For this blog entry I am really taking a good look inside myself, my teaching beliefs and my classroom practices. I'm finding it hard to put these thoughts and feelings into words, but I'm gonna give it a try:
I believe in the individual learner. I believe that we all learn differently, but that we are also capable of learning the same way- depends on the subject matter. I think that most people are visual and auditory learners and that a combination of both delivery methods will reach most students.
In speaking with other teachers in my school, I do find a few teachers that think the same way as I do, but I find many more who believe what I do, but teach their content very differently. I have also found a few teachers who do the same thing on the day they started (10 plus years ago) as they do today. I believe that you have to change it up a bit and continue to perfect it as time goes on.
After reading some of the information posted on our wiki, I think that I am actually a behaviorist believer to some degree. I think that the environment plays a huge part in learning and how students learn. I think that this part of me comes from my own learning experience and my role as a teacher librarian- a pleasing and stimulating environment stimulates learning. I think that environment also includes the people in it, such as teachers and support staff. Their beliefs and attitudes can also influence learning.
Rightly or Wrongly, I seem to approach teaching regular classes and special ed. classes differently. In a regular class, I feel a lot of pressure to get through a great deal of content and information. I have to complete my four units by the end of the semester, so my delivery is designed to get the most content to the kids in the shortest amount of time- I use overhead notes, lecture and handout information that they have to use when they are doing their homework. When I teach my special education classes, I feel that I am able to slow down, read information and discuss it, I watch more educational videos (to reach visual learners) and to be able to review and go back over information if the students don't understand. As I think about my teaching, I feel that I do a much better job of teaching special ed than the regular courses because I am more conscious of their needs- why am I not conscious of regular students' needs? They also have different learning styles and needs, so why do I not adjust my teaching for them?
This is something that I need to look at for my future teaching assignments.
I think that technology has a large part to play in reaching different learners and in our classrooms; I use technology to help students visualize concepts, through overhead diagrams, interactive websites and my Smartboard. I also use live streaming websites to access videos and information that would otherwise be unavailable to me and my students. I don't think that technology is the end all- be all, but when used as a tool and not a crutch, I think it enhances student learning. I enjoy taking these types of classes to find out how I can use technology in new and different ways.
Katie
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I think that any teacher who constantly reflects on their daily teaching and activities has the ability to become a great teacher.
You seem actively engaged in your students learning as you feel the need to continually revamp ways to make learning engaging for students.
You realize how incorporating technology into your classroom can greatly enhance the students visual and audio styles of learning.
By tapping into technology, we are showing our students how important it is to become a life long learner as well as creating an avenue to tap into the interests of our students since most, if not all, of our students use technology on a regular basis.
My concerns are faced with dealing with 30+ students in a classroom environment and being able to cover the learning needs for all.
If our superiors could only see that by decreasing the class sizes would we be able to "effectively" cover material in a learning rich environment as it would free up teacher time to create new "constructivist" activities, increase opportunity to monitor student's needs while decreasing time spent on marking.
As long as we continue to use technology as an avenue to bring our content to life, we can continue to address and encompass the variety of learning styles in our classroom.
I just feel that we can be more effective if we had time to dialogue with each student on a regular basis to provide some type of formative support along the way.
Post a Comment