thoughts on lecturing

I think it is ironic that the teaching method I am the most comfortable with is also the one I most despised as a student. This method is lecturing. I have had plenty of opportunities to lecture to students this semester in my 450 class. I like opening with a lecture to get attention and then move into some kind of cooperative learning activity. I think I can also use inquiry in combination with lecturing to make the lecture more meaningful. I wonder if the main reason I am so comfortable with lecturing is because as a college student, I endured a lecture at least once a day. And have seen many good ways to lecture as well as poor. I also think I am comfortable with lecturing because I am intimidated when all the students are talking at one time, which is possible during group work. I need to not be worried about my classroom appearing chaotic because when students are talking about the subject, which is a whole brain activity, the learning takes place. Learning how to control the chaos by directing dialogue towards the material is a goal I have for student teaching, and ultimately my career.
Here is a website that has some good advise on lecturing:
http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/delivering.html

Photo taken by John Naccarato (http://www.flickr.com/people/naccarato/)

teaching resources

Teaching in the age of information has benefits for teachers. There is a plethora of lesson plans and resources available on the Internet to use for teaching history. One website I found is certainly useful for anyone teaching history. This is a great resource for finding information pertaining to history and recommend it highly.

http://www.besthistorysites.net/LessonPlans.shtml

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. " Ralph Waldo Emerson

One of the most important things I learned this semester is about teacher voice. At the beginning of the semester I kept hearing about this "teacher voice" thing and was confused about what it meant for me as it translates into my teaching. Fortunately I was matched up with two teachers at Fort Collins High School with two very different "teacher voices". Although they were different, since every teacher should find their own voice, they were similar in the sense that they were communicating the same thing. This similarity that they both communicated was that they wanted the students to achieve. I one heard that students don't care what you know until they know that you care. This concept has helped me form my teacher voice more then anything because that is the message I want to communicate to my students. I believe that if the whole class knows that the teacher cares about their their success, then they are more likely to be on the same side as the teacher. This plays into a variety of issues like classroom management and disciplining, to the way I prepare my students for a test. Even to the way I relate to my students through my conversations with them in class. Using my former student lenses, I think that communicating this is the most important thing a teacher should do at the beginning of the year. I remember the teachers that I had who struggled with classroom management did not communicate this point very well and as a result, had students in their class who were not on their side. Taking off my student lenses and putting on my new teacher lenses, I realize that students will not always understand what truly looking out for their best interests means. This includes expectations for good behavior, that home work is turned in on time, and that they come to class prepared every day. I think that teachers take these issues too personally, and are not interested in developing, or more realistically realizing that students are not perfect when they come into the class, and need patience in this development. I think it is valuable to define more closely what kind of patience I am talking about. One definition I have heard is "long suffering". As an emerging teacher, I want to be prepared for this idea of "long suffering" when dealing with students who need this kind of commitment to their development.

School Choice: still an issue? Cutting back the over growth of skepticism and doubt.

"Ideologically inspired lamentations about the parlous state of American education mask the much more complex truth" Quote from Peter Schrag on School Choice.
(http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/97oct/fail.htm)

The article that I got that quote from is very interesting because the author claims that all the worries about how bad public schools are today are boarder line myths. He points out areas of achievement like one in every four Americans has a college degree, which is the highest in the world. He also points out that the comparisons to other industrialized countries in terms of achievement are not valid because for example in Britain and Germany, by the time students are of age to take achievement indicator tests like SATs and ACTs, they are already weeded out and into more specific job training programs. Basically, students who do not do well in school are moved into trade schools, and are not included in comparisons with the United States in terms of achievement. In the United States all scores are included since every citizen legally has the property right to an education and this fact brings down scores that are used to compare the U.S. to other countries.

So what are the implications for me as a future educator?

