Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Summary

Improving Your Teaching and Reflection Skills

Effective teacher knows how to coordinate a diverse array of instructional elements and adapt them to differences in student needs, materials, and purposes.

Students are in a better position to evaluate teachers than anyone. So a more comprehensive and systematic approach is to distribute a questionnaire or evaluation form and ask students to record their reactions anonymously.

For teachers who adopt a constructivist approach and value student’s perceptions of how well constructivist learning principles are implemented in the classroom. (Example: Constructivist Learning Environment Survey CLES)

Students can not always tell you about technical flaws in your instructional techniques. So you may have a colleague complete an analysis of your teaching approach.

One of the easiest to create and use is a checklist Figure 16.2 page 553 example

Other ways is to videotape or audiotape your lessons.

Another idea is to use Reflective Lesson Plans
Divide a sheet of paper in half. Label the left-hand side “Lesson Plan”. Label the right-hand side “Reflective Notes”
On the lesson plan side, note relevant information, the objectives of the lesson, the tasks that are to be carried out in chronological order, the materials and equipment that are to be used, and how much time has been allotted for this lesson
On the reflective notes side, as soon as possible after the lesson, write your thoughts about the worth of the objective that underlies the lesson, the adequacy of the materials, and how well you performed the basic mechanics of teaching
Make changes to the lesson plans based on your analysis of the reflective notes.

Guided Reflection Protocol- a technique that is somewhat less structured than the reflective lesson plan. After choosing one or more teaching episodes answer the following questions honestly as possible:
What happened? Describe the incident as fully as possible
Why did it happen? The events that produced the incident
What might it mean? There may be several possible interpretations of the meaning
What are the implications for my practice? What might you do differently in a similar situation

Teachers may want to develop a reflection journal to: serve as a repository of instructional ideas and techniques that you have either created from your own experiences or gleaned from other sources; and to give yourself a format for recording your observations and reflections on teaching.
Search your memory for techniques that your past teachers used; describe
Ask others if they can remember any successful ways that their teachers made understanding easier
Examine the examples given in the text section
Add ideas that you pick up in methods classes or during your student-teaching experiences

Use a portfolio with your journal:
Title page
Table of contents
Statement of your educational philosophy
Resume
Statement of your teaching goals
Examples of lesson plans
Examples of learning activities
Samples of student work
Photographs and videotapes
Letters of recommendations
Teaching evaluations
Samples of college work
An autobiography
Reflections about how teaching has contributed to your growth as a person and a teacher
Official documents

Conford believes that for reflection to be effective, teachers need to possess two qualities: broad and in-depth knowledge of the classroom as a teaching-learning environment and strong critical thinking skills.

Using Technology for Reflection

Discussion Forums and Chatrooms:
The connect page of ALPS, Harvard’s Teacher Lab (http://learnweb.harvard.edu/alps/bigideas/q5.cfm )
The New Teachers Online page of Teachers Network (www.teachersnetwork.org/ntol )
The Interactive Forums page of the International Education and Resource Network (www.iearn.org/index.html )
The Teachers2Teachers page of Teachnet.com (www.teachnet.com/t2t)
The Teachers Helping Teachers Guestbook page of Teachers Helping Teachers (www.pacificnet.net/~mandel/guestbook.html)
The teachers.net “chat center” can direct you to “chatboards” arranged by grade levels, subjects, region, and so forth (http://teachers.net)
Multimedia Case-Based Instruction: using multimedia and hypermedia programs that feature case-based learning formats that encourage new models of teaching, learning, and assessment among both preservice and practicing teachers
· Houghton Mifflin Video Cases


What I Have Learned

I have learned so much from this class. I have never had a class that I came out with so much new knowledge before. We have completed worthwhile projects, learned new technology tools to use, and been given so many great resources that we can use in our classrooms. We have also discussed our ideas and thoughts with others and learned how to reflect on what we are learning using technology. There is so much that I could say but I will tie it all up into one statement, “What a Great Class This Has Been”.


Question of the Week:

I really don’t have a question, I just have a thought “thanks for everything Ms. Graff, you are great”.

Oh, where do you find all your great ideas and resources?