The Education of KtBugs

One week down….quite a few more to go.

Prior to student teaching, I thought about what exactly the whole experience was going to be like. I had heard and read the horror stories posted online, and some discussed in my education classes – and would be lying to say I wasn’t exactly sure how the whole thing was going to play out.  In a way, student teaching is rather like how I learned to swim – tossed into a lake at its deepest point, and having to figure it out. Sure, technically I’m supposed to float – but anything can happen. The days of professional development helped eased the tension some, yet I was still slightly worried about the first day when I would be there, in front of students, and for the first time (in my life I think) being called by Ms. *last name.* I think I changed my clothes three times before I picked out that “teacher outfit” to begin the week.

So here I sit, having one week of student teaching under my belt, and my intention of blogging every day my experiences in the classroom right out the window. This leads to Student Teaching Realization  #1: Things do not always go as planned. Flexibility is key in not only pacing of instruction but also in managing the flow and ‘feeling’ in a room. Now, I’m not the one to plan out every detail of every day – realistically, its not possible. However, I am one for extensive “to do” lists, and am typically more prepared than I felt I was for the last week – and because I am now aware of this, will not let it happen again. I am letting myself a little off the hook on this one week for a few reasons: for one, I’m just getting back into the groove of starting a school year. Coming off of summer vacation is like coming off a sugar buzz. [What? I have to be dressed and functioning before 11am???] I am still working on catching my stride, finding the grove of how things will work – and all around finding a schedule for the seemingly bazillion of things I need to do throughout the day – yes yes yes, we must manage our time. Two, I didn’t know the real agenda for the week until the first day of class – which I consider to be an over sight on my part entirely – and again, not something which will repeat itself.

At the beginning of the week, I was more timid – but by Friday I started to feel a little more confident, and ‘with it.’ My largest struggle is learning names & faces. I called one student by the wrong name, and automatically chastised myself – but I know that girls name now! Luckily, I was able to get a print out of pictures and names and have been studying them on and of since last Friday – it is paying off – and I want to have them all memorized soon. This is one area where elementary teachers have it a little easier – 30 vs. 1 is a little easier than 120+ vs. 1- which leads me to Student Teaching Realization #2: Get print out of faces and names ASAP in the beginning.

Teaching has been my ultimate goal for over three years now, and one thing that really hits me today is that while I may be a really good student (deans list thank-you-very-much), that alone does not make me a good teacher. Thinking and doing are two opposite things. For all of my classes in education, observation has been an integral part – but observation is passive, student behavior.  One of the largest hurdles I think I am going to face in student teaching is one that I have had to deal with my whole life – I can plain out suck at social interaction. I know this is a hurdle that I can overcome with practice and more time in the classroom. Before the student teaching adventure, I noticed this potential hurdle while working with cohorts in the education department. “They” seemed to be able to strike a rapport with students easily, while this is something that I struggle with – and boy does it make me jealous. Therefore, learning and getting to know students this semester is one of my goals, along with becoming more comfortable when leading a class.  I have the theories, now I just need to start putting the theories into action. Student teaching will be a learning experience, with bumps and struggles for me – but I will get through them. I am absolutely thrilled with the teachers I have been placed with, and know they are there to help me through this journey.

So my adventure as a student teacher has officially begun on September 1st.

After a summer of wondering what it would be like to be a “full time” teacher, here I am, less than a week away from having real students for a real day of school. No more theory, No more ideas – In less than a week – I start to put my education into practice.

Needless to say I’m both excited and terrified.

I’m excited to really be starting, to getting a chance to prove to myself and others that I am capable of teaching, that Teaching is what I should be doing for my life.
The terror comes into play in that I am not sure how good at this I’m going to be. Its sink or swim time, and I don’t want to sink.  I have hope that I will be good a this, I have the support of my family and past teachers and professors saying that I am going to do just fine – but until I prove this to myself, I’m not going to be convinced.

