Blog Post #1

Blog Post #1

If I built a school, it would be like:

If I built a school, it would be primarily a hands on learning center. When you walked through the front doors, the walls would be covered in color and student's work. While kids would have a specific classroom there would be numerous labs throughout the school to encourage and teach a subject through hands on experiments. Students would be encouraged to move around and be active and involved in their learning process. I am not sure what grade I would be teaching at my school. Until I have more experience in the field, I can't decide what age group I want to spend most of my time with. Whatever age group I have the pleasure of teaching, my teaching method that I put most effort into will be interaction. I want all my students to be involved in their learning process and be invested in it.

I want my students to know:

What I want my students to know more than anything, is that there is so much more to this world than what can be found in a textbook. It is extremely important to learn the fundamentals of math, science, history and reading but those are just general categories with many various sub categories within them. I want my students to know that there are vast amounts of resources available to them and opportunities are endless.

I want my students to be able to:

I want my students to be able to think outside the box. I want them to be able to learn creatively and through the world not just a textbook. I want my students to be able to navigate through technology and know they can find answers at their fingertips. What I want them to be able to do most is walk into a new situation and not be intimidated but rather embrace the challenge because they know the information is attainable.

My primary way of teaching:

My primary way of teaching would be through interaction. Most people learn better by doing than just by reading. There are so many different ways that interaction can be used to teach. Interaction with students through out the world can be obtained via the web. A child being able to perform an experiment to see how or why something works the way it does is another form of interaction I would like to use. I am also a supporter of team based learning. When children work together to learn, they are learning valuable life skills that they will need further in life.

The tools I will use in my classroom:

I plan on using every source available to me in the classroom. The obvious tools that a teacher will use is going to be computers and Smartboards. I think that experienced teachers are another great tool that I will use. Wisdom and experience can still trump a quick idea found on Pinterest. Flexibility will also be a main tool that I will use. Every year a new group of students will come into my classroom and may not be able to learn like the last class did and therefore, I will have to search for new tools to make that year the best for them.

The role my students will play in the classroom:

The role my students will play in my classroom is one of the most important decisions that needs to be made. This decision will determine whether you have a successful or unsuccessful year. I want my students to also be the teacher in the class. If a child excels in math, give them an opportunity to get up in front of the class and teach how they work the problems. Their explanations may be understood better than mine. I would like for students to have to team up and research and teach their peers what they learned. I want my students to walk into the classroom and feel like it is THEIR classroom and I am there to guide them not control them or overwhelm them with tests and facts they won't remember by the time they get to college.