Reflection 12

The End is Near.....


So the end of this class has come. Just a final and we are done with 276. This last week of class my group had the opportunity to go teach the sixth grade class.

We taught them about Innovation and how they can improve anything as long as they are willing to go outside the box and go through the steps. We first had them think of things that they can invent. At first they couldn't think of anything and there was silence in the room. But then we changed the question and asked what is something they know of that could be improved. After they brainstormed things like flavored envelopes and things like that we asked them to think of things in their school and we gave each group a camera and had them go around and take pictures of the things in their school. I thought it would take too long for them to find 3 things to improve. They surprised me and had found things in less than the time we gave them. WE then had them brainstorm how to improve those things. These kids were really impressive and smart. It is amazing how much they know and how much you can see which kids take on which role with just being with them for an hour.

After teaching and spending time with these kids, I have realized that after teaching you grow to appreciate them and want them to succeed. I think that teaching is definitely a trade off career. We don't get paid as much as other degree earning careers but we have the opportunity to teach and inspire everyday. I think after teaching this semester and interacting with different types of people I have found that making less doesn't bother me as much. I feel lucky to be apart of this major and have the opportunity to do something that I love everyday!

Reflection 11

Well this last week we have just been planning for teaching the sixth graders and getting that all ready to go. But I also went over the final exam for this class. WOW!!! There is a lot of stuff on there that I didn't know. But looking over the books I have already read this semester it made me think about how if students are just given books to read then they don't really get as much out of the book unless they are given things to look for. I know in college we must try to get all we can out of things. But now I understand why in High school we were given worksheets that go along with the readings. It helps you recall information at that moment and not have to recall at a later time where it would be longer since reading it. So now experiencing how hard it has been to study for this final I will incorporate things to help my students know the information better. And it is true I could have filled out the final exam as I went along but I guess since it is called the final exam it always feels like it is so far away and it will never come. Another lesson learned.

Reflection 10

Teaching Elementary


This past week we were put into groups to form a lesson plan that we will use to teach a sixth grade class here in Provo. We have to teach something that goes along with one of the standards used by the district for 6th graders. At first I thought it would be easy to decide on something because we all seemed to be agreeing on the same ideas. Then after we talked about one idea for a while and seemed to be on track for picking the particular area to focus on, then the criticism and comments started. It was frustrating because some people didn't think that the idea was easy enough for 6th graders and that they wouldn't want to learn it. We sat and argues for a good hour on what we should do. Finally, Geoff came in and gave us an idea and I think most of us were sick of just sitting there going back and forth that we just took the idea and ran with it. So now we are going to teach about innovation and the steps it takes to fix a problem.

After all this back and forth stuff with wondering if the students will want to learn it or not, I have decided that you can teach anyone anything as long as we make it interesting. When I was younger, I would have never asked to learn anything about math or science because that did not interest me at all but I have teachers who made it interesting for me and so when they were teaching it I wasn't thinking I don't want to learn this. I did because they made it that way. I think that as teachers, not every student is going to want to learn everything we teach but that we have to try to get everyone involved in our lesson. That is a big challenge for teachers and I believe if we put forth effort and learn from our mistakes then we will be able to do that.

Reflection 9

This Week......


So we have been assigned to read the last text book for this class. This book have been hard for me to read for the last week. At first it was hard for me to keep all the researches straight and who did what and who found what. But as I kept reading I really liked how the book emphasized how important the teachers are and not just the school. But the teachers can make a difference.

Another thing that stuck out to me was other factors outside the school and the teacher that can affect the students before they even step into the classroom. Such as family life, social economic status and living environment. As I think about my own childhood, I feel very grateful for the family that I was raised in. For 7 years of my young life I was raised in a single parent home where my mom worked two jobs. But I never felt like we were disadvantaged. I am one of the lucky ones who had a parent who encouraged us to do our best even though her situation was hard at the time. She wanted us to have a better life and pushed us to do so. But I know that many kids who could be in my situation or other ones that could be worse don't have that support from their parents or aren't encouraged to do their best.

