Final Reflection...

Looking back at this semester as a whole it's safe to say I have never been more challenged in my college classes. It was a whole new set of challenges as I faced the transition into becoming a teacher. Labs were filled with trial and error, attempting different teaching strategies, some working and some epically failing.

I was not always happy with the result of my teaching but at the end of the day it was all about giving it your best attempt and learning from your experiences! I can say I think that I have come a far way in my teaching abilities this semester.

I believe that best way to improve more is just through continual practice. We will get a lot of that next semester as it's now time to head back to high school....only this time I'm the teacher!

Here is a video I made from this semester that outlines some of the labs and the teaching strategy of clarity.

Life Knowledge Lesson

How can students take part in civic life?

     Today I headed to West Perry High School! Interrupting an animal science class the day before Thanksgiving break gave the students a break from what they were learning and allowed them to focus on using what they learn in school to see the big picture in this game called life. I think too often high school students get stuck in a funk of focusing on their own lives or even just that of their local community. It is our job as teacher to constantly keep making those connections to the real world.

The objectives for the day are simple:
1. Define the four levels of community 
2. Identify ways to get involved in the community.

Do we see our whole community
or a small part?

     To get to know my students a little bit first we did an introduction bell work activity of just stating a favorite class and hobby. This allows me to make connections with the students and maybe remember a few names. Next we dove in and tried to define the words "my community". This was interesting as the students were really just focused on their local community and hardly wanted to share. Who knew that such an easy topic would be so difficult. After a few more activities the students lightened up and really got into sharing ideas for more participation both at the local, state, and even national level. At the end of class I gave a small quiz and also asked for feedback on the lesson to be written on the back of the quiz. We had about a 90% average on the quiz and the students said they enjoyed the lesson.

     I learned a lot from visiting my school and teaching this lesson. As anticipated the word diversity is a new one to my students and I even got a few laughs when I asked about how they view their community. As a very rural community I think learning what exactly the definition of diversity is something we can work on. I also learned that Mr. Hines doesn't really have bell work. This really got me thinking about how difficult it might be for me to step into the classroom next semester and implement some new rules. I never want to step on my teachers toes however I think that bell work is a really important classroom management tool. Last I learned that the students are great! I am really looking forward to spending time with them next semester and teaching at West Perry.











   

Micro Teaching Experience

     As part of my student teaching experience I have to teach in a high school for three days before I start my student teaching at West Perry High School next semester. I decided to challenge myself and choose a welding class because I have never taught a shop class before. A challenge I received as I taught twenty seven ninth and tenth grade boys. I was a little nervous the first day but the nerves quickly disappeared as the students were very well behaved and enjoyed the lesson. I took the students back in time for three days as we discussed the history of metal working and blacksmithing.

Day 1
     I was a little nervous the fist day as I was afraid the students wouldn't be interested in the lesson. To really catch their attention I showed a youtube video from a popular video game that is about to hit stores. I wanted to show the students that this wasn't just a thing of the past, we just have different improved equipment to get the job done. If anyone is teaching about metal working or even cutting with a torch this is a cool video to get your students excited:

     The first day went great! I did a little bit of lecture to give some background information. The students did a few short activities and I was surprised at the ease I had managing so many students. 

Day 2 

     On the second day the boys practically ran into the classroom dying to sit in the front row...I must be a good teacher! There is something to say for the difficulties of being a women and trying to teach shop. Oh well the class must continue. After the first day and talking with my cooperating teacher, we decided it would be best if I demonstrated the activity the students would be completing. We didn't get as far as expected on day one and I felt I needed to cover safety a little more on day two. 

    Before entering the shop the students had to have written in their lab notebook the three stations and the procedures for the hook project. This was to ensure that the chaiso of the shop would be somewhat organized. As a facilitator I realized this many students would be difficult to manage so I designed three stations the students would rotate through. Each station would have about eight students. The first station allowed the students to measure and cut their piece of stock for the hook project. The second station, with the torches gave students a chance to heat and create the hook using a oxy-acetlyene torch.  The students had partners so they never had to turn off the torch. The third station had students working as a group to complete a timeline from a few articles that took them through the history of metal working. 

     Demonstrating all the stations went really well! I explained the directions and then had students repeat them back to me before I did the actual demonstration. By the end I could tell they seemed a little annoyed by the amount of questions I was asking and making them repeat them back to me but in the end that will help keep things running smoothly in the shop. 

Day 3 

     Work Day! Today the students came into the shop, were given a rubric for the project and went to work! It was actually a great day and the students really enjoyed the projects! I had to push a little for the students to work on the timeline but then knew they had to have so many events to move on to another station. The students did great with the torches and cutting their piece of stock for the hook. 

     Overall, I was really pleased with how my microteaching experience went. The students were really well behaved and excited to be in the shop. They surprisingly told me this was their first experience so i'm glad I was able to start them off with a small project.