Reflection 7

This week we went to our last school observation. I reflected on my experiences in the last month in the different schools I was able to visit. I did learn a lot from them, but at the same time I feel like I didn't. Most teachers didn't have a whole lot of teaching time. It made me wonder if the students are mostly doing busy work instead of really learning. At the end of class I heard some students complaining about the work that they had to do. I was thinking of how I would go about with a class I had to teach. I don't really like the fact that kids are required to take specific classes. I do understand that it broadens their areas of knowledge, and they get to learn different things, but I feel that there should be more flexibility in doing so. I don't really know how Utah schools work, but I think I would like to teach in a different state. There are so many things that I'm realizing now. The way schools are run is so different everywhere. You think, it would be consistent throughout every state.

Reflection 6

The more I learn about teaching, the more I think about it. At school, at work, and at church I've begun to identify the techniques that teachers use, or the lack of. I think of ways that I would improve their teaching. It has helped me realize that I can be a teacher someday. And not just someday, soon. The other day in my TEE 340 class, we were reviewing for the exam and applied physics is one of my fortes so instead of leaving early like some, I decided to help others. To make a long story short, I ended up on the white board. I was teaching a few of my peers, and they were asking me questions and everything. It was a neat experience. Some of them were able to understand quickly, while others would struggle. Those who understood left. With the ones that were struggling, I had to sit one-on-one to teach them. It made me think of how in the real world, the same will occur. The only difference is that kids won't be able to just get up and leave. You will need to be able to teach them all. Then I realized the importance of teaching to all learning styles. It's something that all teachers should try to master. Not that you'll be able to satisfy all children everyday, but at least be able to implement different techniques so that most will understand. So I decided, it's something that I want to do.

Reflection 5

So I've been trying to decide what I really want to write about. But this last week when we visited the high school I realized that I had a more abundant experience with technology classes than most of the students here.  All of the technology classes I took were pretty good. I mean there were only a couple but I was still able to learn so much. I feel that a lot of the schools have all of the resources but don't know how to use them. Either that, or the teachers are not well trained. I mean, this classroom we visited had a few more things that we did but  they could be using them to build things, or learn how to program. Instead, they were given busy work or just time to play with their apps on their phones.

I remember that my teacher always had something for us to do. I have no idea how he kept us all on the same page. But I think it's because we progressed a bit each day. He was able to teach us drafting, software and woods at the same time. The project that comes to my mind is the building of CO2 cars. We first learned about drafting and how to actually make an ISO drawing. We then learned to design those on AutoCAD. (Let me tell you about AutoCAD, it is one of those basic tools that most engineers use. Although their fields vary, they still need to know how to use it. They have a whole course of it here at BYU.) Well, we learned how to use it. We designed our cars on that program. We then had to transfer that design to another computer where we would change our design into coordinates. We would then use a router or a drill machine if you will, to cut it out. We had to make a few touch-ups here and there but we would then test it for drag in the wind tunnel. A lot of times we had to go back and make changes and so forth to make it ready for our race. I don't recall how long it took us to do all of this, but I do remember that I was in 8th grade and we all finished our cars in time for the race.

Now really, what was the point of that tangent? The point is that children have so much potential to learn and grasp so many ideas but they keep getting shut down. Children are not given that room to grow. I want to be a teacher that will teach children technology and how to use it, but let them do the thinking. It's like the Mindtools article we read about how mindtools are essentially tools. We tell them what to do, not the opposite.

Reflection 4

We went to another junior high this week. It was definitely better than my first experience the week before.  The teacher we observe was pretty good. There are a lot of things that I liked as well as things that I didn't. I like that the class really knew what was expected of them. I think that shows consistency in the classroom. Also, I like that it was self-guided. I'm still trying to figure out if I do like teaching. Maybe when we visit a high school I might enjoy that.

Junior High Visit

Today we had the opportunity to visit a junior high in Utah. I'm still trying to figure out what my feelings are about it. It was definitely different. Not in the sense that it was crazy and chaotic but that it was a different type of world. It took me back to my junior high years and it reminded me of what kind of person I was. But more specifically, what world I was once a part of. I don't think my world really ever changed because I grew up with the same kids for 6 years. Yet, it definitely changed, whether I want to believe it or not. With that in mind, I try to see their world as they see it. Mostly because I feel I can better relate to them that way.