Reflection 12

     Well all that I have done this week is prepare.  I think that a good teacher is a good preparer.  That is why they give you a prep period when you are teaching.  That is why they have you make lesson plans and that is the key to being effective.  On my mission we had several hours a week scheduled for planning and preparing for the next day.  I soon found the when I utilized this preparation and planning time that everything was better.  As we prepare to teach this sixth grade class I feel that the more time we put in it the better it will be.

Reflection 10

     This week I was truly inspired by Jeff LaBaron.  To see his passion and his commitment to teaching was amazing.  He loves his job.  He is making a difference in these kids lives and he is teaching them something useful.  Teaching is about making a difference.  I felt that Jeff truly teaches his students.  It makes me think of my mission.  When you teach someone and they change their lives and accept the gospel; they become a changed person and you can see that they are happier.  The feeling of helping someone receive the gospel is amazing and I could feel that same attitude and feeling as Jeff spoke about his students.  I want to be the teacher like Jeff who makes a difference.

Reflection 9

     Not much happened this week.  Teaching wise we watched a few people present and that was interesting.  I really feel that our class is getting better and better at teaching.  I am seeing more complete and full lessons which is nice.  Geoff talked about how a good lesson needs a conclusion.  I was able to see a few people complete there lessons with great conclusions.  I have stated reading the book and I think it will be a good one.

Reflection 8

This week I taught the class on STL 14.  Before teaching I went to Geoff to get ideas.  This really helped me think of a good way to teach this standard.  I made a lesson plan and planned out some activities.  I feel that preparation is the key to a good lesson.  By asking Geoff for help it reminded me of something that Gong said.  He said that we need to steal things from other teachers.  I feel that I can learn a lot from talking about and discussing ideas from others.  Massic the welding teacher at Maple Mountain does this same thing.  He collaborates his efforts with the other welding teachers in his district to make sure that they are teaching the same things.  The give out the some of the same tests and share their ideas through google docs.  Teaching is a tough thing and it is great when others can help.
When I taught everything was going great with the activity but I ran out of time.  I need to be more aware of the clock and time management.  I was really excited to teach more about medical technologies and to double teach the principle of innovation.  Well there is one area I need to work on.  Some comments I got were that I still teach like a missionary and need to be more excited.  I need to step up my game and become a better teacher.

Reflection 7

     This week we were able to see more students teach.  This was very fun and I really enjoyed it.  The pedagogy is getting a lot better.  An interesting experience that I had this week was the chance to do a midterm evaluation on a TA that I have.  I didn't know what to talk about but then I remembered that all we have been doing these past few days in class is evaluating each other in class.  So I took the teaching feedback form that we have out of my bag and used it to evaluate my teacher.  I really hope that she takes the feedback that I gave her and can become a better teacher.

Reflection 6

     This week I was able to observe the first 6 STL's being taught.  This got me thinking about how I want to teach them.  This really needs to be a good lesson and I need to put a lot of preparation into it.  I signed up for STL14 which talks about medical technologies.  I think that I will use my uncle as a source of information for this STL.  He works for IHC in Salt Lake and is a doctor in medical informatics.  He comes up with new ideas and technologies for the the medical field.  He will be a very valuable resource in this.  I really need to prepare well and go all out in my teaching.  I want to succeed and do well in this teaching assignment.  The last ones I taught I felt were pretty boring so I need to step it up a notch.    

Reflection 5

     Wow there is a huge difference between high school and jr. high.  I was able to observe Tyler Lewis at Maple Mountain High School.  This was a great experience.  I know Tyler and took some classes with him so I think that it is so weird that he is now teaching.  He is a great teacher.  The students in high school seem a little bit more behaved and Tyler was very respected as the teacher.  He was teaching a photo class and instructing the kids in photoshop.  He had them doing an album cover assignment.  This taught them a lot of the basic principles of photoshop.  The whole time he was walking around and helping the students.  I also had the opportunity to help them out.  This was a cool experience.  I was also able to see the morning announcements that Amber made in first period.  The kids really seemed to enjoy the announcements and I got a little taste of the broadcasting side of our major.  I really like the feel of his classroom.  I felt really at home and welcomed.  I feel like he was in charge but very approachable at the same time.  I really like that style or feel that he portrayed in the classroom.  I could also tell that the students loved his class.  Some of the students told me not to be a history or math teacher because they didn't like there teachers.  I thought that was kind of sad but also a compliment to Tyler and his masterful teaching.  A lot to ponder and think about.

