First of all, I thought our lesson went very well. I thought Johanna and I were able to work well together. We had decided that the question/answer aspects of the lesson would be covered by Johanna, and I would lead the discussions/readings. I prepared for this by having a good knowledge of the material and trying to fond some themes that would connect to the following readng of "Fall of the House of Usher". The objectives for the lesson were that the students would be able to engage in discussion about the style (T-chart) and plot of story (Plot Diagram), and be able to apply learned techniques (effective note taking with the use of comprehensive graphics) to evaluate future literary works. The informal assesments were derived from the students' class participation in the T-chart activity and discussions. The formal assesments were short quizzes at the beginning of every class about the previous literary works that had been coverd in the chapter. However, we were not able to do this because we began at the beginning f the chapter.
Like any other lesson plan, we had to divert from it due to losing the students' attention. We had to forgo one activity and end another early (due to time constraints and behavioral obstacles). The most imprtant thing I tried to teach the students was that participation was paramount. The quizzes to follow would be a reflection of how much the students took in, but in order to do that, they needed to engage in the discussion and class activities. Some got the message and some didn't, which will always happen. All together I think the lesson went well. I would have liked for the students to focus more on the lesson rather than the nonsense going on during the lesson, but that is something I will have to learn to cope with as a teacher.
I learned that if the students aren't engaged in the lesson, they fnd something ese that will entertain them. Which is why I think that the use of podcasts, YouTube videos, etc., are very important, especially with how rapidly technology is accelerating. I would have definately taken all cell phones at the beginning of class (in other words stolen another group's idead) as that seemed to be the biggest distraction. I think with the measures I would take as far as taking the cell phones and using different types of media, it would have engaged more students and they would have been able to absorb more information.
As far as my personal methods, I think I need to be less gullible. I can't say how many time the students told me I had chalk on my butt and I turned right around to look, deviating from the task at hand. I also need to watch how I respond to the students. I have a tendency to go tit-for-tat as far as comments and smart remarks and it can send mixed messages.
As for te podcast, Johanna and I, like many other groups, used the podcast as out anticipatory set. Unfortunately, the students didn't enjoy it due to the length and a lack of interest. I think with some tweaking the podcast could have been very effective. In another lesson I had done in the past, I was trying to teach poetry by using music. If I would have used the podcast to describe a musical selection, it would have been more of an attention grabber. I could possibly see using a podcast as a closure and have record a laundry list of information that had been covered.
As for the other lessons, my classmates did very well. I liked the varying methods of discipline that were implemented as well as the different lessons. As I mentioned before, I like the idea of taking the students cell phones before the class begins. I didn't think the idea of writing students' names on the board.
All and all I think despite the assigned behavioral problems, all of my classmates handled them well. No one lost their temper or became overwhelmed (and if they did, it was probably because I did something ridiculous that would never really happen in the classroom). I think aside from the Field Experience courses and Student Teaching, this is the best practice a future educator could have.
-Awesome job everyone!
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