Group 1...Calling all Geologists!

Last night, my group, taught our first set of lessons (Direct/Inquiry) for the After School Science Program and the nerves indeed set in!!! I do not believe it is something that can be helped but rather will come with time and experience.

I feel that the students as a whole had a hard time sitting still during the Direct, and I heard a few of the student's comment about whether not the lesson was almost done, they didn't want to sit, etc...I don't know that this had anything to do particularly with the lesson but rather than they've already had a full day but something that we as teachers will certainly experience.

Group 1 covered an Introduction to the Solar System and the Earth. We provided definitions on meteors and comets, discussed the eight planets briefly and taught the children an acronym to remember them. Quite a few of them commented that now it was easier for them to remember. We completed two learning activities and wrapped up the Direct with an assessment to see what they learned.

During the Inquiry, we had a video message from a friend of mine, Geologist Gandhi, who was experiencing a problem with Global Warming and the melting of the polar ice caps. He asked if the students could help him find ways to preserve the ice.
Geologist Gandhi's Message

As far as an analysis of myself, I feel like, it was hard for me the firs time around and certainly quite an experience. There is certainly room for improvement in both my presentation and in writing the lesson itself. For the presentation itself, I was extremely nervous, and it now seems like a blur. It was brought to my attention, which I also caught myself saying, was that I used the term "guys" when referring to the class. Language is something I have to be more conscious of; it's a bad habit. I will also work on speaking louder. I am developing my pedagogical knowledge and that is what I am here to focus on and learn from these experiences.

From the feedback we received from Dr. Smirnova just before class, I would create the next lesson as more of a story rather than a lesson plan itself. I would try to incorporate more creative visual tools for engagement. We, as a group, did make some quick changes just before the class coming in. I feel I did my best to accommodate that.

I felt very uncomfortable in 1)being the first group to go and the fact that I had no idea what to expect, 2) it's my first education class, period, and 3) my first time teaching a room full of students with my peers observing. Being comfortable is something I will certainly work on, and perhaps in changing my lessons, to create more of a story. Hopefully, this will help in making it feel/appear more natural, rather than word for word.

Additionally, I would ask the children to reiterate more of what I am teaching (repeat after me). I would ask them to repeat important words or definitions, and not taking the first child's answer as right (if that is the case) but also asking if their peers agree or disagree with them and why.

As far as preparation for the lesson, part of our group spent a lot of time writing the plans and preparing for it. Being that three out of four of us were new to the Program, overall, I think we did okay. Not the best and not the worst. We knew the material but needed to "loosen up" in our presentation.

One thing I did take away from the lesson, is the gap in the student's abilities, even within the same grades. Some children had a hard time spelling while others had a hard time reading or writing. One of our colleagues mentioned that our lesson included activities which had a lot of spelling. At first, this made me want to reconsider the amount of spelling but then in thinking about their varying levels of difficulty, and I figured it was a good way to utilize the repetition of words in helping them learn the vocabulary and at the same time.

We also added an extra activity for some students who we felt were capable of higher performance based on what we learned in the first classes "Getting to Know You," introduction. We felt this would provide an extra challenge for a few of the students. At the same time, I felt the way that we utilized all of the activities, from spelling to reading, to collaborative learning and teacher support allowed for all of the students to readily participate in a positive way!

It's a learning process... Onto week 5!