This lesson is so relevant to our current situation. We are in a situation where we are leaning towards technology-based learning and this is a challenge that we are facing nation-wide. One of the issues that I am personally facing with this is equity- not all of our students have access to the internet nor are they able to log in to our Zoom meetings. In our case, students received packets and will receive support online through Zoom meetings as well as additional resources. Today was a challenge, we had about 40% of our students successfully access our meetings. It was a testimony that our students want to learn, they are aware that this will not be graded and yet they care about their education. It was a great feeling knowing that my students are taking the time to log in, to reach out, and to ask about what they can do during this difficult time. While blended teaching can be extremely successful when implemented properly, we are in a situation where we are learning to blend our teaching while having to rely on technology.
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Project-based learning is a great tool when implemented correctly. An educator has to be fully invested to have a solid project. Successful project-based learning has students that are involved in every step of their project, has students and teaching reaching out and making a difference in their community, and opens the doors to future follow-up projects. Today's activity was a perfect example of project-based learning. It was awesome being able to see my classmate deliver their projects with such an awesome energy. In this case, by being able to incorporate standards, my peers created an informational project that was engaging, fun to create, and awesome to witness. This is a perfect example of how we do not have to run away from standards in order for our students to have fun and to enjoy the topic. While I have only attempted a full pbl project once, my first year teaching, I fully believe that it was my lack of understanding and project management that resulted in this project not being as successful as it could have been. In my classroom I do small projects that allows students to take charge of their learning, we have an objective and they are free to chose how they demonstrate knowledge.
This class was particularly sobering. Analyzing what our strengths and weaknesses are is key to growing professionally and personally. I realized my gaps mainly lie in procrastination and disorganization. Procrastination and disorganization are gaps that affect both my learning and my teaching. I noticed today in class that it is often very easy to look at our negative traits. At least that was the case with me, I very easily wrote a list of my weaknesses and things I have to work on but I needed help from my team to help me fill in the blanks. Thankfully my amazing table group was able to help me fill this out fairly quick. This tells me that we are quick to self-criticize and a lot slower to look at the good within. Having a negative view can lead to lack of self-confidence which will undoubtedly shake any new teacher's confidence.
Shadowing a student is a powerful tool that more teachers should have the benefit of experiencing. Often times we get so caught up in our own subjects and classes that we forget students have other classes that include complex information, homework, and studying. I believe some of the main goals of shadowing a students are to understand the pressures students are facing daily, to gain first hand experience on student's routines, and remember what it was like for us when we were in high school. I am hoping that by getting to know my students at a deeper level I can shape my teaching style to better serve them. For example, if I know that our students have to stay in their seats for all 92 minutes in each class then I will make a conscious decision to include break times within my class. I know that each student is a world of it's own, and by getting to know them deeper I can also determine what I can do to support students outside of my subject area. It is tough to connect with students at a deeper level but also maintain boundaries. Some students will use this to their advantage or get too comfortable to the point where it makes me uncomfortable. I think shadowing will be a fun experience that will hopefully open my eyes to a reality I haven't experienced in over a decade. I am a bit nervous in becoming a high school student again though!
Holy moly today's discussions really got me thinking. Discussing authentic relationships made me realize a few things. One of them being that we mostly know our students on a superficial level (if at all), but overall we don't really know what's going on unless they feel comfortable enough to share. Hearing from you guys also helped reinforce how powerful a simple "How are you today?" or standing by the door and welcoming students can be. Like some of you mentioned, when I haven’t been by my door or I don’t my daily check-in with students they ask where I am or if I am in a bad mood haha. When you guys mentioned that students (even the ones who don’t want to chat) notice when we don’t check in it really got me thinking. It’s not that they (students) aren’t listening or don’t care, they just don’t feel like connection yet. I really appreciate you all being honest and putting yourself out there when we had our "I wish my teacher knew" section. I currently have half an idea (working on making it a full idea) about implementing "I wish my teacher knew" in my classes. Maybe I can include it at the end of each quiz or something like that. I am not sure yet on that so if you have any suggestions let me know!
THIS CLASS DOESN'T EVEN FEEL LIKE IT'S 3 HOURS! Class session #2 was awesome, I really enjoy when we do our "Where Am I" check-in. I feel like opening up and sharing about about our personal journeys is great for making connections with each other even if we are not hanging out or bff's. It's nice to know that are not alone in when it come to our insecurities or celebrations. A quote that stuck with me from this session is "Smart is not determined by how much school we've gone through", as an educator it's important to make that realization and understand that higher education does not equal success.
In this first class I was impressed at how much work we actually completed. It was interesting to see what my peers thought when it come down to our agree/disagree arguments, I felt like I was on the fence with a lot of these issues so it was fun to hear what others had to say. I wonder how many educators have actually taken the time to consider the origins of our education system and why we do things the way that we do. I know that personally I had not even thought about that. Maybe it's time to start challenging some norms.
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