I think that despite the good statistics and the bad, which I am not denying but just sharing positive statistics, that there is hope for public schools. Sure, there are un-questionably bad public schools out there, but that does not mean that the entire system should be thrown out with the bath water. (I am entirely way to young to use that metaphor, haha...) Public schools are making a difference. Imagine if schools were entirely privatized. This would mean that in the process of the schools improving, like business do in a competitive market, tuition would be high at first while the market eventually lowers prices because of the concept of supply and demand. For a time, education would be to expensive for low class Americans. This is ok in the business world because this usually applies to products that are not necessities like food and water. Allowing education to be privatized is like treating a basic commodity like bread as if it were the newest mustang model. Education is a basic necessity and if it was allowed to be privatized, it would undoubtedly become exclusions, even if for a brief time, and this would be at the cost of our children. The beauty of the American Public School system is that all citizens are entitled to it, even of they don't want it. We believe in valuing the individual, no matter their socio-economic status.
School choice is a great way to keep the government accountable to their own system, and a great way to value the individual in allowing them to go to a better school. However, school choice is not in my opinion the solution exclusively, just another piece to the puzzle of a solution.

I think that the public school system is getting lost in an over growth of skepticism and doubt.

Interesting Quote

"German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1960), himself a very self-disciplined personality, cautioned educators, “But on the whole we should try to draw out from their own ideas, founded on reason, other than to introduce such ideas into their minds.” This notion drawing out reasoned thought appears again and again in the literature still today(Cahan,1994,p.158) To Tolstoy and Kant both the notion of a hired gum approach to education would be an anathema. There is as Robin Barrows (1984) explains a sharp difference between principles of classroom management and control and principles concerned with developing the mind. In an educational institution, all principles should be subordinated in the end to those which develop the mind." taken from http://cie.asu.edu/volume9/number2/index.html

I like this quote because it deals with balancing classroom management and activities that develop the minds of students. I have had teachers who because of students who constantly mis-behave, could only focus on managing the classroom. As much as I believe in educating every child, every day; I don't want what happened to me, happen to other students. There doesn't seem to be a solution to this problem in public schools. I have a feeling that if I allow myself to get worried about problem students, I will probably get burned out of teaching quite quickly. Learning how to balance this problem, and allow for learning to take place in my classroom is one of the goals I know I will have to be commited to for my whole career.

Constructivism and democracy

"Education agencies, therefore, must create environments where students can interact and learn to participate in a democracy, not schools where control is the dominant theme(Sehr, 1996)." taken from http://cie.asu.edu/volume9/number5/index.html
Teaching is evolving and it is exciting to be part of a more student centered movement in American education. I am interested in how teaching constructivist lessons can encourage students in participating in a democratic society. Constructivist teaching is all about according to wikipedia, " values developmentally-appropriate facilitator-supported learning that is initiated and directed by the learner. This is the path through which educators (facilitators) wish to approach students in constructing meaning of new concepts." Basically, this means that unless the student finds meaning in the topic or lesson, and if the teacher can allow the student the freedom to create their own meaning, then students will be life-long learners and engage in the material during class. An article I read mentioned that constructivist lessons takes away behavioral problems because the students are constantly engaged in meaningful activities. This is how it can connect to democratic values. In order for a student to find their own meaning and direct their own learning, a dialogue must take place between the student and the teacher. To get what the student wants, a democratic process has to take place between the teacher and student. This is valuable for a Social Studies Teacher because demonstrating the democratic process in a constructivist way will better communicate these values then any lesson.

Another awesome quote from the essay

"Expectations affect students in many ways, not just
academically, but in the form of mental and social deprivation which
causes a lack of self-esteem. When educators receive information
about students, mostly even before the student walks into their
classroom, from past test scores, IEP’s, and past teachers, it tends
to alter the way we look at the students potential for growth. This
foundation of expectation is then transformed on to our method of
instruction.
One basic fallout from these expectations is the amount of
time educators spend in communicating with students. We tend to speak
more directly to students who excel, talking in more matures tone of
voice, treating them more like a grown-up than we do to the students
who are already labeled underachievers. This can give the student an
added incentive to either progress or regress due to the amount of
stimulation that they receive.
As educators we tend to take the exceptional students "under
our wing". We tend to offer knowledge in situations to help push the
good students, in comparison to moving on to the next task for the
others. We also tend to critique the work of our god students more
positively than the others, offering challenges to the answers they
have given.
The most obvious characteristic that educators present to the
students is in the area of body language and facial expression. We
tend to present ourselves in a more professional manner to our good
students, speaking more clearly and with a stronger tone of voice. We
tend to stand more upright, in a more powerful stance, than to the
slouching effect we give to the underachievers. The head shakes,
glancing with our eyes, hand gestures, and posture all contribute to
the way we look at certain students based on our first impressions
which came before we even knew the student."
Taken from http://www.cyberessays.com/Politics/31.htm

