This semester at AUM has been full of problem-solving and collaboration. Taking online courses and having two teenagers in the house definitely put our internet connection to the test. After problem-solving with the computer itself and then finding out we had used all our internet allowance for the month when there were 20 days left in the month was a real lesson for me. We do not live in a place that is readily available for internet so the only choice we have is satellite internet which is expensive and limited. Also at our house we had so much happening in June with basketball and workshops that taking three classes became a real challenge. Leaving home to find internet connection was not feasible for many reasons so I did get behind on some assignments which really bothered me and is against my personality. It did give me a chance to read more in my textbooks and to receive more from them than I would have if that opportunity was not there. I usually read too fast and don’t get as much out of my reading assignments as I did this summer. Also when my internet was working, I took advantage of being very careful and detailed with my assignments. I teach third grade students to start being responsible for their own learning and that motivation comes from within. When Dr. Lewis started giving feedback and second chances on assignments, I was very grateful. I am an adult and I try to do all my assignments the best I can the first time but I learned from having feedback and adding to or changing my assignments. I have given second chances to students that make a 69 or below and even then some of the unmotivated ones still don’t improve. Many times students that have made higher than that but not an A would ask is they could redo the assignment to see if they could improve. In the past I would not let them, more work for me I guess. Some parents and students put a lot of emphasis on sports but you never see them on parent night, open house, parent/teacher conferences, or anything related to their child’s learning. I try to teach the students that are going to be on the ball fields all night to plan ahead to complete their work and study. If the parents are not putting interest in academics then the student’s grades and motivation reflects that lack of interest. It is not the fault of the young child. That is the same as with my semester, I had so much that I had to take things one step at a time. I have learned where my breaking point is, how driven I am to learn, and improvements for being a better teacher and student. In the end, I have learned a lot about learning and motivation.
When grandma would teach me how to cook, she gave feedback, and then let me try it again and again. When my kids were born, I learned parenting by trial and error and was given plenty of feedback from family, friends, and screaming babies; and I kept improving (I hope). My way of teaching has not been that way; I give information, activities, and tests with deadlines to learn it all. My classes in the past can still tell you a lot about weather, earthquakes, and other things they learned in “Current Events in Science” that I do every Friday. They are engaged, get to ask questions, and get involved with the activities for that Friday. They don’t have tests, I just ask them to keep updated on weather, we have computer activities throughout the year, and writing assignments. I know they are learning because they start coming into class telling me about a hurricane, earthquake, or storm system. At the end of the year, what they learned on Friday is what they remember the most. Why don’t I do that the other four days of the week? In the past, I believe that I have given poor feedback and have not given it in a timely manner with my students, peers, and subordinates. Beginning this school year, I will be incorporating more of the meaningful learning activities and 21st century skills into all the days of the week. My main goal is to give timely enhanced feedback and allow more room for learning after the feedback. I think that my RTI students also deserve more feedback and second chances. I am also working with our systems “7 Habits” program and other organizational tools to get me back on track with organization so I can be more productive and beneficial. I will be giving my students more opportunities for meaningful learning. My motivation has been restored and I can share that motivation with my students.
I am not sure about using a simulated world with my third graders yet. I used the Small Worlds simulated world and 3rdWorld Farmers with this class and found that there were possibilities of meeting people in the world that may not have appropriate language or as in 3rd World having a family member die. I found it hard to give a negative review for those games because it was chosen by Dr. Lewis. While I can see some positive points to the games, they are not for my students. I wondered also how hard it might be for my students to give negative feedback. For the most part, third graders will tell you exactly what they think but as the students get older I think they tend to tell teachers what they think they want to hear. A classroom needs to be a safe environment for the students so they will trust the teacher. I have done a better job of that this past year, but always have room for improvement. I do want to make Wordles for the science vocabulary that I expect my students to learn and let them create some. I am excited about utilizing videos, reflective activities, collaborative writing, concept maps, and several websites from our book. We have a new reading series and there are a lot of technological activities for students and teachers. I will be improving reading centers to keep the students interactive. I don’t like downtime during class and I can use some of the tools from this class to help with that. There are several projects around the community that I want my students to get involved in such as recycling. My new principal is also interested in a greenhouse/pond project that the students can get involved with. I was trying to improve my feedback but did not realize how vital it is to learning and how learning is more personal when that feedback can be acted on during the learning process. It was an exhausting semester but I have learned a lot and can’t wait to pass it forward with my students. I now know I can provide more meaningful learning and 21st century skills to my own classroom.