Reflection 4

     This week was great.  I loved going to AF Jr. High to see Jess teach.  He did a wonderful job.  I can tell that he really loves what he does and he loves teaching the kids.  I felt that he had a more relaxed style than Scott but it was effective like Scott's.  Both experiences taught me a lot.  When Jess taught he walked around a lot and he was really hands on.  He was holding something the entire time which was interesting.  I also liked watching how he would handle a large class in a lab.  The lab is completely different from a classroom.  He had to make sure that they were safe and able to complete their projects.  He did a demo and told a lot of stories and jokes to help them understand.  I really enjoyed it.  I really like how the students were able to relate to him as their teacher but still respect him.
     I am still pondering on what I want to teach, but still how do I decide what I want to teach?  I think that these visits are helping me get a good variety of what is out there and what the possibilities are for me.  Jr high seems to have a lot of variety but you can't go deep into one thing.  The kids are still impressionable and easier to inspire as well in jr. high.  I really feel like I get the most eye opening experiences out of visiting schools.  Each one has been great but different in it's own way.  

Reflection 3

This week was great.  I was able to read from the Gong book and to visit Vista Heights Jr. High School and watch Scott Bartholomew teach his class.  He did a wonder job at teaching the class.  He stated with a bell work activity then he moved on to instuction.  He talked about progaming lego robots.  He then turned the class over to their lego robot assignment.  The students were all in groups and had to complete a list of challenges that he had designed.  I really enjoyed walking around and helping the kids out and seeing what they were doing.  Scott also had us pass off kids when they would complete an assignment.  He really challenged the kids to do their best and they seemed to enjoy learning.  At the end of class he played a game with the kids so that they could clean up quickly and wait for the bell.  The FED form was a little confusing and I didn't really get the point of  it but we did it.  I really got a nice idea of what it will feel like to be a teacher.  I can't wait to see how this Jr. High will compare with the one this week. It was a great week.

Reflection 2

     Well to reflect on this last week I finally finished the Wong book.  I really didn't like the book until the end when it started to praise teaching and tell us how much of a difference a good teacher makes.  I liked a lot of the tools he suggested in his book, but I feel that they are more for younger class.
     I recently visited my cousin who is a third grade teacher in Tucson Arizona and asked her if she knew about the Wong book.  She told me that the book was considered the bible for her school and if you haven't read it in a while you were sinning.  I asked her if she had the red and green toilet paper tubes or the triangle stand up for when the students needed help and she said that she didn't.  She does however use the hand signs for when they need a drink or want to go to the bathroom.  If you cross your fingers that means you need to use the bathroom.  In her classroom it works.  The only problem is that some kids can't do it very well and it makes it worse when they have to use the restroom and she related one experience when on child had an accident.
     Also in our conversation she told me about how hard it is to teach a class.  She said that she probably spends more time with these kids than some of their parents which is very sad and a huge responsiblity.  I remember that Geoff said something about how he loves his children's teacher because they spend so much time with them and they teach them morals.  My cousin also expressed how she had a handicapped child in her class and it slows teaching almost everyday.  Teaching is such a big commitment and requires a lot of dedication and patience.
     Something that I thought was an answer to my prayers was when Oaks gave the fireside on Sunday about the twin towers of truth and tolerance.  He said, "75% of college students believed that right and wrong were relative."  This made me feel that I was defiantly in the right major and that what I need to do is teach correct principles of the gospel to everyone that I can.  I can't directly do this by teaching the gospel but I can through my example and through teaching morals and by teaching students how to be good citizens of society.  That is was teaching is all about.  I really feel that this is what is right.

Reflection 1

Well this is my first time reflecting on what we have learned in class, in my reading and how everything has gone so far.  This is also my first blog which is also a fun thing.  Thus far in class we have covered what teaching is and what technology is and how important it is.  I feel that learning is a part of our everyday lives weather we want to learn or not we are always learning.  This made me ponder upon what is a teacher?  I feel that a teacher is someone or something that inspires learning or change in someone’s life.  We have things that teach us all the time.  We first start learning from our parents and then our educators.  In looking around in life we also learn from our environment.  We see people doing something and we imitate it.  We learn from our high tech computers and phones today.  Some of these I admit are not the best ways to learn or examples of teachers, but they do inspire learning in my life. 
In the book we are reading The First Days of School How to be an Effective Teacher I have learned a few things about what the contrast is between an effective teacher and an ineffective teacher is.  I really feel that preparedness is the greatest difference in the two.  I love how they can show statistics that prove how crucial an effective teacher is.  I feel also the in the book they give a lot of helpful tips on how to be a good teacher.  I am also getting a vibe that this is a book parsing teachers trying to get them to feel that they are better and in effect convince them they can be a great teacher.  That teaching is all about how we perceive ourselves.   If we think we are great then we are.  Some say that perception is reality and I feel like this book is trying to create the effective perception in order for us to change and be effective in the classroom. 
I feel that teaching is essential to our lives and especially in the gospel.  The greatest teacher to ever live was of course the Savior, Jesus Christ.  I love thinking Him and of the gospel and how selfless Christ was in teaching it.  He knew how to teach so that everyone could understand and be edified in the gospel.  I love this and I hope that I can teach how the Savior did. 
To sum everything up this week I have mostly thought about what a teacher is and how they have affected my life.