Sorry Geoff, but if I put your name on this post you'll just think I'm sucking up, and if I don't you'll think I don't appreciate your teaching, so I'll just tell you ahead of time that whether or not you inspire me, which you do, I won't discuss it here, but I did want to mention some of the teacher's I've had and explain what it was about that teacher that I enjoyed.
Mr. Parson - A PE teacher in my middle school. There are some teacher's who inspire us because they like us and though they may have a rough attitude you still know they think highly of you. Mr. Parson was one of these. His attitude was Be hard and stern, yet energetically encouraging. One large part of why I liked him was because I was one of the more athletic kids my age so I received a lot of compliments and praise from that man.
Mrs. Rothrock - a freshman math teacher in my high school. She was crazy! but it was a good crazy. She had an excitement about her and was able to teach extremely well. She remembered her students long after they left the halls of her school and greeted her students that would return to visit her with a smile that let you know that you have been missed.
Mr. Kirkwood - A computer science teacher in my high school who focused on preparing his students for college and the work force. He sought ways to improve his program as well as increase the number of minorities in his class, and by minorities I don't only mean racially, but he sought to increase the number of girls in his class as much as Mexicans. He didn't favor anyone, he was stern and was so into teaching that 1/2 way through every lesson he'd be sweating. He had an excitement about him that made you want to learn what he was teaching. He encouraged his students to take tests to help them skip certain classes in college, as well as introduce students to internships for various State Departments.
Mr. Shumway (he doesn't need to know I wrote this about him) - Electronics teacher in the TEE Program @ BYU. He reminds me of a more likable Mr. Kirkwood. Shumway's goal is for his students to succeed. He has a plan and will do everything he can to help those students meet his expectations. He's not afraid to hold things back to help further understanding, and he gets excited when he sees people go beyond the expected work. Shumway is a lot of the type of teacher I want to be because he loves what he does. When I teach people things I love the "Aha" moments where the figure something out, do it, and find it to be fun and exciting. Shumway is a lot like that.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
What I learned from teaching
I use to work at a cubscout camp, so teaching today was like a blast from the past, the difference being that these kids were roughly a year older than the kids from cub scout camp, there were no parents to help the kids out, and we had to create our own lessons as oppose to having a lesson given to you and being told to do it. I enjoyed teaching today, though I wish I could have taught the ice cream portion with groups of 10 as oppose to the group of 31. Getting the kids to shake up a storm is really difficult in such a large group, and maybe that's true in teaching overall. Perhaps that's the real reason deacons quorums are suppose to be no larger than 12, because any larger and they become unmanageable. I enjoyed the group of 10 because it was much easier to maintain control and keep students on task. I can see why so many teachers fight against the growing number of students per classroom.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Break it Down
How do we as teachers who have studied something for several years and have become, or are working towards becoming, experts in particular subjects, stop ourselves from over teaching something that seems so simple to us, or prevent ourselves from going on to tangents that are beyond what the students are ready for?
The above question is one that until recently I felt I was great at doing. Relating to the current level of understanding of an individual to help them grow from their current state without referencing material too far ahead and without teaching things they are already well acquainted with. As a CS142 TA I quickly realize I'm not as good at it as I thought. Though I do have to also admit I'm better at that than many of the other TA's or even professors (who are 20+ year professionals in their field, speaking specifically about many of my CS professors). This is something I recognize now I need to work more on.
I attempted to teach a few people about how to use an exported movie clip in Java and make it appear on the screen without having previously been on the stage. I think with a bit of a better intro into what I was doing I'd have done a better job, but I am pretty sure the person I was helping was lost beyond retrieval and it was my fault as the tutor than hers as the learner.
Similarly I attempted to teach someone about nodes and classes and retrieving info from one class to another and all sorts of complicated programming stuff that has become for me a type of second language that I can speak now as fluently as English (to carry on with Geoff's language analogy). After losing this person completely I finally went up on the board and rather than drawing a picture myself I had the individual draw what they thought was happening and then I drew what was actually happening and they began to understand what I'd attempted to teach. This is my goal, to be better at teaching a person at the level which they are at.
