At this point in time both my students and my colleagues are the audience for my learning. Since I have my students as a constant audience, and they really have no choice but to listen to me and are constantly subjected to my ideas- I am planning to aim my attention on influencing other educators. I am also considering the perspective of future teachers, as I am going to be taking on a student teacher in my classroom, and am excited to see where this journey will take the two of us. I find that a lot of teachers who have been in the classroom for many years are a little less open to new ideas, technologies, ways of teaching- and understandably so, they have been through countless changes in curriculum, standards, methods and systems and have seen some of them fail. I hope to help these teachers see how easy it can be to try out new things in the classroom, even when those things are unknown and optional.
For students who are becoming teachers, I hope to point them in the direction of being a lifelong learner. I want them to understand what I’ve learned in the short time I’ve been in the classroom- which is to embrace change, to try new things often and to be constantly learning yourself. It is easy to come in as a new teacher feeling unprepared for the task ahead of you, but I have found that out of every year of my 5 years in teaching- no two have been even remotely similar. I have not yet taught the same curriculum to the same grade level once, and while I look forward to that day I understand that I will never be able to master something or perfect the teaching of something, because even if I had been in the same grade level with the same curriculum all these years- I would always be learning new techniques, new strategies, new plates on which to serve the curriculum. This isn’t even taking into consideration the fact that each group of students is so unique that the teaching changes for that reason as well. Overall, what I’m hoping to share with the world of education is that innovating involves taking risks, trying out lots of new things and keeping only what works for this class at this time with this curriculum- and then trying out even more new things, knowing that next year you’ll have to start all over again. Not to say that you throw out what is tried and true, but to say that we can always find a way to make our teaching better- more interesting, more current, more applicable.
2 Comments
Heather
3/5/2018 02:43:29 pm
I agree with you 100% about innovative education involving risks! In order to see what works, we have to give it a try first. If at first you don't succeed, try try try again!
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Jeff Albertazzi
3/6/2018 05:48:40 pm
That's awesome that you will have the opportunity to share you learning with a student teacher. Like you said about your students having to listen to you, now so does your student teacher. :) They will be lucky learn from someone that is on the "cutting edge" and willing to take risks with learning new teaching tools and methods. It will be nice to process and share what you have learned with someone eager to learn it. As the content lead for science I try and share what I have learned to an audience who doesn't want to hear it.
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AuthorKayla Bryant is an elementary school teacher in Napa, CA. This year she teaches a 2/3 combo class. She keeps a journal with funny quotes from her students, and enjoys learning and laughing alongside them. Some of her main educational interests are related to goal setting, growth mindset, and creativity. Archives
July 2018
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