3 posts tagged “mtc required”
*Required
Wow. Two required blog topics? Can I do this? Just stay with me as I attempt to be the first to complete the most recent MTC blog assignments. (***NOTE: Emily was the first so I have already failed.***) First, let me take the time to link my del.icio.us page. It makes no sense post stuff there if no one sees it so just go on over and check-ch-check-check-check-ch-check it out.
Today I feel like blogging in a question and answer format.
Questioner: What three things have you learned from your team teacher?
Me: Well, as you know, my team teacher is National Board Certified so I should be learning a lot, right? I definitely have which is a good thing. First off, I now know how to shut up. I have a little problem that I like to call "talking too much." That is not necessarily a bad thing when at a cocktail party, but sucks in the classroom. Even though my student retains a lot of the information just by hearing it, this will not be the case during the year. I have gradually been able to tailor my lessons so I don't have the opportunity to talk as much and I think it makes for a better atmosphere if my student knows I won't be lecturing all of class.
Q: I can already tell. That's only one thing though. What are two others? Please be more concise when answering.
Me: Sorry. Secondly, my team teacher has taught me to hammer in the material. Less is more, so to speak. This will have to be the case during the year so I need to practice that now. Some lessons make this nearly impossible, but I now make the extra effort to boil it down to one or two "big picture" points that jog his memory.
Q: Third?
Me: His advice has helped me get significantly better at writing objectives and assessing them than I used to be. The formal evaluations are especially helpful in this area because there is more of a focus on that area.
Q: What is the number one thing you need to improve on as a teacher? Why?
Me: Differentiate instruction. Period. If you haven’t heard, I have ONE STUDENT so it’s kind of hard to make sure that my instruction is differentiated. I tend to make my lesson plan to match his style of learning and to improve in the areas that he needs, but that will not be the case this fall...
Q: WRAP IT UP!
Me: …so I need to come up with more activities that focus on different kinds of learning so I can reach an entire class of students.
Q: Thank you. Maybe you need to work more on the talking/typing less thing.
*Required
Note: I hope you like this, but criticisms of this little ditty will not be tolerated. This post reflects on my video-taped lesson on the end of World War II and the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. Parts in bold denote the major issues I found while watching myself.
Video Killed the MTC Star
I heard you in the classroom back in period two
Listenin’ intently and tuning in to you.
If I was sleepy it didn't stop you coming through.
Oh-a oh
I take the credit for my bumbling symphony.
Taped on a Mac with new technology,
And now I understand the problems you can see.
Oh-a oh
I teach your children
Oh-a oh
What did you tell them?
Video killed the MTC star.
Video killed the MTC star.
Pictures showed my fidgeting.
Oh-a-a-a oh
And now I speak as if I’m going in turbo.
I watch the playback and it seems so long ago.
And you remember the lessons used to go.
Oh-a oh
You were the fast one.
Oh-a oh
You were the loud one.
Video killed the MTC star.
Video killed the MTC star.
On the screen I am the star, I can’t shut up I’ve gone to far.
Oh-a-aho oh,
Oh-a-aho oh
Video killed the MTC star.
Video killed the MTC star.
On the screen I am the star, I can’t shut up I’ve gone to far.
Pictures show how it ran, put the blame on my lesson plan.
You are an MTC star.
You are an MTC star.
Video killed the MTC star.
Video killed the MTC star.
Video killed the MTC star.
Video killed the MTC star.
Video killed the MTC star. (You are an MTC star.)
Overall, I think my lesson went well. I am still working out the kinks, though. I wish I had videotaped the next lesson (I taught two in a row) because it went MUCH better. I have come to grips with the fact that I sound weird. Happy Fourth of July! I'll leave you with the greatest Presidential speech ever made (idea stolen from my friend Chris's blog):
The day is here, sadly. Our training wheels will be coming off after today. The second-years will be leaving our classrooms for the remainder of the summer. Granted, we will still be riding the bikes with pedal brakes—after all, we’re not experienced enough—but it will be a whole new experience.
I was fortunate enough to have a classroom with Chimaobi Amutah, Rob Bland, and Molly Goldwasser for the entire month of July. Chimaobi, my roommate, was always there to answer my questions and provide me with great anecdotes and advice from his teaching experience (note: make your toughest student cry as soon as possible). Rob, besides being a beast on the v-ball court, was extremely constructive and always provided thoughtful responses to my queries. (Did I just use that word? It’s true anyways.) Molly was like teaching with the energizer bunny. She guided me through lesson plans and life during June. I’m trying to decide if that is a good thing.
Not Pictured: Energizer Bunny.
It is tough to pick out three things that I have learned from my second-years in the classroom. I’m pretty sure they have demonstrated everything I have learned. First, they have taught me that awkward silence is not a bad thing. I hated it at first, but by watching them and getting evaluated I have seen that the sounds of silence make the students (correction: STUDENT) think on their own and more in depth. Second, the second-years have given me the tip to SSSLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW DOOOOOOWWN the speed at which I talk. Very hard to do, but I’m working on it. I guess it can happen since we can understand Molly in the classroom. Third, they have helped me realize that I need to differentiate my lesson, despite having the one student. They have demonstrated and coached me through the development of multiple types of activities and lessons for our class. I'll add a fourth, relevant to today: lots of great website links.
These lessons, among others, have come fast and furious both inside and outside the classroom. I sincerely hope that next year I can do the same thing for my first-years, assuming I do not quit MTC and join Sesame Street. Chimaobi, Rob, and Molly—THANK YOU!