The above question is one that until recently I felt I was great at doing. Relating to the current level of understanding of an individual to help them grow from their current state without referencing material too far ahead and without teaching things they are already well acquainted with. As a CS142 TA I quickly realize I'm not as good at it as I thought. Though I do have to also admit I'm better at that than many of the other TA's or even professors (who are 20+ year professionals in their field, speaking specifically about many of my CS professors). This is something I recognize now I need to work more on.
I attempted to teach a few people about how to use an exported movie clip in Java and make it appear on the screen without having previously been on the stage. I think with a bit of a better intro into what I was doing I'd have done a better job, but I am pretty sure the person I was helping was lost beyond retrieval and it was my fault as the tutor than hers as the learner.
Similarly I attempted to teach someone about nodes and classes and retrieving info from one class to another and all sorts of complicated programming stuff that has become for me a type of second language that I can speak now as fluently as English (to carry on with Geoff's language analogy). After losing this person completely I finally went up on the board and rather than drawing a picture myself I had the individual draw what they thought was happening and then I drew what was actually happening and they began to understand what I'd attempted to teach. This is my goal, to be better at teaching a person at the level which they are at.
Visual Examples
In high school I had a computer science teacher who was all about Drawing pictures. So much in fact that I have to draw myself a picture for every computer program I write. I didn't realize how important of a tool that was, and how much of a blessing it is until I began TAing for the CS142 and CS235 class. Students in these classes do not know how to draw a visual representation of their programs, and because of that they find themselves stuck frequently, questioning why their code won't work, but unable to figure it out. When they ask me for help I look @ their code and draw a picture of what is happening, and right as I begin to approach their issue they stop me and tell me they found the problem. Why? Because my drawing helped their brain to acknowledge the problem before I even got there.
I brought that up while finishing up the "Classroom Instruction that Works" book I came across the chapters that talk about note taking and non-linguistic representations. Drawing a picture for understanding is the best non-linguistic representation one can make. Drawing pictures plants an image in our minds that we can reference. In programing lots of things are happening in quick succession. Code is jumping from function to function, loop to loop, and class to class. Without a visual representation of what you're trying to do, you'll probably crash and burn.
I brought that up while finishing up the "Classroom Instruction that Works" book I came across the chapters that talk about note taking and non-linguistic representations. Drawing a picture for understanding is the best non-linguistic representation one can make. Drawing pictures plants an image in our minds that we can reference. In programing lots of things are happening in quick succession. Code is jumping from function to function, loop to loop, and class to class. Without a visual representation of what you're trying to do, you'll probably crash and burn.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Learning From Your Mistakes
I had a great opportunity to teach this week. It was a good learning experience. I've had teaching experiences in the past, but usually the topic is broad. This time I was given 20 minutes to create a lesson plan based on recognizing that new technologies introduce new words, icons, images, acronyms, and sounds. It was a long time to talk about such a simple topic. That's where I had the hardest time. How do I make this lesson last 20 minutes? I went to school scared to teach because the lesson plan I originally made involved a fun activity that I realized had nothing to do with my topic and more to do with Amy's topic, and try as I did, I could figure out how to twist the topic enough to involve the activity still, so I scrapped the activity 12 hours before the lesson and had an incredibly difficult time preparing the lesson from there on. minutes before I was to teach I threw a few more ideas on to a piece of paper and did the best I could. It went much better than I anticipated but not as good as I'd have liked.
Feedback:
1. Stick to a central purpose/topic. I introduced a few things that had some relevance, but distracted from the central purpose.
2. use the room. It was pointed out that I used the computer kind of like a crutch, and it's true. Though that wasn't my intent, I definitely was close to my notes because I wasn't adequately prepared.
3. "We Got It". Later that day someone in the class asked me if I wanted a little more advice, I welcomed it and she said something I said to myself on my mission "We Got It", or in other words, move on. I have a tendency to hit a point several times and repeat my self over and over again. With this lesson it was more because I didn't know what to do with it, but still, in my normal teaching situations I tend to say something several times... I don't really even know why, I just do. Kind of like umm's, people often don't even know they're doing it.
Feedback:
1. Stick to a central purpose/topic. I introduced a few things that had some relevance, but distracted from the central purpose.
2. use the room. It was pointed out that I used the computer kind of like a crutch, and it's true. Though that wasn't my intent, I definitely was close to my notes because I wasn't adequately prepared.
