I was rather put off when we arrived back in the classroom after our quest for questions. Dr. Horowitz had rearranged the room to look like a "typical classroom." Normally we sit in a circle but she was setting us up for lecture time. She asked us to write about our first thoughts when we came in the room and mine was "UGH." Why? Probably because I'm getting used to this non-traditional way of learning and lecture typically does nothing for me. I've actually switched out of classes after realizing they would be too lecture based. I'm just looking out for how I learn best, so I can do my best and achieve growth and happiness. (Another concept discussed today) Moving on... Lecture does not make me happy. The turning point here is that Dr. Horowitz did a good job showing how to lecture well, while also modeling some no-no's. For example, do not give your students a graphic organizer that they cannot follow. It will drive your OCD students crazy. I also realized why I typically struggle with lecture...it really shouldn't be longer than 10-18 minutes. REALLY?! Can someone enlighten a few of my past teachers about this? Although I was not feeling it in the beginning, I felt that this mini lecture went well and I learned a lot. It proved to me that if I make the most of those 10-18 minutes, I can effectively get some important information out there to my students.
The last thing I'll talk about is the first thing we talked about in class. We started with this quote:
SO, what makes me happy? Lots of things but when it comes to my my education, I am happy when I reach the end of a semester and I realize how much I've learned and how I'm going to use all that knowledge. I also get excited over a really awesome idea I have for a lesson. I am happy when I put that into action and it engages students AND they learn something from it. We can totally have the greatest activities but they may not always foster an environment of learning. Dr. Horowitz made a good statement: "Be able to define your happiness in teaching." This is something I'll be reflecting on this week and next as I prepare to teach my first lesson and then teach it. I think this is a thought we should often reflect on throughout our careers to help us remember why we do what we do.
" I also realized why I typically struggle with lecture...it really shouldn't be longer than 10-18 minutes. REALLY?! Can someone enlighten a few of my past teachers about this?"
ReplyDeleteYes please! To digress into a little anecdata, I was in a class this week, which like every week, is an hour and 30 minutes of lecture. Somehow it came up that in education programs, like the one at RIC, folks spend about half the time in teaching courses, half in their content. It was easy enough to deduce that this professor did not hold much stock in the teaching courses. Unsurprisingly, this professor could really use a little help with his methods and strategies.
I also really appreciated the Lecture on Lecturing, because there *is* a time and a place for it, we just need to know how to do it well.
Michele, I guess I'm the odd one out here I like lectures. I enjoy a well done lecture. There are teacher that I have had that I wish would have lectured more! However, that being said I have had teachers that just were not any good at lecturing and that made the class a drag. I think that finding the middle ground between too much lecture and not enough lecturing is importation and that we need to make sure that when we do lecture that we do not make the mistakes that lead to a bad lecture.
ReplyDeleteLecture can absolutely be helpful and necessary at times. I think the key as you both pointed out is learning how to do it well. Hate to keep bringing up SPED because I know that's been a sore spot but she really does it right. Total balance of lecture and activity. She is reLly modeling how to effectively teach a class and I respect that. I
ReplyDeleteI can agree with a lot of what you said! I agree that going out to find questions wasn't as easy as I thought. I was in a classroom where students were finishing work and were working on all different assignments. The questions I heard were, "what lunch do we have?" and "do you know what you're doing?". I was a little disappointed to not go back to class with in depth questions. I also agree that Dr. Horwitz did a good job with her lesson on lecturing and it made me question the strategies of past teachers. Most of my classes are lecture-based and although sometimes I don't enjoy it, some teachers have done a very good job of teaching a lecture-based class. These teachers are very peppy and seem excited to teach every day. This is definitely something to keep in mind because there is nothing worse than listening to a boring lecture from a boring person. I think lecturing is something we all have to learn and practice in order to have the most informative classes every day.
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