The banjo, and literacy, and a global component...oh my!

Today, I taught banjo for the first time. It was also the first time I incorporated a global component and literacy into a music lesson. I was a bit overwhelmed in the preparation stage, but teaching my lesson was wonderful practice to receive feedback and gain confidence teaching in front of others (teachers and future teachers!). This experience helped me to fulfill many teaching standards. These especially include 1A, "Teachers lead in the classrooms," 2A, "Teachers create a nurturing environment for students," 3B, "Teachers know the content appropriate to their teaching specialty," and 4F,"Teachers help students work I'm teams." I thoroughly enjoyed this teaching experience and consider it a wonderful opportunity for growth and preparation for student teaching next semester!

From Not Yet...to I Can

Today, I created my first infographic. In a single class period, I as well as many classmates went from not even knowing what an infographic was to creating one and publishing it to the "Do." At first, I was a bit discouraged when I realized all that was left to complete in this class in just six more weeks. However, after sorting the class objectives in to three categories, "I can," "In progress," and "Not yet," I soon realized that most of those things were already in progress. The infographic was a wonderful way to creatively reflect on all I had learned. It lent a sense of accomplishment as well as motivation. It also was another useful technology tool mastered :). I believe this enabled us to fulfill Standard 5B, "Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals."

Teaching Future Teachers About Teaching

Today, the future teachers in our class taught fellow future teachers about teaching. This imcluded teaching/learning about cooperative learning as well as setting class objectives and providing feedback. My group taught cooperative learning. Familiarity with this classroom strategy will enable us as teachers to fulfill standard 4F, "Teachers help students work in teams and develop leadership qualities." We also learned about setting objectives and providing feedback. Familiarity with this classroom strategy will enable us to fulfill Standard 5A, "Teachers analyze student learning." It was beneficial for us to work together in groups and teach each other. In this scenario, we were able to assume the roles of both teacher and student.