Today I gave my demo lesson - EEK!
But first Kelsey gave her's.
While I have some complaints about the lesson itself, I think she delivered it very well. She calmly yet enthusiastically led the class through an introductory lesson that she had clearly thought a lot about. She had plans for an entire weeks lesson branching off from this broad, yet very contained preview. What I didn't like about her lesson, was how it felt like the dramatic elements were separate from the rest of the lesson, and didn't quite fit. To me it seemed that she had a great lesson, but she thrust in activities to fit the drama requirement. The activities don't need dropped completely, only adjusted and more thoughtfully considered to make them fit better. Had the drama activities supported each other better, they might have supported the lesson better.
Next came my lesson. Biggest problem? I have no sense of time. Add to that the fact that I talk faster when nervous. Within 5 minutes I realized what was going on. My lesson was was careening forward, and there was nothing I could do to slow it down.
Actually, there were probably things I could do. I tried one: Talk a lot. I talked a lot more than I intended to, and I got called out on it.
Hindsight is 20/20 though, and if I do this lesson again, I'll be prepared with more activities, talking points, and a basic understanding of seconds and minutes.
Shortness aside (let's just pretend it was an early out day), I think I gave a great lesson. I was glad to hear that I actually succeeded in teaching a complex scientific and philosophical topic. I've always felt like I've thought about these topics way too much that the only way I can describe a phenomenon only make sense to my extremely introspective brain. Even more exciting was that I can use a tool I love, improv games, to accomplish that goal.
My success in this lesson has sparked an interest in me, and I'm considering taking another two years of classes to get a teaching certificate.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Day 8/11 - A Guest
Today we had a guest, but in general we:
Next Jessica Lawson gave a demo lesson. She took the class with Vershawn in the past, and this was her final lesson. Her appearance was the first thing that interested me. Blue hair, tattoos, ass-kicking boots, not your typical teacher attire. She wasn't hurt by her appearance, however, her confidence and energy showed that she was comfortable leading the class, and that got us to follow her. The other thing that interested me was her genuine interest in literary analysis, a field of study I will never, ever, enter. While her enthusiasm didn't persuade me to reconsider my opinions on literary theory, it did allow me to tolerate, and even enjoy the lesson. I'll agree to take a literary course under the one condition that she teaches it. She's a great teacher, and upon reflection of the lesson it became apparent the intelligence that went into planning the lesson.
The article for today was a little hard to read, but I definately agree that truly great artistic performance doesn't sacrifice art to some educational or intellectual motive, but rather it accomplishes that objective in a purely artistic way.
- Review/Preview
- Yoga
- Guest Demo
- Debrief
- Break
- Article
- Assignment Discussion
- Work time
Next Jessica Lawson gave a demo lesson. She took the class with Vershawn in the past, and this was her final lesson. Her appearance was the first thing that interested me. Blue hair, tattoos, ass-kicking boots, not your typical teacher attire. She wasn't hurt by her appearance, however, her confidence and energy showed that she was comfortable leading the class, and that got us to follow her. The other thing that interested me was her genuine interest in literary analysis, a field of study I will never, ever, enter. While her enthusiasm didn't persuade me to reconsider my opinions on literary theory, it did allow me to tolerate, and even enjoy the lesson. I'll agree to take a literary course under the one condition that she teaches it. She's a great teacher, and upon reflection of the lesson it became apparent the intelligence that went into planning the lesson.
The article for today was a little hard to read, but I definately agree that truly great artistic performance doesn't sacrifice art to some educational or intellectual motive, but rather it accomplishes that objective in a purely artistic way.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Day 7/11 - The Children's Museum
Today we went to the Iowa Children's Museum in Coralville. It's a place for kids to have fun and learn interactively. The Museum has several permanent exhibits, and a rotating one. The permanent exhibits were City Works and Kuppet Kingdon, as well as physics, agriculture, and construction exhibits. Their current rotating exhibit is Children Just Like Me, a multicultural exhibit exploring children's lives around the world.
My preferred method of teaching/learning is to be immersed in an environment where everything necessary for learning is made available for discovery. In my opinion, the best way to learn is by making discoveries, therefore the best way to teach is to step back and let that happen, to guide rather than preach. At the Children's Museum, all the tools are there, through role playing kids teach each other, and assessment is easily accomplished by simply observing.
My preferred method of teaching/learning is to be immersed in an environment where everything necessary for learning is made available for discovery. In my opinion, the best way to learn is by making discoveries, therefore the best way to teach is to step back and let that happen, to guide rather than preach. At the Children's Museum, all the tools are there, through role playing kids teach each other, and assessment is easily accomplished by simply observing.
Day 6/11
Today we got the 2nd half of the demo lessons. I think doing so many lessons in two days began to take a toll on the class, especially doing the same activities in many of the lessons. What I did like about doing so many lessons, was amount of feedback we recieved. Each lesson served as an example for learning teaching techniques. I went second on the first day, so the feedback didn't help my lesson, but the things I learned will no doubt come in handy when preparing for my final lesson plan.
I really enjoyed Sara's dance lesson, because it was a glimpse at how you could apply these strategies to another area. I think I'm going to do my final lesson in something other than literature, getting an example was helpful. Not to mention a break from the repetitiveness of the other lessons.
I really enjoyed Sara's dance lesson, because it was a glimpse at how you could apply these strategies to another area. I think I'm going to do my final lesson in something other than literature, getting an example was helpful. Not to mention a break from the repetitiveness of the other lessons.
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