It's crazy to me how even the most subtle body language can send a message to students showing favoritism. Teaching is one of the most difficult forms of communication, in my humble opinion.

School is a microcosm of Society

"Schools are often blamed for the ills of society, yet society
has a major impact on our education system. The problems that schools
are facing today are certainly connected to the problems that are
society faces, including drugs, violence, and the changing of our
family structure. There are many methods that schools have begun to
use in order to deal with the problems they are faced with and still
offer the best possible education to our youth."
Taken from an essay on http://www.cyberessays.com/Politics/31.htm

This quote in interesting to me because it has some very powerful implications for our education system. It is important that teachers recognise that schools are a microcosm of society, meaning that all the problems that exist in the grown up world exist in schools. I think that sometimes as teachers we don't always want to believe that students have problems coming into the classroom. We expect students to leave their problems at the door and come to class every day with a positive attitude, ready to be as excited about my subject as I am. While these are positive expectations, and should be expected of students, I believe that there needs to be understanding when a student comes to class with their problems weighing them down. I believe that it is the teachers responsibility to challenge students to learn how to excel despite the external circumstances and the only way this can happen is by having a caring and compassionate attitude towards these students. How can I expect a students to leave their problems at the door when my bad attitude towards them, when they are having a bad day, only adds another problem to their shoulders. Growing up I noticed these teachers and their bad attitudes were often directed to my friends. Typically the result was my friends shutting down and checking out. Of course I realize that with the sheer number of students I will be in contact with during my career, and the sheer number of bad days I will have as a teacher, this seems very idealistic. Fortunately I believe in a God who I can depend on in the hard times of my career.

A heart for teaching

In my 450 class today we talked about what it takes to teach in a more ethnically diverse school. My initial reaction was overwhelmingly "yes"!!! I could teach outside of "vanilla valley" as one of my classmates put it. It really got me thinking about how this is an issue that still exists today in education. As much as I don't understand it, since I grew up in Colorado Springs where there is not much diversity, I have to be prepared to work with colleagues who may struggle with treating minority students differently. Even with this in mind, I still have no idea what kind of school I want to teach in for my first year. I am worried that if I go into a inner city school, that I will get burnt out within the first two years.

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Why I Teach

It seems that my desire to be a teacher fluctuates. One day I am pumped to step into my career as a teacher while other days I am worried that I might be making a mistake. I have come to realize that it is not so much teaching that scares me, but instead a fear of the unknown. It is amazing to me how one day I was willing to scrap the whole teaching thing before I really experienced what teaching is like. I won't know until I actually get a job and experience a full year of teaching. Some might argue that this kind of perspective is dangerous, saying that I should know if teaching is for me before I student teach. And to some extent I agree with this argument, but what I am talking about is a willingness to take a risk into the unknown. I am an experiential learner so actually experiencing something is vital to my decision making process. So with this in mind, my greatest enemy is a type of fear that prevents me from experiential learning. This reminds me of the first lecture I heard at CSU. Surprisingly, it was not while I was a student but instead when I was visiting CSU for "preview" when I was a Junior in high school. The topic of discussion was potential. He started out the lecture by praising all of us college hopefuls for making it this far, meaning that we had done well enough in school that we could go to college. Keep in mind that all of our parents were sitting in the room as well. He continued explaining all of the possibilities open to us because we had decided to go to college. He set up a frame work of "our potential" to be the change needed in the world. I admit, I was getting inspired. I remember thinking that everything was lining up for my future. Then he dropped a bomb on us. He explained how all of our potential means nothing. I remember a sinking feeling in my stomach. He went on to explain that no matter how much potential we have, it means nothing unless we do something with it. So what if I have the ability to go to college, I actually have to go to college for that ability to mean something. I know this sounds rather simple, but this issue of realizing potential and acting on it can act as a stumbling block for many people, the fear that cripples even the most able minds. I believe that I have potential to be a great teacher, but my battle is not letting the fear of the unknown discourage and inhibit my learning experiences right now.