Am I student or am I teacher? The very name of my placement as student teacher, of course, implies that I am both – and boy do I feel it.

To be honest, I feel like I am in a whole new world and not quite sure where I fit in quite yet. During the first day, I felt more like the student – I am not sure where I was supposed to go – I sort of felt like a lost puppy following my Supervising Teacher around. I’m was unsure where I was to go, what I was supposed to do.  After the first day and first hours- I was starting to feel more capable.  I had already been reflecting on how I was feeling – about feeling a little lost – and got proactive. I started asking questions, talking more to other teachers and coming out of my shell.

So I owe Bilbo Baggins (and Tolkien) credit for the title of this particular blog entry.  But when the title fits, why mess with it.

At the beginning of the semester, I wasn’t really sure what a personal learning network was. To be honest, I still don’t have a great definition as to what it is supposed to be. As a frequent “googler” (and I just sent out the question on twitter – just to see what happens), I usually take initiative and try to figure something out.

As it turns out, I have had a personal learning network for years if you consider that professional associations, conversations with other teachers, friends etc count as part of a PLN. No ‘man’ is truly an island. We draw inspiration from all around us – well atleast I do – and since direct conversations can still be considered by The Fischbowl blogger, Karl Fisch as part of a PLN, I figure – so can I.

What is so common about reading blogs and wiki’s about PLN’s is the seeming snowball effect that seems to happen. You find one blog, for example, this one The Innovative Educator which leads you to a website dedicated to a conversation about PLN’s (Your PLN Home), which gives you an idea of what to write on your own blog and wiki about a PLN.

I can not stay that I have always agreed with my classmates, but again, this is part of what a PLN is supposed to do. Challenge your beliefs, and make you refine your ideas.  After all, changing your ideas, refining your ideas is one way to make sure you are still alive.

Over the course of the semester, I have been able to connect, via Twitter , to a lot of scientists, other educators and friends. From building my wiki, I have learned what an easy way it is to create online content. Although I don’t have that many comments on my blog – I like to have the option of writing out my thoughts and being able to reflect on my life as an educator.

This is the last semester of classes for me, and I begin my adventure as a student teacher in the fall. I fully intend to keep up with my blog here as a way of writing and thinking about my work as a teacher. I have my placement, and will be working with 2 teachers – I’m both nervous and excited – and already thinking about the first day.

Now that I am nearly done with all of my education classes here at NMU, I thought I would write a little about what I’ve learned about teaching, and what I think all education majors should know.

1. No one is going to teach you how to be a teacher.

The best analogy I can come up with is this: teaching is something like getting dressed.

The way you dress is uniquely you.  Take my aunt – black and white striped socks with an orange skirt..sure! Would I wear that? Well (sorry auntie), but probably not. Everyone walks to the beat of their own drummer. Everyone teaches to their own drummer. What most professors are going to do is make you find your voice as a teacher. What the professors are going to do is showing you all sorts of designers, outfits, accessories – how YOU pair them together becomes your teaching style – oh, and don’t forget to come up with a few things that are uniquely yours. Go ahead, make a new necklace and throw it on top of some different reading strategies.

2. The “Its not my major, so this does not apply to me” excuse is not valid.

Ok, so you’re not an english major – that doesn’t get you off the hook from teaching reading. Being a teacher is being a teacher in more than your subject area- you will be teaching manners, rules, social skills, all the other things. You chose a career that means mulittasking to the fullest. Trust me, it may not be in your job description, but you just signed up to be a mentor, and example, a leader, a counciler, a friend, a boss, a professional, an intermediary. Every course is designed to show you one or more of those aspects. Frankly, get over it or get out of the program.

3. Give it your all.

I have sat through various courses in my educaiton classes quietly listening to everyone complain about – well everything. Give the courses the benefit of the doubt. Once you realize that its not what they are saying, but rather what they are doing that is important. Remember the term modling? They are modling teaching. The good ones watch their educaiton professors only. The better education student starts watching ALL of their professors. No, you may not like them – but what are they doing that you dislike? How would you improve the teaching? Maybe its just me, but I was taught that you don’t complain unless you can come up with a better idea.

