Wow I can't believe we are halfway through the semester. We are about to finish up fieldwork which means it's time to stop and reflect on all of things we did. This fieldwork experience taught me a lot about lesson planning and collaboration. Collaboration was the key during this fieldwork experience.Without this key attribute groups would not be able to get any work done. This was my first time ever teaching a full classroom and I was little nervous throughout this process. Once I got up in front of the classroom it just felt natural. One thing I gained through this experience was confidence. Before this class I struggled with knowing what to say to students and being timid in the classroom. After I taught it was a big weight off my chest, but also gave me the boost that I needed as well. Not only did I gain the confidence to teach, but I noticed my reflections towards my fellow peers increased over time too. Looking back to the first reflection and my last reflection I can see some progress in my writing and academic language.The one aspect I want to reflect on are the lesson plans. Dr. Smirnova wanted us to take our lessons plans and make a copy of the formatted one she corrected. With this new copy we had to design our own lesson based off of on our beliefs. I liked this assignment because it gave me time to really reflect on how I would want to change certain aspects. It also gave us an opportunity to look through a deeper lens undergoing the process of evaluation. The first step in this process was to make a copy of the original lesson plan and correct the changes I thought were necessary. For the direct lesson plan there was not much for me too change because I made all the changes that I thought were necessary the second time around. I tweaked a few things here and there, but nothing to drastic. When designing this lesson, I tried to think of how to incorporate technology. This was a hard process to think of something with the use of technology. One thing we used was the Smart Board for the guided practice. I really liked how we incorporated the Smart Board for this assignment and the students seemed to be engaged with the lesson. While correcting the second lesson plan I noticed a few important details that needed to be changed, but it was nothing too serious. The wording was a little jumbled and I just added in a few words to make is sound smoother. One aspect we forgot was to hyperlink the Web Quest within the lesson. This will make it easier for whoever is reading the lesson to follow along. The one aspect that I was struggling with was the objectives. I wanted to make sure the objectives were observable and measurable for us. Eventually I figured out an objective to write that correlates with our lesson plan. Our inquiry lesson was not as detailed as our direct was because the direct is more teacher centered then the inquiry. I would say all of our lesson plans were created to the best of our capabilities. I'm glad that I had a great group to work with and I look forward to being in the classroom now. Below this blog are my lesson plans that I revised based off of my perspective. I hope you enjoy reading our engaging lesson plans. Until next time bloggers :)Direct Lesson
Inquiry Lesson
Erin,
ReplyDeleteTo start off, I would like to commend you on all of your blog posts. They are all so informative. It was difficult for me to choose which blog post to comment on. I chose this post because the title as well as the first few sentences really caught my attention. Your title "Planning Everyday" is something that I think is very important for all teachers. To be a successful teacher and ensure success upon your students, a teacher needs to plan and follow her plans every day. If a teacher doesn't do the planning she is supposed to do and delivers and not-so-great lesson, students are missing out on vital information. The next part of your post that truly stuck out to me was your comments on collaboration. Collaboration is very important for the career path we are choosing. Though not all of us will work in a co-teaching class, we all will need collaboration skills for creating IEP's, working with consultant teachers, parents, and other professional staff in the building. Not all students who wish to pursue a teaching degree are lucky enough to have the chance to work in a collaboration setting like we did. We have been given knowledge and experience in a skill area that will last us a lifetime. Regarding your fieldwork, I am so surprised that this was your first time teaching in front of an entire class. You were energetic, knowledgeable and great at engaging the kids. You seemed comfortable and calm. You mentioned noticing flaws in your lesson plans. That is normal. We all have to remember that this is a learning process and the best way to learn is by making mistakes. Overall your fieldwork lessons were great! Lastly, it was an absolute pleasure to work with an collaborate with you this semester. I wish you the best in everything you encounter, as I know you will be very successful. Enjoy your summer!
Best,
Danielle McGrath :)