Week 2 was a short week due to the Ekka public holiday on the Wednesday and then another pupil free day on the Thursday.
On the Tuesday night was the school dance and I volunteered to be a supervisor. I had a great time! It definitively made me feel old seeing all of the kids there dressed up. I think attending these type of events outside of school time it great for building up a rapport with students.
What I learnt:
** you need to be flexible to students needs during a lesson. This means to be able to stop or change the lesson plan to better suit the students. With my SOSE class this week I taught a lesson on the background History of the Gold Rush and I thought that the students would benefit by doing a timeline in their books of Australian history so they could see where the Gold Rush sat in relation to later events. I had a number of key events and the dates written down and students had to put the information in a timeline. As a class we had discussed a number of the events and I asked for students for their understanding of them. I was under the impression that all of the students had learnt Australian history before in primary school however many had gaps in their knowledge of such events. The previous unit that the students had studied was "Who discovered Australia" however the students had no knowledge of what "Terror Nullius" meant or what the Federation of Australia was. Therefore, rather than continuing on with the next activity, I made sure that students had a complete understanding of the events. I did this through questioning the students, having the students themselves ask questions. I also needed to make sure that they knew what a timeline was and how the date system worked with BC and AD.
So basically I learnt that every students, especially in year 8, have varied educational experiences and knowledge and that it is best not to assume that they would have learnt it in primary school. I also learnt that the teacher needs to be constantly checking for understanding. I do this through moving around the classroom, check students work, asking students individually questions, asking the class questions, having the students explain something or putting it in their own works and summarising.
** I have learnt that as a teacher you must work into the classroom with the confidence on knowing what you are going to teach and how you are going to teach it. This week I taught a lesson on Beowulf to by year 9s. I little knowledge of it before hand, however the weekend before, I study up on the poem and learnt how to pronounce the names. I think that it was important to be able to work into the classroom with confidence.
What went well:
** I was teaching a lesson on the reliability of historical sources and the students were about to study the story of King Arthur. The students had the task of researching the reliability of the story. I first showed the students images of gossip magazines and I asked the students "how do we know that this is reliable?" "what evidence would we need?" I then asked them about Santa "Is the story of Santa based on truth?" "What evidence do we have?" The basis of this was for students to understand that often legends or stories are based on some historical truth however it is the details around the story that change over time. I then showed a short clip from the movie Excalibur where Arthur pulled the sword from the stone and asked the students "what evidence do we have of this?" I think this worked really well as a way to get the students interested in the topic and to connect to the knowledge that they already have.
**My year 11 class had their exam this week so I have marking to do this weekend!
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Week 1: Reflections
What I learnt:
* In every lesson try to have a skill or learning technique which you teach to the students rather than simply teaching the content. For example, teaching techniques such as the Inquiry Process and SQ3R. Also it is important to explicitly make the students aware of the technique they are learning.
* Year 8 students take a lot longer to get through activities and set tasks compared to year 9 and 10s. They tend to get over excited and often take longer to settle down.
What went well:
* Students respond well to visual information and activities. For example, I taught a year 8 SOSE class in which I was introducing the concepts of "heroes" and villains." I had students study images of 9 famous characters such as: Harry Potter, Lord Voldemort, Batman, Cruella De Vil etc. In pairs they had to discuss and identify whether or not the character was a hero or villain and what characteristics make that person a hero or villain.
* Scaffolding and modeling. Students need examples and guidance when completing an activity or task they are unfamiliar with such as essay writing.
I will write more later... I have to get back to writing lesson plans and resources : )
* In every lesson try to have a skill or learning technique which you teach to the students rather than simply teaching the content. For example, teaching techniques such as the Inquiry Process and SQ3R. Also it is important to explicitly make the students aware of the technique they are learning.
* Year 8 students take a lot longer to get through activities and set tasks compared to year 9 and 10s. They tend to get over excited and often take longer to settle down.
What went well:
* Students respond well to visual information and activities. For example, I taught a year 8 SOSE class in which I was introducing the concepts of "heroes" and villains." I had students study images of 9 famous characters such as: Harry Potter, Lord Voldemort, Batman, Cruella De Vil etc. In pairs they had to discuss and identify whether or not the character was a hero or villain and what characteristics make that person a hero or villain.
* Scaffolding and modeling. Students need examples and guidance when completing an activity or task they are unfamiliar with such as essay writing.
I will write more later... I have to get back to writing lesson plans and resources : )
Back on PRAC!!!
I start my second prac last monday (6/8/07)!!! This time I am teaching 4 classes:
** Year 8 SOSE (The Gold Rush)
** Year 9 History (Anglo-Saxons)
** Year 10 History (Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll)
** Year 11 Modern History (Cold War)
** Year 8 SOSE (The Gold Rush)
** Year 9 History (Anglo-Saxons)
** Year 10 History (Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll)
** Year 11 Modern History (Cold War)
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Cooperative Learning Strategies
Following are some Cooperative Learning Strategies:
Numbered-heads together
Students form groups
Groups members are assigned numbers
Review questions in numbered group
All discuss
Instructor calls out number to get answer
Group member with that number responds to question oral or written.
