How People Learn Reflection

Micheal Outley December 18, 2013 RLR 540

How People Learn Reflection

I found the video to be quite educational. However, I connected most to Ms. Hearn. In regards to Ms. MacLean, I was impressed with her teaching method, but not surprised. One of the main goals when constructing knowledge is being able to link new with existing information. For that occur, teachers must survey their students to discover common interests. By doing so, teachers increase the chance of student comprehension because the lesson being taught is engrossing.
I liked the idea Ms. Parvin had with bringing the parents in to help bridge varying cultures and races. Yet, there are some variables that could have a reverse effect on the outcome of this situation. First, the parent that is being brought in has to be bilingual. I have seen in numerous instances where it is the second generations that are only able to speak English. The parents prefer to speak in their native tongue either due to lack of education or because their accent disturbs their annunciation. Secondly, the parent has to have knowledge of self. How could they teach others about their culture if the parents are ignorant about their own history? Lastly, teachers have to find parents that are actively engaged in their child’s education. In lower class communities and neighborhoods, the parents are either negligent or working multiple jobs to maintain the household. And when education is not encouraged in the home, the students do not look at academia as a priority.
I thought Mr. Johnson’s class responded very well to the complexity of the lesson. When I looked at this, I wondered what role did war and inflation play into building the model. Then I understood the concept was being used to introduce the students into engineering and their thought process when problem solving. I respected how he used the toothpick bridge model to build scaffolding among the students. While my content area differs from that of Mr. Johnson, I also would implement collaborative learning. When placed in heterogeneous groups, students with different skill sets are able to bring in their prior knowledge and learn from each other.
As I stated previously, I strongly connected with Ms. Hearn because, first and foremost, she teaches English. Next, one of my aspirations as a teacher is to create and/or enhance metacognition. It is imperative that students learn to be interactive thinkers and modify learning strategies and skills based on their awareness of effectiveness. I had never heard of mind mapping prior to the video, but I feel it is a great alternative to crafting outlines prior to writing an essay.
In conclusion, like the aforementioned teachers I want to elevate the minds and motivation of my students. I want to implement discovery learning whenever possible and create hooks in lesson plans that draw students in. I want to come to school excited to teach because students often mirror a teacher’s mood. I want to construct hands-on, kinesthetic activities as much as possible and center lessons around student interests. I want my students to have a voice in the topics they want to research. I want to initially welcome my students’ individual approaches for tackling assignments; however, provide feedback that allows students to reflect and consider optional strategies for academic achievement. Lastly, I want to allow my students to collaborate as much as possible. In doing so, students are directly engaged with the material which fosters depth of understanding, gain practice in both self and peer teaching, and achieve a new sense of confidence as each student recognizes his/her importance to the group.