When I step in to a classroom I always have high expectations for the outcomes of what happens between me and my students. First, I expect them to learn what I am there to teach them to the fullest of their capabilities. As their teacher, I expect to be able to guide them effectively to that end. It is important that when those students come into my classroom, they walk out more of a person then they were before. Not only will they gain the skills they came to learn, but they will also grow in discipline and critical thinking skills.
Every student can learn and understand new information. There are ways to learn that everyone benefits from. Using visual and interactive activities seem to make the learning process more effective with a greater number of students. I have been trained to educate in the visual arts and time after time I have found that students have been able to effectively learn complex theories and concepts without the stress they find in other classes due to just how much we interact and are active in the classroom. I believe this can carry over into many subject areas.
When it comes to discipline in the classroom, my first initial hope is that there wouldn’t need to be discipline. In an ideal classroom I would set up an environment of cooperation where everyone felt safe and respected. This includes the interactions between student and teacher. But since we do not live in a perfect world, there has to be rules and consequences set up in the classroom, as well as rewards for good behavior. Teachers are not only for supporting student learning, but for disciplining and teaching students how to be disciplined. These skills will follow each student for the rest of their lives.
In order for a teacher to effectively teach something new, it is important to know where the students are at in their knowledge base and skill level. The lesson needs to be based around these things because if the students cannot draw upon their past knowledge effectively to understand what you are teaching them, they are not going to gain understanding of the lesson. Anything that the students do not know must be explained during the lesson to a point of understanding in order to reach the goal of the lesson. This is what is referred to as scaffolding and I believe it is the most effective way of teaching for students. If a teaching can do this while making the lesson interactive, I believe the teacher will see the greatest success in learning among all students.
A teacher constantly needs to draw upon all resources available that can be used to help with their student’s learning progress. It could be discussing classroom strategies with other teachers, searching the internet, drawing upon their own experiences, or becoming innovative and trying new things. Knowing the students can help with determining what method would be the most effective. If other teachers might have more knowledge of what style the students are used to learning in, then it would be a good idea to consult them. If students are used to technology, then incorporating this into the lessons might be a good idea. If some learning experience in your past really made things clear for you, it might do the same with the students. A teacher must always be constantly searching for different ways to make their lessons more effective for the students they have at that time.
Because my lessons are mostly performance based, it only makes sense that evaluation is done in that way as well. During the learning process there should always be checks for understanding as well as corrections for any mistakes made. It’s critical that as a teacher I am always making sure all of my students are heading in the right direction. Unfortunately, a teacher can only do so much for the students before the students needs to be responsible for their own learning. But as the teacher I need to do everything I can to make sure they understand what I am trying to teach them. There will be a final evaluation at the end of everything where it will be time to see how much they gained from my lessons. It too will be performance based and very similar to the practice we will be having during the lessons, only I will not help them. This is where the students will ultimately succeed or fail. If I have done my job right, they will be succeeding.
As a teacher, I go into every class believing everyone in it is ready to learn. You just need to find out how to connect to that certain student along with making sure everyone else is getting everything they need out of the class. It is a task that only certain individuals can handle, and it is a task that I believe I am that certain individual to handle it. I believe how my students succeed in my class is a direct reflection of how I succeed in teaching them. Communication, respect, and teaching discipline are just some of the key factors that facilitate success. As a teacher, I am always learning how to be better. The direction I am trying to go in my teaching career will teach me how to be better. I belong in the classroom because I can give success to any student that enters into it. I do not know if I am the best, but I do know that I will always strive to be.
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