Class 10 refelection

I am proud to say that I have finished all the courses required for my transitional license.  It has been a long and arduous process but not one without merit.  I have taken a class geared toward teaching mathematics specifically, one that focused on in grating technology into the classroom and one that focused on special ed students.  After all this I can unequivocally say that Educational Psychology 401 has been the most difficult, painful and worthwhile one of them all.  There is no other class that covers the range of material that EdPsych 401 does.  Below, I will highlight some of my main takeaways from the class.

I really enjoyed the video by Ken Robinson.  He gave me new insight into the importance of allowing for creativity in the classroom. My blog post c6 concerns this and highlights many reasons why this is the case, especially in math and science. 

I was familiar with behaviorism before I entered this class but I was not familiar with the other learning theories. All of the theories have their strong points and learning about all of them can only help an aspiring teacher.  However,  I was particularly drawn to cognitive theory because I believe it gives the best account for how an individual learns complex things such as chess and mathematical equations.  It thinks of the human mind as an immensely powerful, but flawed, computer.  My CSEL paper is on this topic and is contains many useful ideas to help students learn.

Other points that I will remember are: Cattell's fluid vs. crystallized intelligence for its wonderful conception of expertise at chess, Piaget's cognitive stages and Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development.  This class has also made me think deeper about how to motivate students and about the correct type of assessments to give.  It also made aware of how some of my students feel when I load them down with work!  Of all the classes I have been required take, this one was easily the most comprehensive, and while that might have been frustrating at times, I believe that everyone in the class left as a better teacher than they began.  

Class 9 reflection

What I have chosen to do for this post is to make a handy list of ways to keep yourself safe as a teacher.  All to often, teachers find themselves in compromising situations with students.  Quite often this is because the teacher initiated the situation.  However, good, well intentioned teachers can find themselves in scenarios they never envisioned or facing false student accusations.  In my two years teaching I have been placed into uncomfortable situations by students on several occasions.  Fortunately, these situations were very benign and nothing ever happened. And even though I felt blameless in these situations I couldn't help but think I should have taken steps to mitigate the risk of such situations.

This is especially important for young teachers to remember.  Many education graduates end up teaching high school and are only a few years older than their students.  In my personal experience, and many others I have talked to, this can be an awkward situation.  When high school students have a young teacher they much more likely to ask that teacher personal questions.  These may include: Questions about alcohol and drug use or statements such as, "Do you have a boy/girlfriend," "Do you like to party." Many of these questions maybe simple curiously on the part of the students, or they maybe trying to gain insight into a part of their lives that they will soon be leading.  In any case, if these questions are humored by the teacher they serve to undermine his/her authority and increase the likelihood of and awkward situation occurring. Below is a list of some suggestions to insulate yourself from this.

1. Never answer questions about your personal life other than simple facts. (Where you grew up, etc.)

2. Never find a student on Facebook or any other social media device.

3. Avoid being alone in a room with a student if possible.  If this situation does occur, which it probably will at some point, leave the door open.

4. Set boundaries and make sure that your desk and your personal possessions in the room are off limits to students.

5. Don't play favorites.

6. This is the biggest one.  Instill a constructive, respectful environment in your classroom. If the students do not respect eachother's personal space, it is less likely that they will respect yours.  Also, establishing yourself as a serious educator will make students less likely to ask you those personal questions.