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I think that’s a really true statement that seeing certain lessons or ways of teaching this term has highlighted my values. To me, your observations indicate that you have a lot of really good values when it comes to teaching, and I’m glad that this term’s experiences led you to these conclusions. I think that looking at the psychology of teaching a foreign language would be a really fascinating topic on its own, and I’ve really enjoyed reading your blog posts about it. What are the best ways for teaching a foreign language? I feel like I’ve had such a range of experiences in my time in terms of amount of English spoken in class, methods of instruction, frequency of quizzes, and speed at which the language is taught.
I also agree that I couldn’t quite figure out what my role was in the classroom. I wasn’t a teacher, but I wasn’t there to just sit and do nothing. I think that my type of personality needs clearly defined roles in order to feel comfortable in situations like these, and I don’t feel like I had that as an “observer” who also tutored, helped out, etc. I wonder how much of an impact I actually made–but I’m sure that for you, me, and everyone else, it was meaningful and left a lasting impact!
I have also noticed that the teacher interacts a lot more with the boys in my class since they tend to act out more. My teacher also does more public talk with them, but it is with the same students over and over, so I wonder if the other students begin to get annoyed by that or tune it out. Would it be more productive as private talk? I have rarely seen private talk with my teacher; she generally addresses students in front of each other.
I really like this sentence: “it’s good to see that your teacher cares about you more than your performance.” As we read for class, there is more to a student than their academic performance. I feel like I have not always felt this from teachers in the past, and I wish I had. It has such a strong impact on the student and how they feel and perform.
It’s always reassuring to see the students reacting and responsive to a video, and that their intrinsic motivation grew! I also agree that it can be hard to make chemistry engaging at times when so much of it is abstract. I remember that my favorite parts of chemistry class were always the labs when we got to see what we were doing. How do you think that a variety of teaching methods could be brought into chemistry? More experiments or labs? I also remember that my chem teacher had modeling kits that they used to demonstrate the more abstract things in lectures.
I totally forgot about extra credit (not really an option in college!), but that is a great example of reinforcement that I remember using a lot in middle and high school. I am curious what teachers think of extra credit; is it worth it or is it better to have kids do something or show up to an event because they actually want to?
I agree that it feels wrong to treat humans as machines or dogs in the context of behaviorism, but it is also true, as we talked about in class, that one of behaviorism’s strengths is that it is effective. Maybe your dilemma leads you to Bandura’s social learning theory, since it mixes cognitive and behavioral aspects.
It is always interesting to me when a class only has a couple students of one gender. In my experience as a SOAN major here at Carleton, the majority of my classes have been female-heavy (which makes sense, given that the makeup of the major is mostly women with only a couple of men), and I have even had a class where there were 23 women and 2 men. Why is this? Do certain majors/classes/teachers attract certain genders? Are there gendered expectations surrounding different subjects? In my experiences, it seems like this is the case. What makes something come across as more “masculine” or “feminine?” How do most students and teachers feel about this? You indicate that this may be a factor as to why you feel more comfortable in your French classes, and I wonder if this is the case for others, as well.
I’m so glad to see that the fourth graders had an opportunity to think about their hopes and dreams and feel seen. That kind of individuality and healthy identity development is so important. When I was in my 2/3 class at Prairie Creek yesterday, I had a moment to look around the classroom and I also noticed that they had posters on the wall with each of the students’ hopes and goals for the year. They each had their photo attached (some creative choices!) and a list of their goals. I was so glad to see that they’ve had a chance to think about their own identities. Then, during choice time yesterday, Ved was drawing a track and his favorite track Olympian on a piece of paper. Nancy told me that he loves running and that one of his goals is to become better at running this year. I was so pleased to hear that Nancy paid attention to each student’s individual goals and remembered them. By allowing students to have freedom in their school days, there can be a lot of healthy development. It seems like Mrs. McLaughlin does this during reading time, too, which is great!
Learning to write an essay is such a crucial part of high school, in my opinion, so that’s a great example of being in your ZPD! It’s always hard, even when going into college, when not everyone has had the same background. It seems like one of the biggest challenges for teachers is when they have to teach everyone, regardless of previous education background, but that is what also makes classes so rich, as you said, since everyone can bring a different perspective!
I’m glad to see that Mr. Wiebe explained the assignment in steps. Assignments like those can seem overwhelming or like you’re just supposed to figure it out on your own, so I was always glad when a teacher broke it down into steps. That way you can see your work build on itself, as well!
I’m sad to hear that there isn’t much group work in your class, since I am witnessing a lot of collaboration at Prairie Creek. Have you asked Mr. Wiebe why this is? I am curious to see what would change if there was more collaboration, and if you will see this in your time there. You also pose an interesting question of how much to hover. If you build trust and a relationship with the students over time, do you think that they will be more likely to ask you for help? Is it related to their ages? How do you offer help without interfering with their work? Every teacher seems to have a different strategy.
Thomas, this sounds like a different experience than most of us are having since you’re in the SCC rather than a more “typical” classroom. I’m very interested to hear about what this is like throughout the term and how students and teachers in the SCC view themselves in comparison to someone who never has to visit the SCC. I really appreciate that you discussed establishing trust with the students. I think this is so crucial in the beginning stages of going to the schools and building relationships. I found myself trying to go around to every group at Prairie Creek last week and ask them about their work and interests so that we can start getting to know each other. Being a presence for them will allow us to become role models at some point, hopefully, but for now, it’s a lot of effort on our parts to really interact, communicate, and be present with the students.
I’m interested in the questions that you pose about stage theory. If someone struggles to vocalize their thoughts, does that mean that they are not thinking abstractly in the formal operational stage, or just that they aren’t the best at explaining their thoughts? How connected is it all?
