Four major strands of work.
Communication
As the semester progressed and eventually
ended I came to realize several more things about my communicatory ability. Foremost
among these realizations came to me when I was trying to talk with my Chautauqua students.
After struggling for the entire session one week, I realized that I was not getting through to any of the students
in my group. I realized that I needed to change the way I was trying to communicate
with these different types of people. The fact that I wasn’t able to communicate
with my students wasn’t a factor of a difference of intelligence, but I think more because of a difference of life experience. My solution to this problem was to immerse myself in the experience of Chautauqua
with them. This is part of the reason that I decided to become an entirely new
character. And now that it’s all said and done, I believe that sharing
this experience with them really helped facilitate the rest of the Chautauqua process.
I had a bit more fun than I would have otherwise, and I learned a lot more too.
Research
Our research in this class this semester
was truly field based. I can’t imagine a better situation in which to learn
about teaching. I, for one, don’t feel ready to charge into a classroom
and teach a group of thirty or so students. Being able to work with three students
was a perfect place to start for me. Even though we were only with our groups
once a week for an hour and a half, the amount of time I spent thinking about my students and reflecting on the trials and
tribulations of working with their characters was immensely valuable.
Technology
At one point Francis talked about
the significance of technology in schools. The most interesting comment she made
was that we as teachers and teachers in training are remnants of the age before the digital age. This puts us in quite a tough position, for we have to adapt to this new age as it continues to emerge,
while our students have always been a part of it. Things that are easy for them
are much more difficult for us. Technology is a skill we have to maintain and
develop in order to relate to and keep up with current and future generations of students.
Collaboration
Working with our students every week
offered me great insight into how much students and teachers need to work together.
The example I mentioned above, when I was driven to choose a new character and work along side the students, really
helped me realize what is possible when a teacher and his/her students collaborate.
I was able to see all that the students were going through and learn from their advice about my character at the same
time.
I also appreciated the value of our meetings
after we met at Apache. The work with my students was not always smooth, and
being able to come together and listen to everyone share their experiences and ideas was very helpful. I hope that when I get out there and start teaching I am able to be a part of a group of teachers that
offers support, advice, and experience like our class did.
Five Dimensions of Learning
Confidence and Independence
Working with a group of students independently
was a huge step for me. I don’t think I’ve ever been as involved
with a group over a period of time as long as this. At first I was worried that
I wasn’t going to be able to do anything for my students and we would all just sit around and waste time. After working with them a few times I realized that we were actually getting some stuff done! This increased my confidence quite a bit, but I will admit that I have quite a long ways to go, for I can’t
imagine teaching a whole classroom full of students.
Knowledge Content
I learned a lot from this class from many
different sources. I learned from the young Apache students, my fellow classmates,
my wonderful teacher, and I even learned something from my good friend the textbook.
From these sources I’ve gained knowledge and tools for working with students in more productive ways. I’ve become more aware of how to make content more interesting to students, as well as learned how
to evoke a level of control over students to keep their attention focused on the task at hand.
One thing I will admit is that it took me a little while to get into the textbook, but once I did, I really appreciated
the information it offered. From the information on how to teach English with
regard to speaking, reading, writing, etc. to the different theories, strategies, and approaches it talked about to defining
the difference between acquisition and learning our textbook was packed full of information.
I will admit that with all these unpracticed ideas in my head I’m afraid of losing them. I need to fortify this knowledge with some experience (well more experience than I got this semester, which
was a lot).
Skills and Strategies
As I moved through this semester I found
several skills and strategies that I will use in the future. One thing that Francis
introduced us to to help us inspire ideas in ourselves and our students was guided imagery.
I never realized how important taking a few minutes to slow down and think could be.
This experience helps us separate ourselves from the pressures of the process and helps us relax. Another strategy I stumbled on when trying to help students gather ideas without writing (sometimes we
just aren’t in the mood to write) was that of drawing pictures. I could
ask the students forever to write about a story they had about their character and they couldn’t answer, but when they
could draw a picture they had a much easier time. Another idea that I tried a
little was dictating their stories and lists of topics they could talk about. Also,
practicing my Chautauqua with the students really helped them calm down and stop arguing about going first and last.
I also learned a lot about my own preparation
strategies when it comes to a performance. I learned that I never seemed to prepare
enough. Maybe this is why I’m so terrified of going and speaking in front
of people, because I never practice!
Use of Prior and Emerging Experience
The most important thing that I learned
in this process was that teaching is a struggle. Prior to this semester, my experience
told me that teaching is hard. My experience this semester has shown me just
how hard it can be. From witnessing a parent give a tongue lashing to Mrs. Bradshaw
about a standardized test to realizing how just how different each student is from the next, I learned a lot. But while I feel more aware of the innate difficulties of the teaching profession, I feel more confident
in approaching them in the future as a teacher. Yes, teaching is hard, but it’s
also pretty darn rewarding and I’d rather not be ignorant when I get thrown into the fray.
Reflectiveness
I’ve always been mildly reflective,
but most of the time this doesn’t get me too far beyond the obvious. This
semester has given me a little bit more knowledge about some things that are very important to me. This knowledge in turn has given me a vehicle in which to reflect more deeply and constructively. The fact of the matter is that I feel better about being able to reach informed conclusions
about that which I think about.