3. "We Got It". Later that day someone in the class asked me if I wanted a little more advice, I welcomed it and she said something I said to myself on my mission "We Got It", or in other words, move on. I have a tendency to hit a point several times and repeat my self over and over again. With this lesson it was more because I didn't know what to do with it, but still, in my normal teaching situations I tend to say something several times... I don't really even know why, I just do. Kind of like umm's, people often don't even know they're doing it.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
3 fold mission of a teacher - insite and venting on teaching
I think teachers have a 3 fold mission:
1 - To Teach
2 - To Inspire/encourage
3 - To Prepare
These hit me really hard the other day because I've reflected on the teachers I learned a lot from and the teachers I didn't learn anything from and these 3 things are what really sets them apart.
To Teach - Specifically the things the students expect from the class. There is nothing I hate more in school than to sign up for a class and then find out the class isn't following the course requirements. Happened to me in a Book of Mormon class. When you sign up for a Book of Mormon class you expect to spend a lot of time studying the Book of Mormon. We read maybe 30 verses from it the entire semester. The remaining time we read from the old testament and the doctrine and covenants. If a teacher is not going to teach what the course info says he will teach than the teacher either needs to change the course info or stop teaching the subject. The teaching methodology isn't as important to me as teaching what you say you'll teach, because if a student is not learning what he/she felt they signed up to learn, the student will stop paying attention to the class. I do however believe that the teacher should enjoy what they are teaching. There are a lot better paying jobs out there and if a teacher doesn't enjoy what they're doing, that teacher needs to do something else for the benefit of everyone.
To Inspire/Motivate: The best teachers I've seen have been those who made their students want to learn and know more. There's usually some anticipation "I can't wait for friday's class when we learn about ...". The teacher may not be best friends with the students, but he/she should know all the students by name and be interested in the progress of the students. When a teacher is excited about my progress I'm more excited about going further in my studies. When a teacher encourages me to do some difficult assignment I'm more likely to get it done on time and with a better outcome. When a student likes a teacher the student yearns for praise, for recognition, not to boast or brag, but because a pat on the back physically, mentally, and with real excitement is better than a candy bar any day... though candy bars are good too.
To Prepare: I feel a purpose of teachers are to prepare students for what is coming next. If a first grade teacher is not preparing students for the second grade I don't feel he/she is doing their job. Elementary school teachers should prepare students for middle school, middle school for high school, high school for college and college for the work force. But there is more to it in high school than simply preparing students for college. I feel high school is where students really need to get an idea of the possibilities that are out there. I think schools need to do better at preparing high school students to select a major by introducing them to more subjects. I've never been a fan of the rediculously large number of required courses that high schools require because of those classes most do not prepare the students for college. I think the individual subjects are important, but not so important that a student should have 4 years of history, 4 years of english/writing, and 4 years of science. I would put math up there, but I do feel that math is so widely used in college that a student should have gone through everything needed before pre-calculus before they graduate. But even that is 3 years for most. In college you are required to take a certain number of general credits, and I'm fine with that, in fact I think it's wonderful, but it's only 1/3 of your overall credits. In high school that percentage is more like 3/4ths of your classes are general required classes, most of which you'll forget before the next semester starts. If a high school's purpose is to prepare students for college, where 2/3rds of your classes are geared towards a specific goal (teaching, programming, electrical engineering) and the courses specific to that purpose (certain math and writing skills), why don't we do more of that in high schools? Is it so incredibly important that a student memorize all the rivers, counties, mountain ranges, and lakes in Oregon? Are students ever going to be hired as an electrician because they were able to memorize the names of every signer of the Constitution and identify from which state the representative came from? I believe we do need to make our students well rounded, and I don't think we should ignore these classes all together, but I do think we should do more college preparation, and I don't feel that the number of history and geography courses most high schools require does that.Of the 2 history courses I took at BYU, none of the information touched upon previously learned ideas in school. Most of the names were not taught in high school. If the courses are not building upon that which was already learned, then was the previously learned information important enough for college prep?
1 - To Teach
2 - To Inspire/encourage
3 - To Prepare
These hit me really hard the other day because I've reflected on the teachers I learned a lot from and the teachers I didn't learn anything from and these 3 things are what really sets them apart.
