You know that moment where you wish your brain had a light switch? That you could just turn off for a few minutes, or turn the dimmer down? Well for a portion of this week that was my wish. Mostly because this week was observation for me and I was in a constant state of questions, ideas, what ifs, comparisons and small worries that I don’t need to have. I was watching teachers who I respect and want to learn from- and they're good at what they do. It was a conversation with a friend that finally woke me up when she said: Don’t Compare. She was right. I am not Mr. Masser and I am not Mrs. VanSant- I am Ms. Hack. I am also a student teacher, or as one of our students says ‘learning learner facilitator’ (teachers are called learning facilitators here at PV). I am supposed to be a student, a student who wonders, and a learner from my mentor teachers and students and one that tries new things- and does learn from my mentor teachers. Although I am still in the ‘unsure of what I am doing’ stage (I think I will be there for a while) I narrowed it down to my three big things from this week that I learned: content and student engagement.
Content
Well, I have a lot to learn- but like anything learning is a process. Yes I planned throughout the fall and learned a lot, and yes I have taken classes about all of these things, but there are still quite a few gaps. As the Power Tech class was finishing up their troubleshooting of their engines, and taking their final on parts and tool identification I realized there are some gaps (pun intended) in my content knowledge. This also happened with Ag Bio, when I had to take the biology book home this week. This class runs a little differently and is planned a little differently as all three of us will teach the same thing, we might tweak it differently, but we will have a common plan for it. I may have had to re-learn how to use a microscope this week. It’s a process...it’s a process...it’s a process and I was reassured when Mr. Masser said today ‘My engine knowledge has come a long way’, I can do this.
Student Engagement
Gosh I can’t wait to really start off next week! I started meeting students this week and helping them with things here and there during class and it has been great. Every single one of them are different their backgrounds, learning styles, personalities, abilities, hairstyles- everything. I knew this, but it is becoming more and more apparent to me and I know it will continue to. We just started talking about Career and Leadership Development Events as teachers and with the officers and I am excited to start working with students on them.
Cool & Unique Moments of the Week
- Watching the Power Technology class do their “How-To” Videos as part of the final using Recap It. So cool.
- Seeing students that I went to convention or other events with, I am excited to continue to build rapport with other students.
- I was able to attend a GIEP meeting. GIEPs are Gifted Individualized Education Plan. Being that most places do more IEP meetings, it was unique to sit in this one.
Brewing Ideas....stay tuned!
- Interactive Notebooks, I saw a science teacher using them and I was intrigued
- The SAE career exploration project that Mrs. VanSant and I will introduce next week!
- A literacy and vocabulary project I want to start
“Be the kind of person you want to learn from.” So as we look to next week, I will try to do just that as I also just keep learning.
As far as content knowledge goes, I am in the same boat as you, girl. I try to see if I can answer the questions my CTs ask (in my head, not out loud), and there are several times where I can't answer them. We've both heard the many assurances from teachers and professors telling us that we probably know more than the students about these topics and it's a learning experience. But I feel it sometimes doesn't ease those insecurities.
ReplyDeleteBut as you said, "it's a process". I'm confident we'll get there!
Also, I found it interesting that you call yourselves learning facilitators. Is the word "teacher" essentially eradicated from their vocabulary? Just curious as I've never heard of a school doing that.
Kayla,
ReplyDeleteWell done. I am excited to continue to follow your #TeachAg Journey. Just remember: Breathe. All will come in time and only when the time is appropriate.
On an editorial style note for your consideration: I suggest using Ms. for all female reference.
Mrs = Married
Miss = juvenile, unmarried
Ms = None of your business.
If we don't have to indicate marital status for professional men (ie Mr.), why would we wish to for professional women?
Just two cents from cold Minnesota (holy smokes it is cold).
DF
Full of reflective thought and vision! You'll be flooded often with a wide ranging spectrum of thoughts, capture them in the moment and use them to your advantage. Excited to watch you grow during this experience!
ReplyDeleteLR