Essential Knowledge:
UNI has prepared me greatly for my student teaching; in particular the three different field experiences I participated in through the teacher education program have played a large role in making me more comfortable in a classroom and providing examples of effective teaching. In the past year, both my education classes and level three field experience have shown me how effective inquiry based learning can be and I have really taken to heart the inquiry based method of teaching. I noticed in my field experience with Jennifer Gates at Union High School in La Porte City, IA that her students made connections better when they were not just given the answers but Mrs. Gates instead acted as a facilitator and asked them questions to help them develop their own understanding. As a future teacher, I plan to strive to develop and implement similar inquiry based learning in my classroom.
Performance:
This past semester for my level three field experience, I recorded a lesson as I taught it and reviewed the recording later. This was a very eye opening exercise and definitely something I plan on keeping in mind in the future. While watching the recording, I realized a lot that I did not notice right away during the lecture. Specifically that I went a bit too quickly when introducing material and that I needed to speak up. Besides that however, once we started the class conversation and lab portions, I noticed most of the class was very focused and engaged in the activity. In the future I plan on recording lessons again periodically so I can catch things about my teaching that I may not have noticed otherwise.
If there is one thing that has opened my eyes to differentiating instruction more than anything else, it was working for the ARC of East Central Iowa this past summer. I worked at a couple different summer camp programs where we had a wide range of youth of different ages and ability. I learned over this summer how to vary my instructions or crafts to be inclusive to children who would struggle to do it the same way as everyone else. Working at the ARC assisted me in thinking more broadly in terms of physical or mental abilities of my students and how I can adapt my craft or even a classroom lesson.
Dispositions:
When I was in high school, I used to give my teachers a hard time when they would be asked this question and their answer was often the cliché, “I like to see students come to that eureka moment and to help them get there.” That being said, I see now that, that cliché is as true for me as it was for them. I get a ton of enjoyment out of helping students get to the level of understanding where the information finally clicks. Besides that, I really enjoy working with kids of different ages. I've done a lot of work with kids of different ages, ranging from being a leader at my local church’s youth group or being a camp counselor for eight to nine year olds in Naples, Italy with Camp Adventure, or the wide range of youth at the ARC. All of these experiences as well as my experiences in boy scouts have given me the opportunity to develop my leadership abilities both guiding my peers in scouts and with younger students from Camp, church and the ARC.
UNI has prepared me greatly for my student teaching; in particular the three different field experiences I participated in through the teacher education program have played a large role in making me more comfortable in a classroom and providing examples of effective teaching. In the past year, both my education classes and level three field experience have shown me how effective inquiry based learning can be and I have really taken to heart the inquiry based method of teaching. I noticed in my field experience with Jennifer Gates at Union High School in La Porte City, IA that her students made connections better when they were not just given the answers but Mrs. Gates instead acted as a facilitator and asked them questions to help them develop their own understanding. As a future teacher, I plan to strive to develop and implement similar inquiry based learning in my classroom.
Performance:
This past semester for my level three field experience, I recorded a lesson as I taught it and reviewed the recording later. This was a very eye opening exercise and definitely something I plan on keeping in mind in the future. While watching the recording, I realized a lot that I did not notice right away during the lecture. Specifically that I went a bit too quickly when introducing material and that I needed to speak up. Besides that however, once we started the class conversation and lab portions, I noticed most of the class was very focused and engaged in the activity. In the future I plan on recording lessons again periodically so I can catch things about my teaching that I may not have noticed otherwise.
If there is one thing that has opened my eyes to differentiating instruction more than anything else, it was working for the ARC of East Central Iowa this past summer. I worked at a couple different summer camp programs where we had a wide range of youth of different ages and ability. I learned over this summer how to vary my instructions or crafts to be inclusive to children who would struggle to do it the same way as everyone else. Working at the ARC assisted me in thinking more broadly in terms of physical or mental abilities of my students and how I can adapt my craft or even a classroom lesson.
Dispositions:
When I was in high school, I used to give my teachers a hard time when they would be asked this question and their answer was often the cliché, “I like to see students come to that eureka moment and to help them get there.” That being said, I see now that, that cliché is as true for me as it was for them. I get a ton of enjoyment out of helping students get to the level of understanding where the information finally clicks. Besides that, I really enjoy working with kids of different ages. I've done a lot of work with kids of different ages, ranging from being a leader at my local church’s youth group or being a camp counselor for eight to nine year olds in Naples, Italy with Camp Adventure, or the wide range of youth at the ARC. All of these experiences as well as my experiences in boy scouts have given me the opportunity to develop my leadership abilities both guiding my peers in scouts and with younger students from Camp, church and the ARC.