Discovery & Lessons on Planning and Teaching

Discovery & Lessons on Planning and Teaching

What did you discover about fifth grade students? What did you think? Were your expectations met, or did they fail?

I discovered that all students are individually different, they learn in their own ways by relating to different strategies and tools. I thought that the class we worked with was an awesome group, for the most part they cooperated and respected us as teacher guests. They became engaged with what we had planned for them, especially the activities. I expected the class to love us being there because I remember loving having guests in my own elementary school classrooms, it was always exciting. I feel that my group as a whole worked extremely hard on planning, revising/practicing, and teaching. The nights spent up until 3:30 am were worth it because in the end we stood in front of Mrs. V's class with confidence and strong self attributes enhancing the minds and knowledge of young ones. Students were eager and wanting to answer and participate. I admit I was nervous at the thought of being in front of the class, but after all this experience has made me feel nothing but rewarded and proud. It was overall one of the best experiences in my three years here at the Mount. Teaching the fifth grade made me think of how amazing having a classroom of my own one day will be. I have learned that teaching involves teamwork, cooperation, and compromise especially when working in a group.
My expectations were exceeded for one of my groups activity, the Mayflower Compact. They not only typed up a letter but they used tools, and decorations to make this letter look like it was historical and real. Being that students may have complained about excess work, I learned that in the end they enjoyed this and put their hearts and best effort into it.

Discovery and learning lessons about myself, how I performed (planning and teaching)

I have discovered that I am capable of doing much more than I think and I learned that being nervous was not worth it. I feel that my teaching was exceptional but my lesson planning could use more work. Planning does not always go hand in hand with teaching. Sometimes things fall back, and time runs out. Its important to always over plan and have back-ups like activities or worksheets. Students will strive during different lessons, some might have strengths during Inquiry while others will benefit from Cooperative.

What my discoveries and lessons are about TEAM teaching... 

Practicing to my group and I was a huge part of our teaching outcome. We planned how working together was important, we helped one another when writing the lessons. Being flexible and open to new ideas are important aspects of working as a team, when planning a unit. If one of us was unsure, another one of us helped to work it out or look it up. We put together all of our ideas, skills, and masteries to do the absolute best we can to teach the fifth grades. In the Direct lesson, TEAM stands out the most because this lesson is mostly the teachers directing this lesson.

In order for a group to be successful when working together, it is important that all group members are on the same page at all times. Each member should be held accountable for their own responsibilities from the beginning of the project/lesson until the end. It is imperative that he or she knows the task and carries it out to the full extent. Contribution is also a huge aspect of group work, it is unfair if only 2 or 3 out of 5 members contribute. Meeting up, communicating with, and practicing are key factors of feeling confident and receiving a good grade on the group assignment. I will carry out all of these key factors in the future when working with a group!