Helps resolve free-rider problem
Think in Pairs
Idea Exchange
Meet with second group (total of 4) and continue exchange
Combine groups (total of 8 individuals) for even more exchange
Jigsaw
Forms groups
Rebreak by numbers
Learn group information
Go back to home group and explain what you learned
Round Robin Approach
Open ended discussion
Everyone talks (round robin)
Two main roles - recorder, presenter
3-Minute Review
Group discussion of the topic presented
Timed
Present questions to group/instructor
3-step Interview
Pairs
Interview each other
Present the others view to class or introduce each other
Numbered-heads together
Students form groups
Groups members are assigned numbers
Review questions in numbered group
All discuss
Instructor calls out number to get answer
Group member with that number responds to question oral or written.
Helps resolve free-rider problem
Think in Pairs
Idea Exchange
Meet with second group (total of 4) and continue exchange
Combine groups (total of 8 individuals) for even more exchange
Jigsaw
Forms groups
Rebreak by numbers
Learn group information
Go back to home group and explain what you learned
Round Robin Approach
Open ended discussion
Everyone talks (round robin)
Two main roles - recorder, presenter
3-Minute Review
Group discussion of the topic presented
Timed
Present questions to group/instructor
3-step Interview
Pairs
Interview each other
Present the others view to class or introduce each other
Monday, July 2, 2007
Yr. 9 SOSE Reflection
Strengths and Needs to improve:
* Connectedness -- creating interesting activities. Using interesting techniques to motivate and get students interested in the topic.
* Highly organised and prepared -- I created lesson plans which were flexible to the needs of the students in the classroom. I also worked well with other teachers teaching the same unit -- to share my resources, discuss any difficulties the students encountered, discuss the time management of the unit, I created a student assignment checklist and explanation on how to prepare and present an oral presentation, which all of the teachers used etc.
* Relate to students -- I feel that I have worked well with the students to understand their individual needs and abilities. I have helped those students with learning difficulties by pairing them up with students of a higher ability during group activities. I also did this with those students who have the tendency to misbehave -- I paired them up with students who are going to concentrate to complete the work.
* Behaviour Management -- to begin with this class was very challenging. My supervising teacher informed me that even an experienced teacher would find this class difficult to manage. I think that I was better able to control the class when my confidence increased as a teacher and I implemented better behaviour management strategies, such as writing their name on the board as a first warning and a x next to it would be a detention. Students need teachers to be fair and consistent with discipline. From this class I learnt that I only takes one or two students who can influence and distract a number of students around them. I think in the future that I will be more proactive in moving those students at the beginning of the lessons before they distract other students.
I would like to say that with this class I could use "positive reinforcement" to create better behaviour however, with this particular class I feel that it would only work to a certain extent and not well enough to control and teach the class. I do however use positive reinforcement with the class when dealing with the academic side however I do also need to recognise good behaviour, which is something I will endeavour to do in the future.
* I feel that I need to improve my ability to cater for different learning abilities, particularly those with literacy learning difficulties.
* Connectedness -- creating interesting activities. Using interesting techniques to motivate and get students interested in the topic.
* Highly organised and prepared -- I created lesson plans which were flexible to the needs of the students in the classroom. I also worked well with other teachers teaching the same unit -- to share my resources, discuss any difficulties the students encountered, discuss the time management of the unit, I created a student assignment checklist and explanation on how to prepare and present an oral presentation, which all of the teachers used etc.
* Relate to students -- I feel that I have worked well with the students to understand their individual needs and abilities. I have helped those students with learning difficulties by pairing them up with students of a higher ability during group activities. I also did this with those students who have the tendency to misbehave -- I paired them up with students who are going to concentrate to complete the work.
* Behaviour Management -- to begin with this class was very challenging. My supervising teacher informed me that even an experienced teacher would find this class difficult to manage. I think that I was better able to control the class when my confidence increased as a teacher and I implemented better behaviour management strategies, such as writing their name on the board as a first warning and a x next to it would be a detention. Students need teachers to be fair and consistent with discipline. From this class I learnt that I only takes one or two students who can influence and distract a number of students around them. I think in the future that I will be more proactive in moving those students at the beginning of the lessons before they distract other students.
I would like to say that with this class I could use "positive reinforcement" to create better behaviour however, with this particular class I feel that it would only work to a certain extent and not well enough to control and teach the class. I do however use positive reinforcement with the class when dealing with the academic side however I do also need to recognise good behaviour, which is something I will endeavour to do in the future.
* I feel that I need to improve my ability to cater for different learning abilities, particularly those with literacy learning difficulties.
Yr. 10 History Reflection
Strengths:
• Connectedness with students -- use of The Simpsons episode to get students thinking about the Cold War, particularly definitions capitalism and communism.
• Interesting, insightful and motivating resources -- half the class watched the real education video “Duck and Cover”, which was played in American schools from the 1950s to the 1980s, while the other half looked at brochures informing people about what to do if a nuclear bomb occurred. We then had a class discussion regarding: What was the intended purpose of "Duck and Cover" and the brochures when they were first made? What was your reaction to the film or brochure? Compare and contrast the intended purpose with your reaction to it. The students were genuinely interested, as they were able to imagine themselves in the same situation as people living during the Cold War. This in turn enabled them to better understand how and why people felt threatened by the possibility of a nuclear strike.
