Danielle McLean
Building My Future
By: Danielle McLean
By: Danielle McLean
Each course that I have taken during my time as a master’s degree student has contributed to my overall knowledge and to my teaching practice. I like to think of each class and the information I learned from it like a part of a building that has been carefully pieced together until the entire structure is complete. Just like buildings, my repertoire of knowledge has to be updated to ensure that as ideas in education change, I remain current in my ideas. Each individual class I have taken is a component of my education that has contributed an important chunk of information to my “teaching building” and has helped me build an invaluable source of ideas and resources.
The classes that started my teaching foundation were the classes I took while I was student teaching. As we all know, the foundation of a building must be strong in order to support the rest of the structure for many years. The foundation of a teacher’s knowledge and teaching practice must also be sturdy, because all other skills must be built on that knowledge. My TE 802 (Reflection and Inquiry in Teaching Practice I) and 804 (Reflection in Teaching Practice II) courses provided me with a forum to discuss things that I had tried in my internship classroom with other new teachers and with experienced teachers and professors. These courses also provided me with the tools I needed to learn how to plan lessons efficiently and effectively. Lesson planning can be one of the most overwhelming tasks to a new teacher, and these courses allowed me to perfect my planning skills. We learned how to create a lesson plan using a template designed by our course instructors. The template taught us to look at the “big ideas” we wanted our students to take away from the unit and focus on how we would accomplish the task of teaching these ideas to our students. We used a tool called an EPE table in our lesson plans. EPE stands for Experiences, Patterns, and Explanations. In the table we would identify possible experiences that our students may have had in their everyday lives that relate to the lesson. We would then have our students look for patterns in what they have experienced and then ask them to form a scientific explanation based on their experiences and patterns that they see. TE 802 and 804 allowed me not only to perfect my lesson planning skills, but it also allowed me to run my lesson plans and classroom activities by my professors and by other interns in my subject area. The feedback I received really helped me to be more confident while planning activities and implementing them in my classroom. These courses provided me with a forum to reflect on how effective my lessons were and discuss what I could have done to improve the lesson.
TE 801 (Professional Roles and Teaching Practice I) and 803 (Professional Roles and Teaching Practice II) were also courses that were helpful in shaping my teaching skills. TE 801 and 803 were also courses that I took while I was student teaching. In these courses, we discussed some of the ethical and professional responsibilities of educators. Many of the concepts we discussed in class focused on effective teaching techniques as well. One of the ideas that we examined was “what you do is what you learn.” New research has shown that students learn more effectively when they are actively involved in the learning process. In other words; students learn by doing things instead of being told things. In TE 801, 802, 803 and 804, we strived to design lessons so that students are not being “talked at” but instead, they are actively engaged in the learning process with hands on activities. We also discussed the concept of inquiry in the classroom and how to implement it. Inquiry is where students come up with the answers to their questions by designing an experiment rather than having the teacher tell them what the outcome is supposed to be. I have definitely incorporated these concepts into my classroom activities. Since I teach science, an enormous part of learning in my classes happens in the lab. I would rather have my students learn through observations in lab much like real scientists do instead of me telling them what should happen or reading about it in the textbook. When I first started teaching, I was nervous to try these methods in my classes, because it was new to me. Now that I have been teaching several years, I have slowly incorporated more hands on and inquiry based leaning into my classes. I am much more comfortable with using hands on activities now and I have noticed an increase in the level of interest that my students have when we do labs and hands on activities. TE 801, 802 803, and 804 have helped me to form a solid foundation on which to build my teaching career.
ED 800 was the equivalent of the frame of my “teaching building.” In ED 800, we examined the history and evolution of education and we looked at some of the ideas of educational philosophers like John Dewey, Howard Gardner and E.D. Hirsch, Jr. The ideas of educators who came before us provides us with a framework with which to create new methods. ED 800 helped me to realize that no single theory in education will work in all situations. It is important as an educator to recognize which school of thought will be best for individual situations. This course allowed me to see that education has changed over the years as we learn new things about what works and what does not. It is strange to think that fifty years ago, standing at the front of the class and lecturing was considered teaching. It is also strange to think that not long ago; it was assumed that all students should learn in the same way. Today, teaching has evolved into a research based science where we can measure the effectiveness of our teaching methods. Teachers must be able to recognize that each student has different needs when it comes to learning. Teachers must also be able to vary classroom activities so that they provide all of their students with an opportunity to learn. ED 800 allowed me to understand how and why methods in education have changed over the years and it provided me with a framework on which to add modern teaching techniques.