To Teach - Specifically the things the students expect from the class. There is nothing I hate more in school than to sign up for a class and then find out the class isn't following the course requirements. Happened to me in a Book of Mormon class. When you sign up for a Book of Mormon class you expect to spend a lot of time studying the Book of Mormon. We read maybe 30 verses from it the entire semester. The remaining time we read from the old testament and the doctrine and covenants. If a teacher is not going to teach what the course info says he will teach than the teacher either needs to change the course info or stop teaching the subject. The teaching methodology isn't as important to me as teaching what you say you'll teach, because if a student is not learning what he/she felt they signed up to learn, the student will stop paying attention to the class. I do however believe that the teacher should enjoy what they are teaching. There are a lot better paying jobs out there and if a teacher doesn't enjoy what they're doing, that teacher needs to do something else for the benefit of everyone.
To Inspire/Motivate: The best teachers I've seen have been those who made their students want to learn and know more. There's usually some anticipation "I can't wait for friday's class when we learn about ...". The teacher may not be best friends with the students, but he/she should know all the students by name and be interested in the progress of the students. When a teacher is excited about my progress I'm more excited about going further in my studies. When a teacher encourages me to do some difficult assignment I'm more likely to get it done on time and with a better outcome. When a student likes a teacher the student yearns for praise, for recognition, not to boast or brag, but because a pat on the back physically, mentally, and with real excitement is better than a candy bar any day... though candy bars are good too.
To Prepare: I feel a purpose of teachers are to prepare students for what is coming next. If a first grade teacher is not preparing students for the second grade I don't feel he/she is doing their job. Elementary school teachers should prepare students for middle school, middle school for high school, high school for college and college for the work force. But there is more to it in high school than simply preparing students for college. I feel high school is where students really need to get an idea of the possibilities that are out there. I think schools need to do better at preparing high school students to select a major by introducing them to more subjects. I've never been a fan of the rediculously large number of required courses that high schools require because of those classes most do not prepare the students for college. I think the individual subjects are important, but not so important that a student should have 4 years of history, 4 years of english/writing, and 4 years of science. I would put math up there, but I do feel that math is so widely used in college that a student should have gone through everything needed before pre-calculus before they graduate. But even that is 3 years for most. In college you are required to take a certain number of general credits, and I'm fine with that, in fact I think it's wonderful, but it's only 1/3 of your overall credits. In high school that percentage is more like 3/4ths of your classes are general required classes, most of which you'll forget before the next semester starts. If a high school's purpose is to prepare students for college, where 2/3rds of your classes are geared towards a specific goal (teaching, programming, electrical engineering) and the courses specific to that purpose (certain math and writing skills), why don't we do more of that in high schools? Is it so incredibly important that a student memorize all the rivers, counties, mountain ranges, and lakes in Oregon? Are students ever going to be hired as an electrician because they were able to memorize the names of every signer of the Constitution and identify from which state the representative came from? I believe we do need to make our students well rounded, and I don't think we should ignore these classes all together, but I do think we should do more college preparation, and I don't feel that the number of history and geography courses most high schools require does that.Of the 2 history courses I took at BYU, none of the information touched upon previously learned ideas in school. Most of the names were not taught in high school. If the courses are not building upon that which was already learned, then was the previously learned information important enough for college prep?
Friday, October 15, 2010
Research Idea
So I've been contemplating ideas for the ORCA research application that's due this next week. I'm still wanting to do it, but I think I've changed my direction a little bit.
Oregon has a technology teacher of the year award and about 7 years ago my computer science teacher - who is retiring this year - won the award. I always felt he was an amazing teacher and I would like to see what qualities are common amongst technology teachers who become noticed and awarded such recognitions through the state.
My Idea for the orca grant is to go back to Oregon and do a few hours of job shaddowing with 5 or 6 of the winners of this Technology Teacher of the Year award. I'd like to interview them and find out how they bring students into their programs, how much extra work they do to help the program succeed, and so forth.
Oregon has a technology teacher of the year award and about 7 years ago my computer science teacher - who is retiring this year - won the award. I always felt he was an amazing teacher and I would like to see what qualities are common amongst technology teachers who become noticed and awarded such recognitions through the state.
