On Monday, after my EOT class, I fell very ill. I had to skip practicum on Tuesday to rest, and made it up on Thursday. Wednesday, I went to my son's school to volunteer and tutor his classmates. Thursday, after practicum, I rushed with an assignment that was due. Friday was my mental-health day to which I rested and took a breather. Right now, I decided to keep up with my blog and continue with projects, homework, and homelife -- not necessarily in that order -- after I'm done here.
I am eager to share my week because it has been quite an interesting one. I do not mean that in a negative way. This is quite the opposite, in fact. Monday's class -- although I was already feeling the effects of my illness coming on -- I was excited to learn how to present a lesson in a step-by-step process to keep students interested in the subject they're learning. It doesn't have to be done in that specific way all the time, but observing what we saw on the video, I believe it works. Mrs. Dearly uses that technique the majority of the time! Mrs. Windell, uses it, too, but I sometimes wonder if she realizes that she is using it. I barely notice the "steps" because they're very subtle. This type of "model" is very effective when used appropriately.
The difference is that they each have their own unique way of presenting material -- old and new. For example, there is this one teacher in the video who uses body-motions to vote: right elbow on left knee, thumbsup, pat your head/belly, etc. It was done in a humorous way and the children loved it. Another teacher presented her material with an overhead projector and kept the class moving with their curiousities and answers by the tone of her voice and body language. She was very enthusiastic about the subject she was teaching. But, man, she talked alot! Imagine a teacher who talked alot but did not involve some kind of class interaction -- BORING!
Mrs. Dearly does what those teachers in the video do, too. She explains really well what the students need to learn, but done in an enthusiastic way. I have modeled after her when she assigned me to a couple of her small groups -- as well as in Mrs. Windell's class -- and lo and behold....it worked!! No scripts, no preparation. These "steps" felt so natural and convenient. On top of that, the children were eager to learn more!
I spend, on an average, about 20 minutes with individual or small groups of children, at a time. 20 minutes does not feel like enough time to teach them the entire material. Now I know exactly how Mrs. Dearly feels like. She's always on the move. Every 20 minutes, her lessons are changing. I can definitely feel the frustration -- as a teacher -- that Mrs. Dearly is feeling when she feels like she hasn't "caught up". I walk out of Mrs. Dearly's and Mrs. Windell's classes feeling like I haven't taught those kids enough. I feel like they need to learn more.
When I saw that video in my EOT class, those children were eager to learn because of the process that the teachers were using. Although they did not go through an entire class in the video, I'm pretty sure that those teachers walked out of their classrooms feeling like they need to teach more to those kids. That explains their motivation to teach. That explains why these teachers are GREAT teachers. Just like Mrs. Windell and Mrs. Dearly.
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