4. Keep an open mind, at all times.

Have you ever argued with yourself? I have. Alot. I’m not crazy (ok, maybe I’m crazy), but what I’ve tried to do during my course work here is to play the ‘devils advocate’ in my arguments – argue both sides of the case. Even if you dont’ like an idea, think about it – heck, even find evidence that supports it. Nothing else helps you define your idea better than refining it.

My personal parable here is this. I hate fish. I have hated fish my whole life. I refused to ever even try fish. Any kind of fish, or aquatic food source (ie seafood). I would go to Red Lobster and order chicken strips.

Well, one day I tried fish. I was brave. I like fish – well, some fish. I’m working slowly up to other types oes  of fish. The fact is, I tried it – for a while. I gave an honest effort into trying something new.

I remember a professor of mine once saying this -(paraphrasing) Theory helps us navigate into a future we are walking backwards into. We are not able to know where we are going – we cannot tell the future, we can only know our past.

In essence are are pulling puzzle pieces together from thin air – hoping that it makes a picture when we are done.

My professors comment to me so long ago has been on that has stuck with me. Media and all of my education classes are practically shouting at me – we are preparing students for an unknown future, for jobs that don’t exist, probably using technology that has only been dreamed of.

Perhaps that is why I started to read Looking Forward at Learning on the blog Weblogg-ed, by Will Richardson.

In this particuar blog Will Richardson quotes heavily from a thesis written by Howard Gardner, Carrie James and Margaret Weigel, all from the Harvard Graduate School of Education entitled Peering Backward and Looking Forward in the Digital Era.

New Digital Media (NDM) is playing an increasing role in education, as is individualized learning and tailored instruction – things have been changing and will continue to change – social networks are making Disney’s song “Its a Small World After-all” come true.

In the absence of recognized authorities and standards for determining what is considered true, learning is problematic. This postmodern perspective is not universally shared. Many continue to operate in a climate in which facts are fixed entities taken for granted, information is created and circulated relatively slowly, and authority figures are invested with the responsibility of determining and sharing what is considered true and good. Even so, it is undeniable that new opportunities for individuals to assert the truth, or their truths, are afforded today; educators will likely grapple with questions about what is true, and what is worth teaching and learning, more and more, both now and in the future.

As knowledge grows – it evolves. What we once considered true may not be true after we bring the item into view from the various lenses of truth across the world. “We” are able to collaborate, refine, re-define the world in which we live in dramatic ways. We have a greater understanding, today than we did 50 years ago.

What have we learned?

Perhaps it has just been learning tolerance, maybe it is learning how to be decent people.. I’m not really sure – regardless, those ideas are on a much grander scale than can be discussed here.

Despite all the change around them, nothing has really changed yet in teaching. Most are still teaching in the manner of “sage on the stage” – I talk, you listen and learn. The question that keeps me up at night is “WHY?” Why are we doing things the same way as they have always been done? What do I learn from a powerpoint that I couldn’t learn from doing, exploring, seeing things in a new light.

Perhaps it is just that I was just bitten with teaching using Inquiry.

Half of the time in my classes I am  screaming (thankfully internally) to let me create something. Let me make something from this, let me read and article or six, question, debate and then present. Let me do it! (or as my nephew says to my sister, “I do it by mine-self!”)

Eventually, things will have to change… but we have to change the way we think of technology.

However, there are serious challenges associated with implementing an NDM-based pedagogy. NDM may be seen as sources of entertainment and escape, not learning; additionally, the determination of the proper level of scaffolding can be difficult. The Internet’s potential for learning may be curtailed if youth lack key skills for navigating it, if they consistently engage with Internet resources in a shallow fashion, and/or if they limit their explorations to a narrow band of things they believe are worth knowing. Left to their own devices and without sufficient scaffolding, student investigations may turn out to be thoughtful and meaningful—or frustrating and fruitless. A successful informal learning practice depends upon an independent, constructivistically oriented learner who can identify, locate, process, and synthesize the information he or she is lacking.

