Hey John J, When're You Gonna Come Full Circle

A semester has come and gone.

I reflect on some of the things I learned in Sixth grade.

-Sixth Graders are wired!

-as such you have a 50/50 chance with them. So if you can grasp them you can do a lot of good things with them.

-It was a good experience because I was able to see a check point as far as what kids those age are capable of and how their minds work through problems, as well as their maturity level.

-I became a kid's favorite teacher!

-I need to have a more happy and upbeat appearance

-I need to not block the camera which is there to record our experiences for evaluation purposes

-Intonate!

-Plan for the unexpected and for things which could happen

-Don't be and expert on a subject, if you do, you'll end up rushing over subjects and material which students are sometimes beginners at

-talk to the kids more about what's going on in the projects.

-"Woah, Mike in a tie?! Watch out world!" -Geoff Wright

Example in Action

This past thursday it was my turn to teach something. I chose to teach about construction technology by doing the activity of building a wall. I won't go into the details of what I did, as many know some basics or the informations can be found, rather I want to focus on some of the flaws of my teaching and the trap that teachers fall into and emulate over and over. Teachers are trained to be experts in their fields of study. Birds of a feather flock together, and so I think as adults we always seek the highest level of thinking. But teachers can't have this mindset. Example: When experts on subjects teach, they submit complex terms that are common language, but which are new to students. The experts (teachers) don't always think of the terms that may be new and unfamiliar to students, and as they mention them in their ramblings of teaching, students are alienated and distanced from the opportunity for learning.

Secondly, I always talk to empty space. I think because of my shyness I cope with that by instead of looking directly at a person I look in between them, or, in the example of my construction teaching, I teach the wood. Geoff W's critique was that it looked like I was teaching the wood. The wood understood how to build walls but what about the students?

We need to realize that we are teaching. Teaching implies that the pupil is receiving new information. As such we mustn't assume total familiarity of the subject.

Technology: A Platform for Behavior

This was an interesting week in 276R. There was a big transformation in the teaching that went on by the students. Before we were sitting through many presentations. But today we were taught something. One lesson stands out above all the others which was taught by Jeff Cook. His personality really enhanced teaching. Ethical behavior and teaching psychology and ways of thinking are still responsibilities of teachers and in technology we have the best platform by which proper behavior can be taught. Certainly with the erosion of morals and ethics in our modern world, students are very unlikely to receive proper direction and molding for behavior and thinking that is right, save it be from good parents in the home, and from religious activity. Our current environment is complex one. We are scared by the caution to not mix religion in our classrooms. It scares us into thinking we can't teach morals and ethics. Life lessons aren't religion-specific behaviors. TRUE it is more difficult to draw a line where you aren't mentioning god, but we can still mention good. Every person born on this earth is given the Light of Christ, which guides us to remember and recognize that which is good and that which is wrong. A problem arises when individuals are never taught these lessons, and later in life when faced with ethical decisions, there is no reservoir from which former students can draw. Let us not forget, as teachers, the obligation we have to teach.

An Anti-Climactic Breakthrough

From this weeks experience I wanted to sum things up from our observation in Skyline. I was so set on going to observe teaching in a multimedia class. I didn't even know what was included in multimedia. So despite our group being 5 (when it should have been 3) I went. We woke up super early so we could get there on time. The school was old. But unfortunately we caught the teacher on a "B" day so she wasn't teaching multimedia, she was teaching business tech. aka word processing. But I did learn some valuable things. I saw that it really takes a lot of preplanning to have learning activities and tasks ready for the class. Alicia did a mostly good job at this. I only saw one problem. When students finished their tasks, Alicia had to come by each student and check off their assignment, but it was a big time waster because lots of students finished at the same time, and we watched one particular student wait for 15 minutes for the teacher to come verify what she had done. Perhaps she could have had a list of non time-pertinent tasks which students could do while they were waiting, which maybe weren't required but which further enhanced learning. I think a big problem in education is that because teachers must in part wait for everyone to catch up, the students with greater potential and capacity to achieve faster are held back. I experienced this in 8th grade science. I went and complained to a teacher that we weren't learning enough. She actually said well I"m sorry the other kids are just dumb and can't keep up. As teachers we should look out for all levels of achievement and help cater to their needs and wants.

Case in Point

For this week I wanted to tell the story of my Sacrament meeting experience this past Sunday. In the first of three talks, the girl speaking had no direction or purpose to her talk. She had mixed thoughts, unrelated stories and ended without a recap or emphasis. The second speaker began her talk and within 30 seconds she lost me. She wasn't a speaker, she was a reader. Even though her talk was laced with jokes and one-liners, she lost my respect and my attention. This iterates again the importance of being a good teacher and reaching out of her normal zone to hit all types of listeners. Granted I should have used the techniques of CETE (Wong) but lots rests on the leader of discussion, the person who has the floor.

Aims of an Education

I've had somewhat of a rough week. We had a "tiff" in our apartment which left me in some distress, yet gave me some time to think about things that are going on around me.

I love this major, and I think the things I'm learning prepare me so much better than could any other filed of study. We are becoming well rounded in technical literacy while also learning differences in learning and teaching styles. As such I am beginning to find more purpose in listening to lectures and more effectiveness in conversing, speaking, and teaching others with whom I speak to. I ask more pointed and guiding questions. I use scaffolding in conversations when I need to persuade others to see something my way. I sometimes don't answer questions directly but ask questions in return. I'm even giving better attention to my own hierarchy of needs. This knowledge and learning even benefits me at work as a supervisor, where I deal with hot heads and misunderstandings in Intramural Sports. Before I used to get sucked into arguments and rushed into making judgments. But now, because of the things we learn in 276, I approach my work in new, seemingly more effective ways.

Week 4

As I was reading the Gong book this week, I came a cross what I think is the core message and key to the purpose of the book-How to be an effective Teacher/Learner. When teaching and learning one must ask the four questions, Why? What? How? So What? The why is the core purpose for the subject being taught. The what is the meaning of what being taught. How is the application of what is taught. So what identifies the values and morals. I think I came across a tool for better learning and retention. Not that this is necessarily ground breaking but that I've personally identified it is what matters. I want to try to making a 4 squared box at the top of each page of notes per class, and in the box, throughout a lecture I could identify the 4 questions of effective L/T's. This will help by clearly identifying the subject, identifying application, why we're learning it and how we can use it in future teaching, and the hardest, to then identify values within what is taught. This technique will serve as a mind mapping tool. By giving a visual organizational graphic to our learning opportunities, we are better prepared to remember the things we learn and apply them across disciplines.