While planning a lesson for the English students at my PDS I initially consider the content I am teaching. I ask myself questions like, "How can the students relate to this information", "What information is most relevant to this material", and "What types of activities would be beneficial to the lesson"? I also refer to my mentor teacher for successful teaching strategies for the classroom I am in and also ask what they have already covered. I usually develop an outline for my lesson which I keep with me while teaching. However, if the students are really engaged in one particular area of the lesson I am not against making changes to my lesson plan. Also, I try to use differentiated instruction methods for the benefit of learners who are struggling or those with disabilities.
Leaner-centered education is instruction which focuses on the individuals in the classroom. Rather than spending the majority of the class time lecturing, the lesson tends to focus on direct interaction with the students. This could include experiments, class discussions, small group instructions, and presentations. This type of education really focuses on and involves the students in the success of their learning.
A question for my peers is: We are only in the PDS once a week, for two hours. However, I believe it is important that we get to know the students so that we can make our lessons more interesting to them and make them more comfortable around us. In what ways do you all get to know the students during the two hour time period without interrupting teaching time?
I totally agree with the concept of learner-centered education. I think that its good to get the students involved with a dicussion so they can express their ideas about a aprticular topic, and also hear what theire peers have to say. I think involving the students in calss instead of lecturing the whole time really gets them involved and can be more interesting.
ReplyDeleteI also felt the same way about trying to get to know the students a litle better. I lucked out that the calss I am in is very small, which allows more one-on-one interaction with the students than in a larger class. I'm also with the same mentor teacher and same group of students, so I'm already familiar. One example of how I tried to connect mroe with students occured a couple weeks ago. After my entor teacher had finished class and the kids were waiting for the bell, I noticed on student had a Kobe Bryant jersey on. I asked him if he liked basketball and I talked to him for a few minutes about a Laker's game from the previosu night. Little things like that, by finding an itnerest the students have, have helped me get to know the students a little bit more.
Megan,
ReplyDeleteI really think this was an informative and well thought out post. I belive the way you go about designing lessons is beneficial for both yourself, and the students involved. Being able to make changes to lesson plans, and having flexibility is an extremely important aspect of being an educator because teachers do not have control of every aspect of class. SOmetimes assemblies might be scheduled, students might not grasp a particular concept, or another interruption can cause lesson plans to need changes. I also like the statement in which you say that you like to have direct interaction with students.
I think the question you posed is a difficult one, that we as tutors have to face. It is hard to get to know the students, especially in a large classroom for two hours a week. I think that during class changes, when the students are filtering into the classroom is a good opportunity to ask them some generic questions. I have been fortunate to be in a support class, which contains less than six students, for both of my placements, so I feel like this has been an easier task than if I was in a regular classroom.