I can’t believe the semester is coming to a close. We have covered such a wide range of topics
in EDT619, read so much material, and explored many new technologies. The theme we keep circling back to is that pedagogy
precedes technology. Technology, used
effectively, enhances many of not most lessons.
So how will all this knowledge affect my teaching style in my future
classroom?
First, I want to make sure that my lessons are aligned with
common core standards. Having sound lesson
plans is the foundation on which I will build. According to the Hattie article, What works
best, 30% of “what make a difference” in the classroom is in the hands of the
teacher. Hattie says that there are
several factors that separate the expert teachers from the other teachers. Since I want to be an expert teacher, I will
be mindful of my presentation style in the classroom, trying to represent my
subject appropriately. I will guide
student learning through interactions with my students, monitor their learning
and provide feedback to them, treat my students respectfully, demonstrate consistent
care and commitment to them, be willing to adapt to student needs, and be able
to positively influence student outcomes.
Having spent time in in the classroom already as a substitute teacher, I
would agree with Hattie that these are the qualities of a teacher who is focused
on student success.
In addition to these personal teaching attributes, as a
teacher I want to be able to differentiate my instruction in order to reach a
broad audience of students. I also want
to incorporate some inquiry based learning in my lessons (being careful to
balance it with teacher-centered learning), which will help promote higher order
thinking skills in my students. I plan to use technology to support these
goals by incorporating things such as Web 2.0 tools. Speaking of technology, in this
class, I learned that I need to plan my lessons with technology standards in
mind. Having done that, I will need stay
abreast the ever changing world of technology tools, and have a willing
attitude toward technology (no problem there!).
Reading my RSS feeds, being a
subscriber to MACUL, and online magazines such as SEEN, will help keep me knowledgeable
about the changes in technology pertaining to education.
Even as a substitute teacher over the last several years, I
was one of the leaders in my school for learning and using the technologies
available. Using the Smartboard to
display flip-charts and enhance lessons with periodic videos, kept my students
engaged in the material. I hope that as
I become a more seasoned teacher, creating and tweaking lesson plans utilizing
technology will be second nature and truly impact the success of my students. In the first several weeks of this class, we
talked about true technology “integration.”
My aim is to “integrate” technology as much as possible without losing
the primary pedagogical focus.