My Idea for the orca grant is to go back to Oregon and do a few hours of job shaddowing with 5 or 6 of the winners of this Technology Teacher of the Year award. I'd like to interview them and find out how they bring students into their programs, how much extra work they do to help the program succeed, and so forth.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
That's Who I'd Be
A sweet musical all should listen to is Shrek the Musical. It's full of awesome music, much different from the "Disney on ice" type of things you'd picture from the title given. There is a song sung by Shrek shortly after princess Fiona is saved entitled "That's who I'd be". It's an inspiring song where Shrek expresses his desire to be something other than an Ogre. The lyrics are at the end of this entry if any are interested in reading them. Anyways, what does this have to do with teaching? Well keep reading and I'll connect the two.
Today I went and visited Mr. John Moss, a video broadcasting and journalism teacher at Wasatch High School in Heber City. Home of the Wasps (their school pride is displayed so much and mentioned so many times I'm rather surprised there wasn't an active Wasps Nest in the main corridor). Mr. Moss' Video Broadcasting classroom was quite amazing. I honestly expected to see a simple green screen, a camera or two, a desk, and a couple computers for editing videos, because that's about all my school had. I was rather surprised to find that it was as close to a real news production studio as you can get without being NBC. What was most inspiring to me was the story of his program from when he started to where it is now. When he started he had basically what i mentioned my high school as having, but there was a goal, to be on an equal standing as Kearrn High School's news broadcasting studio. I haven't seen that studio, but I feel safe to say they are there, and possibly beyond. Mr. Moss realized that not all teaching is about throwing information and making students memorize it. His purpose was to teach by jumping into the real thing, or as close to it as you can get. His idea of teaching is to take the desired ending product and prepare the students for it by practicing, not reciting broadcasting history or having students write papers on various news reporters.
As a teacher I will probably be placed in a classroom that is not my ideal classroom. It will probably not have all the equipment I need, it will probably lack software, it will probably even lack a well designed program by the previous teacher, but that doesn't mean I have to let it stay that way. Like Shrek, I have a dream, but my dream reaches far beyond myself, but to my program. My dream is to build. To look into the lives of those I'll teach and to not be content with letting the world progress and letting my program stay the same. I want my program to be like Mr. Moss', ever growing, ever improving. Preparing students for careers and colleges, introducing students to real businesses that do the things I teach about, and giving students assignments and projects that provide real application. That's who I'd be. Similar to how Shrek couldn't change the fact that he is an ogre, there are things about me that I can't change, but like Shrek, Those things don't define my abilities or the type of person I can be or do. With time I hope to be able to create a technology program in my high school that other schools will envy.
"That's Who I'd Be" - From Shrek The Musical
I guess I’d be a hero, With sword and armor clashing
Looking semi dashing, A shield within my grip
Or else I’d be a Viking, and live a life of daring
While smelling like a herring, upon a Viking ship.
I’d sail away, I’d see the world, I’d reach the farthest reaches
I’d feel the wind, I’d taste the salt and sea.
And maybe storm some beaches.
That’s who I’d be. That’s who I’d be.
Or I would be a poet, and write a different story,
One that tells of glory, and wipes away the lies
And to the skies I’d throw it, the stars would do the telling
The moon would help with spelling, and night would dot the ‘I’s
I’d write my verse, Recite my joke, it’d fit in perfect timing.
I’d share my heart, confess the things I learn, and do it all while rhyming.
But we all learn. But we all learn.
An Ogre always hides, an Ogre's fate is known
An Ogre always stays in the dark and all alone
So yes I’d be a hero and if my wish was granted
Life would be enchanted, or so the stories say.
Of course I’d be a hero, and I would scale a tower
And save a hot-house flower, and carry her away
But standing guard there’d be a beast, I’d somehow over whelm it,
I’d get the girl, I’d take my breath, and I’d remove my helmet.
We’d stand and stare, we’d speak of love, we’d feel the stars ascending
We’d share a kiss, I’d find my destiny
I’d have a hero’s ending, a perfect happy ending.
That’s how it would be
A big bright beautiful world
But not for me.
[Fiona]
An ogre always hides. An ogres fate is know. An ogre always stays
[Donkey]
In the dark and all alone
[Fiona]
All Alone
(All at the same time)
[Shrek]
So yes i'd be a hero, and if my wish was granted my life would be enchanted or so the stories say.
Of course I'd be a hero and I would scale a tower to save a
haukhouse flower and carry her away!