How can we teach students to effectively use technology – when the teacher is obtuse to the tool they have in their hands??

This makes, for me, another several questions -

How do we get students to learn how to use the resources available to them?
How do you show someone that the internet is more than just Facebook, Myspace…
How do you get from “techno-fear” to “techno-joy”
How can you show someone how much more effective in time management they can be?
How can you instruct students to ask good questions that help to solve whatever puzzle you give them?

I am completely ripping off this idea – thought that it might be fun to see the difference in my wordle as well!  Thanks Katie for your great idea!!

The New Wordle

The Old Wordle

TED was introduced to me perhaps a year or so ago when I was in ED319/349 with Dr. Lubig. While I have come across some of these video’s before, I was asked to view them once again and reflect – Though the list carried many interesting topics, I decided to go with a few that were my favorites:

Bill Gates: How I am trying to change the world now

Bill Gates links two major epidemics now facing the world: The spread of disease, and the ‘disease’ of poor teaching. Although the two may not seem similar, they are actually quite linked. The argument is an old one, and one that every one knows about it. The seemingly ‘missing link’ is the elephant in the room that no one ever likes to talk about.

Money.

The problem of Malaria has been solved for most developed countries, and likewise, good teaching can be found in richer neighborhoods. This is not surprising. Money runs the world that we live in. Those who are better off have more opportunities. Those who live in more developed countries have more.

So how do you level the playground? How do you stop the rich from getting richer, the poor from getting poorer? How do we stop the education system from perpetuating the socioeconomic clash.

Evan Williams: Twitter’s Unexpected Uses

I have been using twitter now for a while and think that it is a neat social networking utility – I remember sitting at my table working on homework (studying for an exam) and being able to watch the tweets coming in about the Technology Conference. I didn’t participate much in the conversation, but was able to snag a good PDF article that had information about building a PLN. (which I just tweeted about to another classmate.)

I am still grasping for uses in the classroom. I have an open mind, and have been trying to think of ways that twitter could be used. I see sending reminders and the like, but can not get past that at this point. I’m still thinking. Plotting if you will.

Barry Schwartz: The Loss of Wisdom

This talk was perhaps the most influential of the three TED talks that I watched from this list. Barry Schwartz has a great stage presence, and his delivery, tone and inflection are spot on – not to mention his analysis of the loss of wisdom in todays society.

The use of rules and incentives, as Barry Schwartz presents lends well to education – particularly the script used in Chicago schools.

“Scripted lock-stepped curricula… We know why these scripts are there. We don’t trust the judgment of  teachers enough to let them loose on their own. Scripts like these are an insurance policy against disaster, and they prevent disaster. But what they assure in their place is meritocracy.”

The truth is that teaching in a different way (other than teacher centered, “sage on the stage” mentality is not widely accepted as yet. While NMU focuses on student centered practices – so many of the students still focus most of their attention during presentations to power-points and lecture rather than good modeling and hands-on activities.

Incentives and Rules are the way we run education. Rules and standards and overly programmed curricula. Incentives are good grades, approval and the rest. So much to think about from this video – let alone three.

After reading the other blogs from my ED483 class, I have noticed quite a trend.

Just about everyone wrote about Google Docs… You can find it here here here and here- and indeed they are a valuable resource, but certainly not the only one out there. I completely agree that Google Docs is a wonderful free application that is easily utilized and is definitly a time saver when doing group work. What would be nice, I think, is to have the application send you an email when a document has been updated so that you are aware of potential changes. (Or, if you are anything like me who ends up checking those items a few times a day to see if anything has been done)

Delicious is another popular addition in many of my cohorts blogs. Katie’s blog – where she made screenshots of how she uses it – I find this aspect of the blog useful. Admittedly, I have not been that much of a fan of Delicious, but that is perhaps because I haven’t used it that much and am not as familiar with it.

