It is February already!!! I can’t
believe it honestly. Time is flying by whether I want it to or not. Time is of
the essence to soak in as much knowledge as possible before it is my turn to
take over the classroom. So far, this semester I have added a variety of skills
to my “bag of tricks and resources” as I like to call. I have entered myself
into the educational Twitter world, I had the opportunity to connect with past
educators and ask for advice on teaching social studies, I have a much better
understanding of how Social Studies plays a part in the classroom, and most
importantly I have a grasp on the concept way to teaching.
Before this semester I had been
active on social media but never really for an educational purpose. To be
honest when I heard that we were going to have to communicate with other
educators from all over it was a little intimidating. But, once I just started tweeting
and commenting on other’s posts, I found I really enjoyed searching and finding
ideas to use. For example, I have found great sites on first teacher tips for
science experiments that won’t break your bank account, and some great tips
from Google on how to keep technology in your classroom. These links are below,
so go check it out if you haven’t already!
I’ve also enjoyed reading the
inspirational posts that teachers would share of ways to keep the school moral
up. NCTCS 1 states that we teachers should demonstrate leadership, and NCTCS 5
states that we should reflect on our practice. By taking ownership in our jobs
and wanting to find more ways to improve we are being leaders for the school, and
for other educators.
When I met my two teachers to
interview for the wisdom from experience assignment, I had no idea what an
impact it would bring to my education. I was able to gain some knowledge from
real world educators that are doing this each and every day. But, I also got
some great encouragement as I continue on this journey. From my interview I can
say without a doubt that these teachers are modeling the NCSC 4 facilitating
the learning for their students by integrating social studies across the board,
and NCTCS 5 reflecting on their practice by asking me questions about the
material that I am learning and wanting to know more about it to strengthen
their instruction.
Along with doing these interviews I
found out that most teachers are unaware of the concept-based planning and teaching
of social studies. I was at first, but after diving into this tiered way of
bringing the material to students it is all starting to make sense. I feel if I
were taught this way when I was in elementary school I would have such a better
appreciation of social studies. After learning this approach, I definitely feel
I want to take this with me into my future classroom. My goal as a teacher is
to fill each day with smooth differentiated activities and lessons that by the
end of each day students don’t realize we covered all four subjects. I want
students to be sad when it’s time to leave each day because they are that
interested in the material. I feel with the help of Twitter and other forms of
technology where good research strategies and resources can be found, the help
of veteran teachers, and using the concept way of teaching it can be possible.
Below is some encouragement!
25 Ways Google Can Help You Become a Better Teacher:
Inexpensive Science Experiments
Hello Miss Eller, this is William Alspaugh from the online section of this class. I enjoyed reading your block about your first month of school. I can see how you found the connection to standard 5 and standard 4, based off of your interaction with the teachers that you interviewed. Educators are responsible for making sure they find various ways for students to learn, and they must reflect on the effectiveness of the content and how to improve each time you facilitating. As far as Twitter is concerned, I was more of a pop culture freak when it came to Twitter prior to this class. But as I think on dr. Parker's purpose for using Twitter, I can see the value it can have and making sure that educators are connected and that quality information is put out to help further scholarly advancement. Well it was great to read your blog, and I hope to interact with you as we continue our journey towards becoming educate ourselves.
ReplyDeleteAbby, great post! I agree that it helps us teachers a lot to be on twitter and other social media to see ideas that other teachers have found useful. I can't wait to read more of your blogs throughout the semester once you get in your clinical placement!
ReplyDeleteAbby,
ReplyDeleteI am glad to see how you are embracing all of the opportunities in this new semester! Keep this attitude and soak in all you can! Continue to utilize Twitter to broaden your PLN so you can build a true network of support as you get closer and closer to the classroom.