Today during our last day of class, we conducted a job interview. Four students were picked to be administrators, and the rest of the class were teacher candidates. We were placed into our fieldwork groups and each administrator rotated and spoke to each group, so we got the opportunity to hear from everyone!
Direct Instruction, Inquiry, Cooperative Learning, and Technology:
were the topics that the administrators spoke about. These are four methods of teaching we learned a lot about during the semester and in a way, all became "experts" on them! We had to answer questions on the spot and share our beliefs of teaching when a question was asked. I really enjoyed hearing the technology questions because my group members and I thought back to the technology we used during our unit plan and incorporated that into our responses. We also provided our own ways of bringing technology into the classroom. Some of the questions took me a little while to think about, but overall I felt confident in my responses because of the material I learned during the semester. We dressed accordingly, and acted as though this was a real job interview. After speaking to each administrator, they walked up to the front of the room and each shared which candidate they picked for the job. Only four students got the "job," and I was one of them!! It was so rewarding to see that in a mock job interview, I got the job because of the way I spoke and presented myself. I tried to make my answers as authentic as possible and tried to outdo my colleagues, in a way. I thought that this was a great way to end the class because it prepared us for the real world. We gained a lot of interesting experience from this course I will never forget!
Another interesting aspect from this course was developing my philosophy of teaching. This philosophy shows what I believe in, as a future educator. Having a philosophy of teaching will guide instruction and the way a teacher develops their classroom. Because of the teachers I've had in the past and currently, I am grateful for the education I have received. I have had good and bad experiences with teachers, but every instance has been a learning experience for me. I have teachers to this day that I still look up to that have made my years of school so great. Even though professors have taught me more academic and fundamental skills, I still admire the elementary school teachers that taught me "2+2!" The teachers I have had throughout my life have taught me to confident, hardworking, and stand up for what I believe in at all times. For this reason, my philosophy falls under Humanism.
The teaching philosophy of Humanism can be defined,
"Humanist educators consider learning from the perspective of the human potential for growth, becoming the best one can be. The shift is to the study of affective as well as cognitive dimensions of learning. Beliefs include: human beings can control their own destiny; people are inherently good and will strive for a better world; people are free to act but must be responsible; behavior is the consequence of human choice; and people possess unlimited potential for growth and development. There is a natural tendency for people to learn, which will flourish if nourishing, encouraging environments are provided."
I believe that students are capable of becoming who they want to be through education. Even though they may learn the basic academic skills, that is not all students learn in school. Teachers are able to teach children how to function in a society, the apparent rights/wrongs, and other life skills students might find helpful, whether they agree or not. Having a classroom be a safe environment for children is incredibly important. Students want to feel as though they can discuss whatever they need to, as long as it's appropriate. Students should be themselves and know that the classroom is always a safe environment for them. Also, one way of teaching does not benefit every student. As a teacher, you must differentiate instruction in order to have each student succeed. You can't expect everyone to learn in the same exact ways. If you don't offer different forms of help, a certain student may not succeed. At the same time, students in a way, need to teach themselves. They need to figure out what they're strong in, and what they struggle with. Students need to learn how to problem solve on their own, not just run to the teacher for help right away if they need help. Of course as the teacher you need to help your students, but give them a chance to be their own person and figure out who they are, as a learner. Like our social studies methods course fieldwork, students had to construct their own knowledge during the inquiry-based lesson. They needed to create a hypothesis, collect data, and come up with a conclusion based on what they believe in. Students need to be able to work affectively alone, but also with others peers. Doing this will only benefit their lives in the future, especially when it comes time to getting a career. As a future teacher, no matter what age of students I have, I will make sure to teach these skills and life lessons as early as I can. It's never too late to get ahead of the game! An encouraging environment is what I will provide for my students at all times. No one will feel left out or behind. My goal is to make students feel accomplished at the end of the day, not only with their school work, but how they are progressing as a person.
Because of this course I learned a lot of new skills. I became more comfortable presenting in front of a class and much more confident when leaching a lesson plan. This was my first time developing a unit plan and it was such a great experience. Sometimes very stressful, but overall I thought I did a fantastic job with it. This made me realize how much work teachers put into the material they are teaching. It took a lot of time and effort but it turned out very well. Not only did the class teach me how to create and implement a unit plan, it taught me how to be myself. I used my own ideas, yet collaborated with my group members. Without them, this unit plan wouldn't have been as great as it was. This course was definitely challenging, but a learning experience for me. I can't believe how fast it flew by!
