Reflection Statement
The path to completing my masters in curriculum and instruction has lead me to be more reflective of all the practices I use in my classroom on a daily basis. My masters program has caused me to grow in three main areas these include classroom management style, lesson planning for all student modalities, and classroom team building.
My collection of classes, lead me to realize the cooperative strategy of teaching is definitely my intrinsic style. After taking EDU 669, Cooperative Learning, I came away with multiple strategies for implementing it into my classroom. Cooperative learning encourages more engagement and interaction in the classroom. The cooperative learning strategy tends to be very effective in a mainstream classroom. My action research project showed me that in my classroom, students as a whole are more productive when cooperative learning strategies were implemented. Students who are hesitant to try something new may it be drama, technology, creativity, writing, or drawing are encouraged by those in their group to try.
After taking improvement of instruction, my lesson plans have been reformatted using the 4-Mat lesson plan strategy. This has made it easy for me to justify to parents and staff why we do the activities we do in the classroom. Being a social studies teacher, I want my students to be hands on learners about history not just place and date memorizers. I want them to witness and feel reactions of people of various time frames in history. 4-mat allows students to shine and stretch. Teaching to a student’s learning modalities; imaginative, analytic, common sense, or dynamic makes a tremendous impact on a child’s learning and love of learning. When students are allowed to learn in their VAK styles of visual, auditory or kinetic they will absorb and retain learning at higher levels.
While taking Building Communities I and II, I realized what a powerful role relationships play in teaching students and working with staff. When students can make connections between curriculum and their own points of reference in life through literature, media motivators, and energizers they become engaged in learning. I have used a lot of media in my classroom but always directly connected to the unit. I had not expanded my creative thinking to incorporate topics that were similar, that had greater life experience connections to the students. Teaching through movement with middle school students, impacts students’ ability to focus and stay on task.
Seeing the bonding process in adults, in the two classes of building communities I was involved in, has given me some insight in working with my middle school colleagues. Having the task of being the team leader, I want to implement some team building experiences for our team to bond and improve our work environment.
Being a better classroom teacher was the main focus of perusing my masters in curriculum and instruction. The focus that I have taken to complete my course work has definitely made me stretch and improve my teaching techniques. Teaching is the art of helping students to become lifelong learners and if I can motivate students to do that my goals in the teaching profession have been achieved.
My collection of classes, lead me to realize the cooperative strategy of teaching is definitely my intrinsic style. After taking EDU 669, Cooperative Learning, I came away with multiple strategies for implementing it into my classroom. Cooperative learning encourages more engagement and interaction in the classroom. The cooperative learning strategy tends to be very effective in a mainstream classroom. My action research project showed me that in my classroom, students as a whole are more productive when cooperative learning strategies were implemented. Students who are hesitant to try something new may it be drama, technology, creativity, writing, or drawing are encouraged by those in their group to try.
After taking improvement of instruction, my lesson plans have been reformatted using the 4-Mat lesson plan strategy. This has made it easy for me to justify to parents and staff why we do the activities we do in the classroom. Being a social studies teacher, I want my students to be hands on learners about history not just place and date memorizers. I want them to witness and feel reactions of people of various time frames in history. 4-mat allows students to shine and stretch. Teaching to a student’s learning modalities; imaginative, analytic, common sense, or dynamic makes a tremendous impact on a child’s learning and love of learning. When students are allowed to learn in their VAK styles of visual, auditory or kinetic they will absorb and retain learning at higher levels.
While taking Building Communities I and II, I realized what a powerful role relationships play in teaching students and working with staff. When students can make connections between curriculum and their own points of reference in life through literature, media motivators, and energizers they become engaged in learning. I have used a lot of media in my classroom but always directly connected to the unit. I had not expanded my creative thinking to incorporate topics that were similar, that had greater life experience connections to the students. Teaching through movement with middle school students, impacts students’ ability to focus and stay on task.
Seeing the bonding process in adults, in the two classes of building communities I was involved in, has given me some insight in working with my middle school colleagues. Having the task of being the team leader, I want to implement some team building experiences for our team to bond and improve our work environment.
Being a better classroom teacher was the main focus of perusing my masters in curriculum and instruction. The focus that I have taken to complete my course work has definitely made me stretch and improve my teaching techniques. Teaching is the art of helping students to become lifelong learners and if I can motivate students to do that my goals in the teaching profession have been achieved.