[Fiona]
There are rules and there are strictures. I belive the storie books i read by candle light
[Donkey]
Don't let me go, Don't let me go, Don't let me go
[All]
A perfect happy ending, thats how.... it.. should be!
Today I went and visited Mr. John Moss, a video broadcasting and journalism teacher at Wasatch High School in Heber City. Home of the Wasps (their school pride is displayed so much and mentioned so many times I'm rather surprised there wasn't an active Wasps Nest in the main corridor). Mr. Moss' Video Broadcasting classroom was quite amazing. I honestly expected to see a simple green screen, a camera or two, a desk, and a couple computers for editing videos, because that's about all my school had. I was rather surprised to find that it was as close to a real news production studio as you can get without being NBC. What was most inspiring to me was the story of his program from when he started to where it is now. When he started he had basically what i mentioned my high school as having, but there was a goal, to be on an equal standing as Kearrn High School's news broadcasting studio. I haven't seen that studio, but I feel safe to say they are there, and possibly beyond. Mr. Moss realized that not all teaching is about throwing information and making students memorize it. His purpose was to teach by jumping into the real thing, or as close to it as you can get. His idea of teaching is to take the desired ending product and prepare the students for it by practicing, not reciting broadcasting history or having students write papers on various news reporters.
As a teacher I will probably be placed in a classroom that is not my ideal classroom. It will probably not have all the equipment I need, it will probably lack software, it will probably even lack a well designed program by the previous teacher, but that doesn't mean I have to let it stay that way. Like Shrek, I have a dream, but my dream reaches far beyond myself, but to my program. My dream is to build. To look into the lives of those I'll teach and to not be content with letting the world progress and letting my program stay the same. I want my program to be like Mr. Moss', ever growing, ever improving. Preparing students for careers and colleges, introducing students to real businesses that do the things I teach about, and giving students assignments and projects that provide real application. That's who I'd be. Similar to how Shrek couldn't change the fact that he is an ogre, there are things about me that I can't change, but like Shrek, Those things don't define my abilities or the type of person I can be or do. With time I hope to be able to create a technology program in my high school that other schools will envy.
"That's Who I'd Be" - From Shrek The Musical
I guess I’d be a hero, With sword and armor clashing
Looking semi dashing, A shield within my grip
Or else I’d be a Viking, and live a life of daring
While smelling like a herring, upon a Viking ship.
I’d sail away, I’d see the world, I’d reach the farthest reaches
I’d feel the wind, I’d taste the salt and sea.
And maybe storm some beaches.
That’s who I’d be. That’s who I’d be.
Or I would be a poet, and write a different story,
One that tells of glory, and wipes away the lies
And to the skies I’d throw it, the stars would do the telling
The moon would help with spelling, and night would dot the ‘I’s
I’d write my verse, Recite my joke, it’d fit in perfect timing.
I’d share my heart, confess the things I learn, and do it all while rhyming.
But we all learn. But we all learn.
An Ogre always hides, an Ogre's fate is known
An Ogre always stays in the dark and all alone
So yes I’d be a hero and if my wish was granted
Life would be enchanted, or so the stories say.
Of course I’d be a hero, and I would scale a tower
And save a hot-house flower, and carry her away
But standing guard there’d be a beast, I’d somehow over whelm it,
I’d get the girl, I’d take my breath, and I’d remove my helmet.
We’d stand and stare, we’d speak of love, we’d feel the stars ascending
We’d share a kiss, I’d find my destiny
I’d have a hero’s ending, a perfect happy ending.
That’s how it would be
A big bright beautiful world
But not for me.
[Fiona]
An ogre always hides. An ogres fate is know. An ogre always stays
[Donkey]
In the dark and all alone
[Fiona]
All Alone
(All at the same time)
[Shrek]
So yes i'd be a hero, and if my wish was granted my life would be enchanted or so the stories say.
Of course I'd be a hero and I would scale a tower to save a
haukhouse flower and carry her away!
[Fiona]
There are rules and there are strictures. I belive the storie books i read by candle light
[Donkey]
Don't let me go, Don't let me go, Don't let me go
[All]
A perfect happy ending, thats how.... it.. should be!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Carpe Diem
Carpe Diem - a phrase that is so inspiring... despite its overuse. The words Carpe Diem, as most know, means Seize the Day. I first learned of the word from that wonderfully inspiring disney musical 'Newsies'. The music, growing up, brought the significance of the words to life for me. I felt that it meant to take the opportunity to not let others decide your fate. As I became older the words began to take on new meaning and actually reflect the real meaning - to not let opportunities pass you by and to get the most out of everything.
