As
a teacher, I have witnessed many moments where a student’s frustration
vanishes, his/her eyes light up, and the lesson or concept is finally
understood. To me, this process of true
learning is what makes teaching so rewarding.
My idea of a great teacher is one who makes a class fun, is always
willing to help, and gets to know his/her students on a more personal
level. The ideal teacher also makes
his/her classroom feel safe and inviting.
I try to be an educator, tutor, instructor, coach, facilitator, trainer,
lecturer, and professor to my students.
At times, I have been told by former students that I acted like a mother
to them. I’m not quite sure what to
think about the “mother” part, but my students do know that they can come to me
with any questions/problems and that I will do my best to help them.
My
students, on the other hand, hold the responsibility of scholars, apprentices,
and learners. With this in mind, I try
to choose assignments that provide enough repetition of a concept while, at the
same time, break the monotony of worksheet after worksheet. For example, when I was reviewing my students
on TAKS Objective 5 (quadratics), I could have papered them to death. Instead, I had my classes construct
catapults, launch play-doh balls and, then, analyze the path of the projectiles.
As
a math teacher, my students use graphing calculators every day. I encourage them to research the Internet if
they get stuck on a homework question and are unable to find me for help or ask
a friend. My campus recently purchased
Promethean Boards, a brand of interactive white boards, as well. My students enjoy working problems out on the
board now, simply because it is new and fun, yet harder than one might think,
to write with the stylus. I also encourage
my students to utilize technology when I assign projects. I have assigned a project in the past where
my students had to write a children’s book explaining a math concept. I had several groups turn in an actual bound
book, but a few accepted my technology challenge and created their books in
PowerPoint and other similar programs.
They truly enjoyed working on this project and their test results showed
that it helped them master the concepts.
I have also had projects such as creating a music video that encourage
students to use technology; one group even used a program to synthesis their
voices! If I can find a way around the
texting charge, I might even have pop quizzes where my students “text” the
answers to a given site. With more and
more of my students getting Smart phones, the applications for technology in
the classroom are endless!
I
expect the best from my students and from myself as a teacher. When comparing unit pretests and posttests, I
expect to see growth from each student.
I encourage my students to try their best and attempt to answer each
question. In my opinion, effort is a
needed step to reaching academic success.
As a teacher, I hold myself to high standards. I strive to engage all my students during
each lesson; my goal is always to see each child achieve mastery of the
concept. I realize that my teaching
methods must change and grow with each class; I allow myself the flexibility to
modify lessons and reteach concepts as needed.
In my opinion, teachers learn and grow alongside their students.
I
chose teaching because I feel that is where God wants me to be so that I can
help young adults prepare for the future.
It is my goal to instill in my future students the joy of learning and a
love for math. I truly believe that, as
a teacher, I can make a difference in this world and in the lives of my students. Technology is the way of the future. We must either accept it or move out of its
way. I find the challenge of integrating
technology into my classroom to be exhilarating. It provides teachers with a new means with
which to hook our students.
While the
free writing part of this exercise was hard for me, partly because I was using
a word document for it as opposed to pencil and paper, I think that actually
taking the time to think about how you feel about technology is a good
thing. Once you know where you stand
regarding technology, or what your personal philosophy towards it is, then you
can better assess how you can utilize it in your classroom in the future.
I think that
blogging in education is an excellent idea.
My campus has recently started reflective journaling. Right now, it is hard to encourage our
students to write freely and that there will be no repercussions for what is
written. I think that having a class
blog would make it easier for students to reflect about the class; by sharing
on a blog, I believe the students would feel less threatened and be more
willing to reflect honestly. I also
agree with some of the comments made in the article. Having a class blog would allow me to post
assignment and test/quiz reminders. I
could also offer tutoring/homework help at a certain time online. If time is not taken up during class to
answer homework questions, then more content could be taught and more progress would
be made through each course’s curriculum.
I do not believe that we have reached the potential Stephen Downes’
mentioned in his article. While I agree
that blogging is a way to teach students how to learn outside of the classroom,
I think that our current curriculum is too structured to allow teachers the
freedom to utilize this technology. I
also believe that a large percentage of teachers are either technophobic or
simply not comfortable with technology, which limits their use of technology in
the classroom. When I first started
teaching, a colleague called his teacher computer that “TV/typewriter thing;”
he could check his email and reply to them but claimed that he did not know how
to compose a new message. Fortunately,
the move towards technology integration in the classroom has increased the
training offered and led to more teachers conquering their technological fears. The recent influx in new teachers from a more
technological generation has also helped those with little or no knowledge
about technology to ask questions and become more proficient.
The area that
stuck out to me the most in the Creating
a Culture for Teaching and Learning article was the sixth one –
Collegiality Is What’s Needed. I agree
completely that teachers who are forced to attend technology training will
return to the classroom and continue doing their own thing instead of
incorporating the new approach. What I
liked most about this section of the article was that it included the
students. I think this is a wonderful
idea – train the students in the new technology and they will hold the teacher
accountable. Our students are also more
accepting of technology, as well as savvier, than most teachers. I can’t remember how many times my students
have “fixed” my computer or some other piece of technology when it stops
working correctly.
My expectation
for this class is to grow more proficient with technology. I would also like to be exposed to more ways
that I can incorporate technology into my classroom. I am always open to new ideas and would like
to encourage my students to participate more freely, something that I believe
technology will help me to do.
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