By Samantha Nagle
I realized that learning and instruction combine to help children develop. There are several different methods of instruction and learning that can be used in a classroom. I want to be the type of teacher that is a great instructor and makes learning interesting. While reading in the psychology text, I had time to reflect on the different methods that a good teacher could use.
My
insight is that teachers should strive for an exciting and inspiring
educational environment. Many times children are bored and never brought into a
lesson to learn. The lessons need to be interesting and made somewhat exciting
for the children to enjoy them. A teacher first needs to gain the child’s
attention for example, use an attention getter. If a teacher does not have the
child’s attention at the beginning of the lesson they are not likely to gain it
throughout the lesson. The goal of teacher’s should be for children to learn,
be instructed, and develop properly. It is the teacher’s responsibility to
decide how to accomplish this goal.
In
psychology class, we discussed Gagne’s “Outcomes of Learning.” We discussed
verbal information, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, attitudes, and
motor skills. Each of these has a different effect on the outcome of a
student’s learning ability. The idea of Bloom’s Taxonomy was introduced. This
taxonomy has six levels to it. We are mostly tested on the first two, which is
knowledge base, and comprehension level. These two concepts ask you to define,
list and describe. Most teachers give test asking the students to perform these
concepts.
The
chapter in the book describes various methods of teaching ideas and instructions.
The last “insight” on page 384 describes incorporating affective outcomes into
your lesson plans. The teacher describes her classroom as a laboratory of experimentation.
She says she continually tests new ideas and strategies. She describes her
students as her partners in a joyous journey. She asks her students to help her
decide what she could do different for the next lesson to be improved. She
wants her students to enjoy their learning experiences.
This
insight relates to objective 5.16, which states, the ability to use a variety
of strategies such as cooperative learning, discussion, discovery,
problem-based learning, and direct instruction in teaching. For teachers to
keep the students attention they must use a variety of different strategies. If
a student is used to the same teaching method they will not be as interested as
if they were in a situation in which they did not know what to expect. The
children are more likely to stay attentive and want to learn if they have a
variety of strategies and methods to learn from.
In the future, I want to be a new
interesting teacher. I have had several teachers in the past in which I knew
what to expect everyday of the year. It was the same routine all the time. I do
not feel like I learned as much in those classes as I did in some of my others.
I have learned several new strategies and ideas since I started college. I feel
that I can use them when I become a teacher. I want my students to be curious
about my lessons each day. I feel a teacher should never stop learning. If a
teacher runs out of ideas later in her profession, she should seek to find
more.
There are some many different ways
to teach lessons. A teacher should never be known for teaching the same way
over and over again. The more children are interested in a lesson, the more
willing they will be in learning. A teacher should involve her entire class in
the learning and instruction process. If a teacher’s lesson is new and
interesting then the children will want to learn more new material. It is the
teacher’s job to make learning interesting and fun.