As a teacher, I will have to recognize that I need to be able to teach and encourage every student no matter what background they may come from. And understand that everyone is different and so their situation. I learn each week that teaching is so much more than just standing up in front of a class and relaying information. It is helping these kids become better and to help them reach their potential, even those who are disadvantaged and don't have support from home.

Reflection 8

Well this week i have been able to watch others as they Teach their STLs. I find it very interesting and I learn a lot about different ways of teaching and how my teaching style is different of similar to others. One thing that was interesting for me was the difference between people who did not do activities to those who did. I think it is is important to have a formal teaching time where information is given in the traditional way where the teacher talks and the students participate either by answering questions or taking notes. But I also believe it is very important to do some sort of activity to bring the information to life.

Like today when Greg was teaching and talking about the pre manufactured homes. I wasn't that interested at first but when we did the activity it made me excited and the activity had a purpose to show how different materials matter when building certain things and it its more efficient to have all the pieces ready to go. I think this really helped his lesson and help us as his students see the point he was trying to get across.

I think activities have their purpose and their place in a class. It shouldn't be all activities but it also shouldn't be all lecture and note taking. It really can help the students enjoy a class more and remember the information taught.

Reflection 7

STL Teaching 1

From this video you can see that my STL was technology in the field of agriculture. At first I was stumped on what to teach and I had no idea what kind of advancements there were in technology in agriculture. But i figured since I am from Idaho and my uncle is a farmer, I could figure out something. SO..... I did some research and I found one thing that caught my interest. Precision Farming!! Or GPS farming as it is known as. I thought it was interesting how it could control the tractor and tell it at which point would be best for planting and for tilling and so forth. I like the idea of how it being so precise that if makes farming more manageable and there is less room for mistakes and farmers could save money as well.

So my plan was to show the video above to the class and talk for a minute about how this process could help farmers plan out their fields and their crops and then we would do the activity. At first I thought that 20 minutes was way too long!! But as I started planning my lesson I realized I wouldn't have a lot of time to do most of what I wanted. But as I was teaching I felt the first part went pretty well and most of the class seemed to be listening to my lesson and most were answering questions. I still need to work on proximity and calling on people when no one answers at first. But after we all talked about the good points of gps farming, we did the activity I came up with. I had them break up into 3 groups and act out how GPs farming works. In the groups they have 2 satellites and one receiver who gathers all the data and then a tractor who plants the seeds and tills and fertilizes. They had to follow the map they were given and do all that it said. At first the activity was rocky and the instructions I gave weren't as clear as they should have been. I shouldn't have let them break up into groups until after I gave them all the instructions. I think it went pretty well after everything was explained.

Over all I think I did pretty good and that my point was well known why I was teaching what I was teaching. But I do need to learn to explain activities better and realize not everyone knows as much as I do about what I am teaching and I cant just expect them to fill in all the blanks. But that is why we practice right?!

Reflection 6

TSA


The TSA is a test what we have to take in order to get into the Secondary Education program in the Mckay building. I am with Geoff that it is a little insulting to us as Technology majors to have to take a test about technology to get into the program. But we all did it regardless.

One thing I found out about the test is that the time limit is harder than I thought. I figured I would be able to do it in no time but on one of the tests I went over. I think it was because I was taking my time too much on making it look exactly like the example and really they didn't care that much. I think if BYU really wants to say that there teachers are technology literate then they should have their future teachers take more technology classes.
While i was waiting to be graded on the Excel test I was talking to Evan and I said I don't ever use Excel so I have no idea what I was doing. And the girl behind the desk looked at me with glaring eyes and said "You will use it everyday when you are a teacher!" And you know what? I have thought about it and what is so great about us as technology teachers is that we do not limit ourselves to one medium of technology. We keep up with the times and yes we may even step outside from Microsoft office and explore other options that could do the same thing, maybe even better.

That is one thing I would like to do as a teacher. I want to be able to expand to other mediums and know a lot of different kinds of software and programs so if my students have questions or want another way of doing something, then I can be there to help them. That will be one of my goals as a teacher and step outside of what I am teaching and find other ways of doing something and not just the standard way.