Tim & Vicky’s blogs bring up different technologies. I have played around with Voki before, and find it rather interesting – I was pleased to see that she used it in a class and wonder how that went over with the students.  Tim’s blog addresses the use of imeem – what a wonderful, practicle application. These two are certainly authentic tasks which use technology in a way which is not really forced, but used to solve a problem.

While I have been a tech junkie for most of my life, I have not always used it in such a way as to benefit ‘education’ in any real sense of the word.

I mainly used technology (when speaking of technology in strictly the computer & internet type) to stay in touch with family, make new friends and the like – mainly I was a chatter and would spend a great deal of time talking with people online.

Since then, I have started to appreciate my computer and other forms of technology much more – not just because my gadgets are ‘cool’ – but because I am not more time efficient than I have ever been, and so much more.

For me, its not just about being connected, its about learning something new. Being able to do research at 2 in the morning when the idea strikes me, or create something new and uniquely me.

I LOVE Wikispaces. As I blogged before, I have started 2 and am working at fleshing those out a bit more. I had not really used wiki’s before ED483 – but already plan on starting one for my future classroom. What a resource! I love the fact that any member of the wiki can edit and change the content, and I love how easy they are to use.

After using wiki’s – I do not see why NMU or any other university or school – when money is so tight to begin with – would not use a free service like this. The only thing that might be missing is grades, but there are several other online services that provide that as well.

I haven’t blogged in quite some time, and frankly that is because my life has been a wee bit nuts.

While some, I’m sure, got to travel and have time off – I spent spring break in a dentists chair having wisdom teeth removed. I found that a week had passed before I emerged from the haze of pain-killers. But do not fear dear readers! I heal quickly and am nearly back on top of my game.

Ahhhh midsemester… when everyone realize something is due!

So, these are the status updates so far regarding my current classes—

ED361: We presented on Emotional Impairment this last Monday. I think we all did a fine job despite us going over in time.  We broke the information down into stations and had groups of four circulate through each of them. Good flow, lots of energy – think it went well, paper writing to commence Thursday.

Good Books: Reading. A lot of reading. Currently reading “In the Lake of The Woods,” by Tim O’Brien- sort of a murder mystery which is turning out to live up to the title of the course. Received back a 6 page essay I wrote with a score of 96/100. Woot! I was really excited about the grade, well, more the comments on the paper rather than the grade. Education Major’s love their feedback ya’know.

Evolution: Exam Thursday that I haven’t really studied for yet. (Meaning that I’m writing this post in a hurry since I have to read a bajillion chapters..) Love the class though. Dr. Lindsey is an awesome professor. Two thumbs up, really – excellent teaching strategies, great presence in the classroom, he manages to engage 50 students at three in the afternoon… awesome. Anyway. Enjoy the class, met Sean Carroll – one of the leading scientists in EvoDevo – AWESOMER. Had a chance to ask him a few questions, and he was impressed by the questions I was asking and said, and I quote, “Your instincts are right on, keep following your ‘crazy ideas’”  (I referred to my questions, and potential hypothesis as “crazy ideas.” He wished me luck, and signed the book I bought. I’m cool.

And what you have all been waiting for….. (drum roll)

ED483 – Media/Tech – Check out My Wiki, I haven’t finished fleshing it out completely – and it will probably be a work in progress for the rest of its existence. Love using wiki’s though, I’ve created 2 – the one for my online portfolio (check it out and leave me suggestions!!! please! I’ll bring you a cookie!) and another for ED361called 100-minutes which is intended to be more of a collaborative effort for everyone in the class.

Here is a Jing Screencast that I have made of my progress so far on katieyackel’s Wiki.