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.