I once again came upon the words while reading "Learning & Teaching for Exponential Growth - a Three Person Problem", by Susan Peterson Gong. After seeing the words again I felt like looking the phrase up on Wikipedia. I know Wikipedia isn't really the source of all knowledge, but it's a good source for basic info and collaborated information. The information was quite interesting. Carpe Diem doesn't actually mean seize the day, because carpe literally means "to pick, pluck, pluck off, cull, crop, gather". But who cares what the literal translation means? We twist meaning all the time to fit our needs ("That girl is so hot" - isn't referring to temperature of the body). Jumping back onto subject, Carpe Diem comes from the Latin Horace: "While we speak, envious time will have already fled. Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future". As overused as I may feel Carpe Diem is, I fully believe it's a motto every teacher should adopt. One of the things I felt seeing the difference between high school and college is that high school teachers don't seize the day like college professors do... well, in both cases this observation is not all inclusive, but I felt in high school the majority of my teachers taught to throw information out there, not to help students to seize the day and grow. When information is just thrown out there for anyone to grab it, only select students will. As we teachers strive to not just upchuck information, but to increase the knowledge and understanding of each individual student (as opposed to the students as a class), we will see our society become unlike any other.
I once again came upon the words while reading "Learning & Teaching for Exponential Growth - a Three Person Problem", by Susan Peterson Gong. After seeing the words again I felt like looking the phrase up on Wikipedia. I know Wikipedia isn't really the source of all knowledge, but it's a good source for basic info and collaborated information. The information was quite interesting. Carpe Diem doesn't actually mean seize the day, because carpe literally means "to pick, pluck, pluck off, cull, crop, gather". But who cares what the literal translation means? We twist meaning all the time to fit our needs ("That girl is so hot" - isn't referring to temperature of the body). Jumping back onto subject, Carpe Diem comes from the Latin Horace: "While we speak, envious time will have already fled. Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future". As overused as I may feel Carpe Diem is, I fully believe it's a motto every teacher should adopt. One of the things I felt seeing the difference between high school and college is that high school teachers don't seize the day like college professors do... well, in both cases this observation is not all inclusive, but I felt in high school the majority of my teachers taught to throw information out there, not to help students to seize the day and grow. When information is just thrown out there for anyone to grab it, only select students will. As we teachers strive to not just upchuck information, but to increase the knowledge and understanding of each individual student (as opposed to the students as a class), we will see our society become unlike any other.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Middle School
I've never really wanted to teach middle school. I've never decided I wouldn't teach it, but I've just never really had an inkling towards it. Why? Because the attention span mixed with the maturity level is not something I think I'd work with very well. Not to say that I couldn't work with it, I'm sure I'd make a great middle school teacher, I just wouldn't pick it over high school (without really good reasons).
I had an awesome experience today to go to a middle school and watch a former BYU student - Jay Anderson - teach technology related stuff to middle school students. I was quite impressed with his command for attention, while seeming like the friendly teacher everyone wants to get to know. I felt he had an organized classroom. I noticed though that the amount of time aloted to him to teach seemed too much for the attention span of the middle school kids. My observation was that while demonstrating to the students how to cut sections from cardboard for a project they were to duplicate, he only had the attention of all the kids for the first five minutes. After that the kids in the back of the onlookers began goofing off, especially those behind the teacher. I don't think 1 1/2 hour blocks are appropriate for such an age, but maybe I'm wrong. I'd like to say that this experience changed my outlook on teaching middle school, but I don't think it did much. I recognized that it's not as bad as I like to think it is, but I still don't think it's for me.
Funny I say that though because I know high schoolers are not much older, but I do feel that the percentage of immature students drops significantly, as well as the amount of immaturity. Especially after the students finish their freshman year.
I did think Jay Anderson did a great job though.