Here is a website that deals with the things I mentioned: http://psychologytoday.com/articles/index.php?term=20061204-000004&page=1

Also, this video is "why I teach"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxsOVK4syxU

My first lesson

My first lesson was on the opening of Japan by Commodore Matthew Perry. I decided to do a comparison of Japanese perceptions with American perceptions through the medium of art. Basically, I found a great on-line resource that has a bunch of pictures of paintings both from the Japanese and American sides. My main goal was for my students to understand the "clash of cultures" that happened when the cultures first interacted. Overall it went well. I can always improve though. One thing I did well was time management. I also did a good job of managing the group work I had my students do. The things I need to improve on are some small management pieces like wait until I have given all the instructions before I hand out things with pictures and to make sure I give appropriate closure that relates back to the main theme of "clash of cultures". As far as improving from my ed350 experience, I think I was more confident in front of my students. So I am seeing progress, which is relieving!

These are links to the websites I used to put my lesson plan together. If you are interested in art and or the history of Japan, I highly recommend these: http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027j/black_ships_and_samurai/core.html and

http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027j/yokohama/yb_core_intro.html

Inquiry!? Who knew it could change my life!

Today in 450 we talked about the art of asking questions. My professor started it out by telling the class that our lives would be forever changed after the end of class. He was extremely passionate and modeled to us the concept of a "hook"... and it worked. So, if you are reading this as a future educator, get ready because you will never look the same at asking a question.

Here it is, in one simple formula: ASK THE QUESTION---ALLOW FOR WAIT TIME---USE STUDENTS NAME=EFFECTIVE INQUIRY---that's it! A simple formula for effective question asking right? Well, it turns out that this skill takes some practice. Here are the benefits: lets say that I am teaching a class on World Geography. I ask a simple question like "why did the United States force Japan to open its ports". If I start the question by saying a students name, then the rest of class knows that they don't have to think about the question because I won't put them on the spot because I have already asked one student. If I pose the question to the whole class, then they all have to think because they don't know who I am going to call on. This simple art has the ability to keep the whole class engaged in the discussion. WOW, it blew my mind, simply asking the question first and then calling on a student keeps the class thinking! As my professor put it "inquiry is the difference between a good teacher and great teaching". Sounds cliche at first, but it really makes sense when it is applied in the classroom.

Here is a link for more information on Inquiry http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/index.html

The only thing worse then taking the CSAP is watching students take the CSAP

Today's reflection is on the 4 hours I spent on Tuesday proctoring CSAPs for Fort Collins High School. It was one of the most mind numbing things I have ever done. I spent most of the day counting the seconds in a minute. I also tried counting the seconds in 10 minutes, I only got to around 600 before my mind wondered away...It is amazing how many different songs will go through your head when you are forced to sit in complete silence. So, my view of the CSAP is that it is a good thing, in theory. I do believe that education needs to be accountable to the public and that CSAP is a good way, in theory, to get rid of bad schools and teachers. The problem is that it gets in the way of learning. The weeks that CSAP happen are really hard on the students who have to take them. Can you really expect a student to get anything out of a class when it has been reduced to 35 minutes? Also, the students are completely burnt out after spending 4 hours taking the test. It also poses problems for upper classsmen who are in rigorous AP classes because their class time is reduced as well. Honestly, CSAP's are bitter sweet for me because I understand the need for them, and even agree with that need. In this sense they are sweet, however they are bitter because they have many issues that affect students negatively.

Here is a good blog that offers further information and perspective: http://www.headfirstcolorado.org/blog/index.php/category/accountability/