During my time at Thompson Valley High School, I sought out many opportunities beyond the requirements for the course. I was able to teach more than the required 2 lessons, maintained a close relationship with the drawing instructor as this is a content area I am very interested in teaching, spoke with the instructor collaboratively to ideate for his own lesson plans, and took advantage of leadership opportunities during AVID tutoring. My co-teachers and I talked frequently outside of school to collaborate, discuss homework, and find a sense of comradeship and dependability for one another. I felt that I was able to create stronger bonds with my mentors and co-teachers based on the stressors of teaching during the COVID-19 outbreak. There were many obstacles that we had to face and it was really important to have that support system.
Through teaching lessons for Drawing I and Drawing II, I have gained even more confidence that I have a very full tool belt, both in terms of artistic skill and teaching tactics. This time has really allowed me to critically analyze the important details which must be included within a lesson. I realized that the incorporation of other content areas was a place where I needed improvement, so I set goals to make that happen. This final semester of pre-service teaching allowed me to fine tune my teaching philosophy, lesson plan writing, and teaching style.
AVID also provided me with a lot of confidence when it comes to "snapping into teacher mode". At some point, you have to throw yourself in and trust that you have put in the work to know what to do. It was really enlightening to tutor in content areas that I may not have taken since middle school. The mode in which I delivered my questions allowed for the development of critical thinking based on basic data and ultimately led to the improvement of problem-solving skills in my students. I found a new confidence teaching; you do not need extensive knowledge in the subject area you are teaching as long as you know how to teach--that means asking the right questions, taking advantage of the resources you do have, and just encouraging deep discussion. If you work toward being a successful teacher, you can teach just about anything.
I also now have had both very positive experiences and negative experiences working collaboratively as a co-teacher. I find it much easier to co-teach with people who are in the same content area as myself. We have very similar value systems in terms of education making our teaching philosophies and goals very similar. I was very lucky to experience positive collaborative teaching opportunities to know how I want the dynamic to feel. During AVID, I faced many challenges co-teaching and that was partially due to differing value systems based on both content area goals/teaching philosophies and teaching style. I would like to better my ability to collaborate with educators who do not hold the same teaching style as my own, and find more value in assessing our differences and how I might adapt my teaching style based on these observations. It is incredibly important to be able to collaborate effectively with a variety of people, so this is certainly a skill very important to me that I feel could be improved. It can be difficult for me to teach with an iron fist, but perhaps that is something that could be beneficial to me in terms of stronger behavioral management in the classroom. There is always something to be learned from the teaching style of others, whether it jives with mine or not.
Overall, although my expectations of how this semester looked due to COVID-19 I feel as though I gained way more knowledge through the difficulties I had to face, than if the semester had been "normal". Teaching is all about being able to think on your toes, be creative, and problem solve quickly. This semester, and my experience teaching both in-person and online, has strengthened my ability to teach more than a "normal" experience ever would have. I find an extreme amount of gratitude in how these challenges have shaped me and strengthened my ability to be a resourceful and empathetic human and educator.
Through teaching lessons for Drawing I and Drawing II, I have gained even more confidence that I have a very full tool belt, both in terms of artistic skill and teaching tactics. This time has really allowed me to critically analyze the important details which must be included within a lesson. I realized that the incorporation of other content areas was a place where I needed improvement, so I set goals to make that happen. This final semester of pre-service teaching allowed me to fine tune my teaching philosophy, lesson plan writing, and teaching style.
AVID also provided me with a lot of confidence when it comes to "snapping into teacher mode". At some point, you have to throw yourself in and trust that you have put in the work to know what to do. It was really enlightening to tutor in content areas that I may not have taken since middle school. The mode in which I delivered my questions allowed for the development of critical thinking based on basic data and ultimately led to the improvement of problem-solving skills in my students. I found a new confidence teaching; you do not need extensive knowledge in the subject area you are teaching as long as you know how to teach--that means asking the right questions, taking advantage of the resources you do have, and just encouraging deep discussion. If you work toward being a successful teacher, you can teach just about anything.
I also now have had both very positive experiences and negative experiences working collaboratively as a co-teacher. I find it much easier to co-teach with people who are in the same content area as myself. We have very similar value systems in terms of education making our teaching philosophies and goals very similar. I was very lucky to experience positive collaborative teaching opportunities to know how I want the dynamic to feel. During AVID, I faced many challenges co-teaching and that was partially due to differing value systems based on both content area goals/teaching philosophies and teaching style. I would like to better my ability to collaborate with educators who do not hold the same teaching style as my own, and find more value in assessing our differences and how I might adapt my teaching style based on these observations. It is incredibly important to be able to collaborate effectively with a variety of people, so this is certainly a skill very important to me that I feel could be improved. It can be difficult for me to teach with an iron fist, but perhaps that is something that could be beneficial to me in terms of stronger behavioral management in the classroom. There is always something to be learned from the teaching style of others, whether it jives with mine or not.
Overall, although my expectations of how this semester looked due to COVID-19 I feel as though I gained way more knowledge through the difficulties I had to face, than if the semester had been "normal". Teaching is all about being able to think on your toes, be creative, and problem solve quickly. This semester, and my experience teaching both in-person and online, has strengthened my ability to teach more than a "normal" experience ever would have. I find an extreme amount of gratitude in how these challenges have shaped me and strengthened my ability to be a resourceful and empathetic human and educator.