I had an awesome experience today to go to a middle school and watch a former BYU student - Jay Anderson - teach technology related stuff to middle school students. I was quite impressed with his command for attention, while seeming like the friendly teacher everyone wants to get to know. I felt he had an organized classroom. I noticed though that the amount of time aloted to him to teach seemed too much for the attention span of the middle school kids. My observation was that while demonstrating to the students how to cut sections from cardboard for a project they were to duplicate, he only had the attention of all the kids for the first five minutes. After that the kids in the back of the onlookers began goofing off, especially those behind the teacher. I don't think 1 1/2 hour blocks are appropriate for such an age, but maybe I'm wrong. I'd like to say that this experience changed my outlook on teaching middle school, but I don't think it did much. I recognized that it's not as bad as I like to think it is, but I still don't think it's for me.
Funny I say that though because I know high schoolers are not much older, but I do feel that the percentage of immature students drops significantly, as well as the amount of immaturity. Especially after the students finish their freshman year.
I did think Jay Anderson did a great job though.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
TEE Reflection 2 - Oh how little I know...
When a mother bird fly's to her young, having received a fresh supply of grub, she bends down opens her mouth, and allows the young to eat what she regurgitates up. The young, not even knowing what they're receiving open wide and gobble it up knowing that it'll keep them alive. Through a process known as digestion the young allow the parts needed to filter into their body and become one with them while the rest is dropped on some poor soul's toupee.
I feel often times we view teaching as a mother bird to her young. Teachers go ahead of us and gain knowledge. They then come back and regurgitate that learning to all who will receive it. Some prefer to starve, some take it because they must, while others leap at the opportunity. Those who are the receivers of knowledge don't really understand what is being given, but know that it should serve a purpose. Once the information is in it sits and is cataloged by the brain. Some people are able to retain a good deal of what was taught. They usually are the ones most interested or have a good memory retention. Others like me catalog the things most important and interesting into one area for retrieval, and catalog the rest into a part of the brain that is meant to retain the information, but has a flaw... what is put in usually seeps through cracks in the cabinet or decay over a short span of time. Sadly much of what is taught does leak out.
This week I've come to realize that there is more to teaching than this method of regurgitating and filing. There are multiple teaching methods. As teachers we often times focus on a small few, but we really should broaden our horizons. There are many ways of learning, and not every student is trained to use every method, therefore we should not assume our teaching has to be a specific way. The three main categories of teaching methods are Behaviorism, Constructivism, and Cognitivism. Respectively they are to teach with a focus on rewards and punishments, teach using knowledge previously gained, and teach using observations, hypothesis', and theory (or at least that is what I understand them to be). Not only are there different ways to teach, but there are many people who have performed tests and theorized about what teaching ways are the best, and though there isn't a single best way, there sure are some good arguments out there.
Some individuals who have helped expand the concepts of teaching methods are Elliot Eisner who recognized that a problem could have more than one solution, Benjamin Bloom who taught that teaching is a process and introduced Blooms taxonomy, Paulo Freire who preached that students were not empty vessels, Bandura who showed how influential the actions and personality of a teacher is on the students, and Skinner who believed that people have a fear of failure and that people don't give enough direction. On a side not, Skinner also believed in hands-off parenting and created a skinner box: a box that was lined with paper @ the bottom connected to a roller. He'd put his baby in the box and let the baby do its thing on its own in there. Once the baby "relieved itself" in the box Skinner would roll the paper so that the waste would come out and a fresh bit of paper would be rolled back into place. Not my idea of good parenting but to each his own.
TEE Reflection 1 - My Teaching Beliefs
I am a believer in teaching by visual examples. One demonstration of visual learning that we did in class was the Eskimo flying trampoline. I felt one of the lessons from that example was that there are many methods for teaching, and when we become more creative our teaching methods can improve. We need to be innovative teachers.
I believe that the best teachers are those that care. The book we have been reading focused a couple of pages on making sure you’re not a friend to your students. I agree to some extent. I believe the relationship between a teacher and a student should not be “buddy buddy”, but I also believe that a person retains the most knowledge when they like the person who is trying to do the teaching. A student likes a teacher the most when there is a belief that the teacher cares about the student’s progress and success.
Teachers have the potential to be one of the most influential people in a person’s life. As such, a teacher should motivate students to do things that will promote happiness in a student’s future, including but not limited to the encouragement of continued education, making wise decisions while young, working hard, and becoming involved with extra-curricular activities that will promote healthy living (sports), leadership, socialization (clubs), and future careers.
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