TE 861 A was the equivalent of the fixtures in a building like faucets, doors, and cabinets that make it a fully functional building. This course helped me to understand what it really means to understand something. Recognizing true student understanding is essential in teaching. Teaching is not fully functional unless teachers can recognize when students truly understand class objectives. Teachers must be able to adjust lessons and re-teach material if students do not appear to have learned useful, interconnected knowledge. It is not enough for students to know random, unconnected facts. In education, it can be difficult to identify when students truly understand a concept or if they have simply memorized it. One of the main goals of TE 861 A was for us to recognize student understanding. My goal as an educator is to provide my students with tools that they can use to think though complex problems. We examined various ways to create activities that foster true understanding and allow teachers to assess it. One way of knowing if a student understands a concept is if he or she is able to explain a concept to another person or use the knowledge to answer a problem in an unfamiliar context. If students cannot use the information in an unfamiliar context then they have most likely not developed an understanding of the objective and re- teaching is necessary. Also, students who have a firm understanding of concepts will be able to synthesis information based on observations in a lab investigation without being given information from the teacher or the textbook. TE 861 A gave me the tools to be able to recognize when my students have gained true understanding of content and when they have not.
CEP 802 (Developing Positive Attitudes Toward Learning) was like the finishing touches on a building that make the building unique like paint colors, artwork, and furnishings. CEP 802 was designed to teach educators how to change students’ attitudes towards learning. I noticed that this class helped me feel like my teaching style is my own and that I have control over how my students will respond to my teaching. One of the biggest challenges in teaching is getting students to want to participate and learn. This course gave me ideas on how to encourage my students to want to learn and to be proud of the work they accomplish in school. Simple tricks like giving students choices in activities, and giving them jobs in class that help the class run smoothly give students a sense of belonging and community. Another easy form of encouragement is using learning communities. This allows students to work in groups and work together and help each other learn. It gives them confidence to know that their group can help them when they do not understand a concept. Learning communities also give students confidence when they are the ones who understand the content enough to teach it to their classmates who do not understand it. Students are more likely to be excited to participate in class when they feel like they are an important part of the class and when they take ownership in their work. CEP 802 was the finishing touch on my repertoire of tools to use in order to be the most effective teacher I can be.
Even after a building is finished and even after it has been lived in and used for many years, there will be changes and updates that will keep the styles current and the structure solid. My “teaching building” will also require maintenance and upkeep. Ideas and technology will change and even methods of teaching will change. In order to remain up to date, I must continue to update my education much like updates on a building. I am proud of all of my hard work that built my “teaching building.” With any luck, I will be teaching and learning for a long time. I am confident that the courses that I have taken have helped me to create a solid foundation on which to continue my teaching career.
The classes that started my teaching foundation were the classes I took while I was student teaching. As we all know, the foundation of a building must be strong in order to support the rest of the structure for many years. The foundation of a teacher’s knowledge and teaching practice must also be sturdy, because all other skills must be built on that knowledge. My TE 802 (Reflection and Inquiry in Teaching Practice I) and 804 (Reflection in Teaching Practice II) courses provided me with a forum to discuss things that I had tried in my internship classroom with other new teachers and with experienced teachers and professors. These courses also provided me with the tools I needed to learn how to plan lessons efficiently and effectively. Lesson planning can be one of the most overwhelming tasks to a new teacher, and these courses allowed me to perfect my planning skills. We learned how to create a lesson plan using a template designed by our course instructors. The template taught us to look at the “big ideas” we wanted our students to take away from the unit and focus on how we would accomplish the task of teaching these ideas to our students. We used a tool called an EPE table in our lesson plans. EPE stands for Experiences, Patterns, and Explanations. In the table we would identify possible experiences that our students may have had in their everyday lives that relate to the lesson. We would then have our students look for patterns in what they have experienced and then ask them to form a scientific explanation based on their experiences and patterns that they see. TE 802 and 804 allowed me not only to perfect my lesson planning skills, but it also allowed me to run my lesson plans and classroom activities by my professors and by other interns in my subject area. The feedback I received really helped me to be more confident while planning activities and implementing them in my classroom. These courses provided me with a forum to reflect on how effective my lessons were and discuss what I could have done to improve the lesson.
