the students always end at an appropriate conclusion and can answer the essential question, with evidence and supporting details. They may not always arrive at the expected conclusion, but the process of critical thinking and reasoning is much more important than having the students agree with you.
I have noticed that as your teaching you've really gotta be flexible and prepared to make sudden changes in an understandable way for the students. I've really been able to notice as well, that if the students don't preform as expected you really need to look to see if you are somewhat responsible for that happening. Some students were a little confused as to what I was asking at times, but it was really only one per class and most times none.
This also tells me that there's rarely a "full-proof" lesson that will go perfectly for every class. You can have one class that fully comprehends what to do and another class that completely bombs. The true mettle of a teacher is their ability to adapt and alter the lesson to fit the needs of that class that are not being met, and this can sometimes mean scrapping the whole lesson plan for a class and doing something different. This is also why essential questions are such a great idea; they allow you to use different teaching styles and methods for a variety of classes learning the same topic/subject.
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ReplyDeleteDanielson’s third domain talks about Instruction or the execution of the first two domains. This domain is very important for pre-educators to know because all the planning, preparation. Without knowing how to execute the classroom, the first two domains are not necessary.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the semester, I have many opportunities to learn how to instruct the classroom. My first example has been the recent debate we had in 305 Methods class. While I participated in the debate, I was able how to have students debate in the classroom. I found it very interesting to learn what works for a debate and what does not work. Yet debate is not the only the only instruction technique I have learned. I have learned a lot about Role Play in the classroom. I have been given numerous handouts and have been about to participate in a role play activity that allowed me to learn how to carry out a role play activity. I have learned that when using role play activities, it is essential to tie in the essential question in order to make the activity efficient. Furthermore, having the artifacts I have, such as PowerPoint presentations, an example role play, and websites with role plays.
In the classroom, I have had a great time learning the beneficial instruction techniques. I have learned first hand from my cooperating teacher, Mr. Lister the good and the bad of my instruction process. I have been numerous tips on how to engage students. First, I have learned how to engage students that are not interested in class. That is a difficulty job is trying to make the students like the topic. Mr. Lister has given me advice as I go through each day. He has told me that my present in the classroom keeps the student engaged in the classroom. He says that my constant assessment of the students keeps them interested because they do not want to me call on them and they do not want to be left not knowing the answer. Furthermore, Mr. Lister has given me different handouts with his types of assessment. This is an important artifact because Mr. Lister and I have similar teaching styles and having artifacts that relate to my type of teaching style.
This semester has been great for me to see myself grow in domain number three. I have walked away with a lot of experience and resources as a new teacher.
Danielson's third domain, instruction, is something I feel we have gained experience with throughout the semester but still have a lot to learn.
ReplyDeleteThis is probably one of the hardest domains to understand because the classroom constantly changes with different types of learners and personalities. I learned this the hard way Friday as I had to change my lesson plan in order for the students to get to important questions about the declaration. Also, the classes throughout the day changed as some were able to complete their work quickly and others took a bit longer.
Mr. Lusk has helped me understand that not all lessons will be perfect. As a teacher we have to roll with the punches and adjust things in order to allow the students to gain the most they can out of the class. In class we learned different ways to help students stay interested like role playing, debates, and group work.
After finishing my first complete lesson I feel confident that I will be able to engage my classes and keep control of it during the time I am teaching.
This year I believe I really found my "teacher personality". I really feel as if I came into my own, and felt comfortable being myself in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteThe first-hand practice through methods really helped me find that. Reading about teaching strategies is one thing, but actually seeing them in play and doing it myself is another.
From my placement I was able to see a wide variety of teaching styles: ranging from student centered approaches where teacher place ultimate responsiblity on their students, and the more heavy-handed approach where teacher deal a little more with discipline. Middle school is a great setting to see both, as the students are at a transition period in their lives where some mature faster than others.
In my experience I preferred using the student-centered approaches, but I wasn't always able to. As I mentioned, some of the students are maturing faster than others, this meant that in some classes I was able to be student centered, while in others I had to be more assertive and deal a little more with discipline. It was a great way for me to try all the strategies, and to find out not all are right all the time.
Reflect upon your experiences this semester with meeting the competencies under Domain #3 (Instruction). Consider what artifacts and documents you have which fulfill this domain, namely the strategies and methods you have used to facilitate powerful teaching and learning in social studies.
I have seen a growth in myself as an instructor this semester. I had never formally taught a full lesson to a class, so doing that several times in my placement this semester has helped me grow and fill Danielson's 3rd domain. I have learned from my classroom experience what teaching techniques do not work well and I have also learned some techniques that do. I have seen how using power point can be an effective method of instruction, but I have also seen its downfalls. I have also see good testing handouts, and so bad handouts. I have also made these mistakes myself. I have grown a lot in the last semester.
ReplyDeleteLearning in class about instruction has been great for me. I have learned lots of new techniques and activities to use in my future classrooms. The most important part of learning this semester in ED 305 was how to, and what differentiation in instruction is. It has been helpful to learn methods that will help me be a good instructor of my students. In my opinion this domain is critical to the development of my students, as well as my personal development as a teacher.
One artifact that I will use will be a lesson plan that I will develop in the next few days for my last day of field placement. I feel as though I have grown enough as an educator to be able to include an example of my instruction in my portfolio. I will also be including a handout and power point slides that I taught with earlier this semester. I also want to include my co-ops teaching notes to me that I received earlier this semester. It shows what I did well and what areas I need to improve on. If he does take notes again this last time I will hopefully see an improvement and include that.