Lessons Learned

Often times when it comes to putting a pin on what's been learned in a classroom setting, we find the children teach us just as much (if not more) than we teach them. There are several things I've learned in my PDS this year that I think will be important to keep in mind throughout the upcoming years:

1. Expect the unexpected. It seems like one of the biggest qualities a teacher must possess is the flexibility to deal with what may come rather than striving for what is planned. Walking down the hall my classroom is located in is usually a race; the children are often coming out of breakfast all at once and one thing's for sure: don't get caught swimming upstream! I feel the same concept applies to planning the school day; fighting the inevitable benefits no one.

2. "Have a great day, or not; the choice is yours." Every morning at Blackshere, the students hold their own news program that goes school wide the first few minutes of school. At the end of the program, one teacher always says "have a great day, or not; the choice is yours." I've learned that applies so much to the classroom setting. A lot of times, how you, as the teacher, react to something could mean more than the action sparking the reaction. This applies to classroom management as well as teacher-student communication, just to name a couple.

3. Seize the teachable moment. A lot of times it's easy to silence or interrupt the child asking a question or making a comment that may not directly apply to the content being taught. I've learned it's often beneficial to seize that moment; it could be a learning opportunity for everyone involved.

The students at Blackshere have been more than inviting and accepting; that has helped me so much in this learning process. Also, the teachers have been friendly, helpful, and flexible. I very much enjoyed my experiences at Blackshere and look forward to more of the same.

Influences of Inquiry and Wonderings

After beginning to consider topics to research, things that wouldn't normally be noticed are strongly apparent. For example, I currently wonder about the benefits of a set routine. I now pay attention to how the students react when something "out of the plan" occurs and how smoothly things go when nothing pops up. What I noticed even more is the struggle that faces the teacher when something like that comes up. Just as students do, instructors benefit from knowing what to expect. When the unexpected arrives, dealing with it isn't always simple.

It would seem that one of the major goals of inquiry as teachers-to-be is to wonder about something that will influence our teaching behaviors (and therefore student learning). It would seem that point can't be reached, though without studying the behaviors of others. Through which, we learn about our own practices and passions.

Instructional Technology Integration

There's often a fine line between using and integrating technology in the classroom. Using technology in a lesson often just involves the teacher using something to help present the content to the students. For example, teachers often use PowerPoint presentations to give a neat and clear presentation of information. However, through integration, teachers give students the opportunity to interact with the technology for themselves. An example would be asking fifth graders to use the internet to find information about the Washington Monument. Both are essential in a current classroom with the amount of curriculum to present. Also, it provides a nice way to sort of "mix things up" compared to the normal lecture and chalkboard lesson.

Action Research Wonderings

This section of my blog shares my wonderings from my classroom experience.