TE 801 (Professional Roles and Teaching Practice I) and 803 (Professional Roles and Teaching Practice II) were also courses that were helpful in shaping my teaching skills. TE 801 and 803 were also courses that I took while I was student teaching. In these courses, we discussed some of the ethical and professional responsibilities of educators. Many of the concepts we discussed in class focused on effective teaching techniques as well. One of the ideas that we examined was “what you do is what you learn.” New research has shown that students learn more effectively when they are actively involved in the learning process. In other words; students learn by doing things instead of being told things. In TE 801, 802, 803 and 804, we strived to design lessons so that students are not being “talked at” but instead, they are actively engaged in the learning process with hands on activities. We also discussed the concept of inquiry in the classroom and how to implement it. Inquiry is where students come up with the answers to their questions by designing an experiment rather than having the teacher tell them what the outcome is supposed to be. I have definitely incorporated these concepts into my classroom activities. Since I teach science, an enormous part of learning in my classes happens in the lab. I would rather have my students learn through observations in lab much like real scientists do instead of me telling them what should happen or reading about it in the textbook. When I first started teaching, I was nervous to try these methods in my classes, because it was new to me. Now that I have been teaching several years, I have slowly incorporated more hands on and inquiry based leaning into my classes. I am much more comfortable with using hands on activities now and I have noticed an increase in the level of interest that my students have when we do labs and hands on activities. TE 801, 802 803, and 804 have helped me to form a solid foundation on which to build my teaching career.
ED 800 was the equivalent of the frame of my “teaching building.” In ED 800, we examined the history and evolution of education and we looked at some of the ideas of educational philosophers like John Dewey, Howard Gardner and E.D. Hirsch, Jr. The ideas of educators who came before us provides us with a framework with which to create new methods. ED 800 helped me to realize that no single theory in education will work in all situations. It is important as an educator to recognize which school of thought will be best for individual situations. This course allowed me to see that education has changed over the years as we learn new things about what works and what does not. It is strange to think that fifty years ago, standing at the front of the class and lecturing was considered teaching. It is also strange to think that not long ago; it was assumed that all students should learn in the same way. Today, teaching has evolved into a research based science where we can measure the effectiveness of our teaching methods. Teachers must be able to recognize that each student has different needs when it comes to learning. Teachers must also be able to vary classroom activities so that they provide all of their students with an opportunity to learn. ED 800 allowed me to understand how and why methods in education have changed over the years and it provided me with a framework on which to add modern teaching techniques.
TE 861 A was the equivalent of the fixtures in a building like faucets, doors, and cabinets that make it a fully functional building. This course helped me to understand what it really means to understand something. Recognizing true student understanding is essential in teaching. Teaching is not fully functional unless teachers can recognize when students truly understand class objectives. Teachers must be able to adjust lessons and re-teach material if students do not appear to have learned useful, interconnected knowledge. It is not enough for students to know random, unconnected facts. In education, it can be difficult to identify when students truly understand a concept or if they have simply memorized it. One of the main goals of TE 861 A was for us to recognize student understanding. My goal as an educator is to provide my students with tools that they can use to think though complex problems. We examined various ways to create activities that foster true understanding and allow teachers to assess it. One way of knowing if a student understands a concept is if he or she is able to explain a concept to another person or use the knowledge to answer a problem in an unfamiliar context. If students cannot use the information in an unfamiliar context then they have most likely not developed an understanding of the objective and re- teaching is necessary. Also, students who have a firm understanding of concepts will be able to synthesis information based on observations in a lab investigation without being given information from the teacher or the textbook. TE 861 A gave me the tools to be able to recognize when my students have gained true understanding of content and when they have not.
CEP 802 (Developing Positive Attitudes Toward Learning) was like the finishing touches on a building that make the building unique like paint colors, artwork, and furnishings. CEP 802 was designed to teach educators how to change students’ attitudes towards learning. I noticed that this class helped me feel like my teaching style is my own and that I have control over how my students will respond to my teaching. One of the biggest challenges in teaching is getting students to want to participate and learn. This course gave me ideas on how to encourage my students to want to learn and to be proud of the work they accomplish in school. Simple tricks like giving students choices in activities, and giving them jobs in class that help the class run smoothly give students a sense of belonging and community. Another easy form of encouragement is using learning communities. This allows students to work in groups and work together and help each other learn. It gives them confidence to know that their group can help them when they do not understand a concept. Learning communities also give students confidence when they are the ones who understand the content enough to teach it to their classmates who do not understand it. Students are more likely to be excited to participate in class when they feel like they are an important part of the class and when they take ownership in their work. CEP 802 was the finishing touch on my repertoire of tools to use in order to be the most effective teacher I can be.
Even after a building is finished and even after it has been lived in and used for many years, there will be changes and updates that will keep the styles current and the structure solid. My “teaching building” will also require maintenance and upkeep. Ideas and technology will change and even methods of teaching will change. In order to remain up to date, I must continue to update my education much like updates on a building. I am proud of all of my hard work that built my “teaching building.” With any luck, I will be teaching and learning for a long time. I am confident that the courses that I have taken have helped me to create a solid foundation on which to continue my teaching career.