• Behaviour Management Strategies -- set out the rules of my classroom and made it clear that students are to follow these. I feel that I have been in control of the class and the students have respected me in this role. Despite the fact that I had developed relationships with the students before hand, I feel the students have respected me as a teacher and a person in authority. Both of which I feel is a result of my behaviour management strategies.
Areas I need to improve:
• Content knowledge -- as I was not completely familiar with the Cold War before I began preparing for this unit, I now realize that as a history teacher I must continually be reading and improving my own knowledge of history.
• Connectedness with students -- use of The Simpsons episode to get students thinking about the Cold War, particularly definitions capitalism and communism.
• Interesting, insightful and motivating resources -- half the class watched the real education video “Duck and Cover”, which was played in American schools from the 1950s to the 1980s, while the other half looked at brochures informing people about what to do if a nuclear bomb occurred. We then had a class discussion regarding: What was the intended purpose of "Duck and Cover" and the brochures when they were first made? What was your reaction to the film or brochure? Compare and contrast the intended purpose with your reaction to it. The students were genuinely interested, as they were able to imagine themselves in the same situation as people living during the Cold War. This in turn enabled them to better understand how and why people felt threatened by the possibility of a nuclear strike.
• Behaviour Management Strategies -- set out the rules of my classroom and made it clear that students are to follow these. I feel that I have been in control of the class and the students have respected me in this role. Despite the fact that I had developed relationships with the students before hand, I feel the students have respected me as a teacher and a person in authority. Both of which I feel is a result of my behaviour management strategies.
Areas I need to improve:
• Content knowledge -- as I was not completely familiar with the Cold War before I began preparing for this unit, I now realize that as a history teacher I must continually be reading and improving my own knowledge of history.
Week 6 & 7: Reflection
In the finally weeks of my prac I was heavily involved in designing, setting and marking exams for all of my classes.
In week 6:
I marked Yr. 9 SOSE oral presentations
Marked Yr. 11 Modern History essays and taught a lesson introducing the new topic of the Cold War.
Marked Yr. 10 Modern History response to stimulus papers.
Marked Yr. 8 English oral presentations.
In week 7:
I taught two Yr. 8 English classes. I taught a short unit on "pirates", which I created and designed. I had them vote for a captain, analyze the symbolism in pirate flags and deign their own flags. We read a few articles about modern day pirates and then had them compare "Hollywood pirates" and "modern day pirates." There were also a number of other activities related to this unit. I felt that the students really enjoyed the activities and topic. I also think that this shot unit has the potential to be extended to a full history unit where students could research historical pirates or an English unit in which students would study "Treasure Island."
As far a teaching this class: I found the students a delight to teach. I feel that the behaviour management strategies, which I developed earlier in my prac better enabled me to teach the class.
In the final week I also taught a Yr. 9 SOSE class. I taught a short unit on food. I had students compare two pictures of a typical American family food consumption to a Mexican family. I had them look at the geography and economic issues. We then focused on advertising strategies and techniques used to advertise food items. I had them analyze food advertisements and then create their own ad. We then looked at techniques used to photograph food. To conclude the short unit we looked at poverty and compared assess to food in first world verses third world.
I think the students really enjoyed this unit practically the sections in which we looked at brand names, brand recognition and advertising strategies. I really think one of the keys to teaching is to make sure you connect with the students -- Connectedness!
In week 6:
I marked Yr. 9 SOSE oral presentations
Marked Yr. 11 Modern History essays and taught a lesson introducing the new topic of the Cold War.
Marked Yr. 10 Modern History response to stimulus papers.
Marked Yr. 8 English oral presentations.
In week 7:
I taught two Yr. 8 English classes. I taught a short unit on "pirates", which I created and designed. I had them vote for a captain, analyze the symbolism in pirate flags and deign their own flags. We read a few articles about modern day pirates and then had them compare "Hollywood pirates" and "modern day pirates." There were also a number of other activities related to this unit. I felt that the students really enjoyed the activities and topic. I also think that this shot unit has the potential to be extended to a full history unit where students could research historical pirates or an English unit in which students would study "Treasure Island."
As far a teaching this class: I found the students a delight to teach. I feel that the behaviour management strategies, which I developed earlier in my prac better enabled me to teach the class.
In the final week I also taught a Yr. 9 SOSE class. I taught a short unit on food. I had students compare two pictures of a typical American family food consumption to a Mexican family. I had them look at the geography and economic issues. We then focused on advertising strategies and techniques used to advertise food items. I had them analyze food advertisements and then create their own ad. We then looked at techniques used to photograph food. To conclude the short unit we looked at poverty and compared assess to food in first world verses third world.
I think the students really enjoyed this unit practically the sections in which we looked at brand names, brand recognition and advertising strategies. I really think one of the keys to teaching is to make sure you connect with the students -- Connectedness!
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