Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Collaboration is a key element to the success of a teacher. Teachers need to talk about what is going on in their classroom with other teachers. This will allow teachers to compare and contrast what is and is not working in regards to teach the students. 
Teachers are always looking for a way to get more students to understand more material. Collaboration is different than group work in a few ways. Collaboration is more of a joint effort than group work can be. In groups there are commonly people that take over certain parts of the task at hand. Collaboration allows for more of a discussion as well. Group work is usually oriented around a task, while teachers collaborating is a way for them to see what they need to talk about or what they would like to talk about to better their teaching.
In example of collaboration can be observed from my summer work experience. I was part of a field maintenance crew at a baseball complex that was going to host the state tournament for the 14AAA Travel teams. Because there was so much that needed to be done, we all took jobs we knew how to do in order to get the tournament ready. If we saw someone doing a task that we felt could be done in a better way we went and talked about a new way to do that task. We were all working together to get the complex ready for the hundreds of people that would be showing up. I am confident that our discussions on how to improve our work really helped get the job done better than if it had just been a group project and we did individual tasks.

Efficacy


Teaching efficacy: general, the extent to which a teacher believes her students can learn material; and personal, the extent to which a teacher believes her students can learn under her instruction. I learned that it is argued that teachers' beliefs about their ability to bring about outcomes in their classrooms, and their confidence in teaching in general, play a central role in their abilities to effectively serve their students.
I think that if a educator is self aware of the best way to educate their students and find the way to best engage them in the lesson that they are successful. That if a teacher has confidence in what they are teacher and can conduct a class at a high level then they are being efficient.
Work and persistence come in the same categories, these two are also very important. If you don’t continue doing the things that make you successful then things will start going down hill. If you don’t have success teaching then you have to work to achieve success.

Reflectivness


I think that teachers find it hard to reflect on many things because they are nervous that they wont reflect the right way. They wont reflect in a way that the students can handle or that they want their mind to thing. Some people think that reflection is the main key essential when it comes to teaching. That if you sit and reflect on something that went wrong, this means that it is going to go perfect for you the next time you teach. I think that this isn’t the way to reflect on things, that you should reflect on them and try something different and inherit others ideas.
Reflection on one's own work is a key component of being a professional and is essential to teacher education. Teachers must examine their beliefs, assumptions and biases regarding teaching and learning, and determine how those beliefs influence classroom practice. Teachers should examine any cultural baggage they may carry in order to evaluate its appropriateness in teaching. Furthermore, since teaching is often an uncertain, dynamic and complex practice, teachers must make constant judgments about appropriate goals, teaching methods and students' learning.

Inventiveness


I think that most students should be able to be independent. In the classroom I believe that most students learn through their own experiences. The type of experiences that they are independent on and that they are able to achieve by themselves. I believe that students should create many projects and invent different posters, and videos and blogs and certain things like that to learn through.
Inventiveness means more than creating tomorrow's coolest cell phone or other gadget. It's a set of mental and hands-on skills, skills like creative and critical thinking, problem-solving, tinkering, flexibility, risk-taking, collaboration, and communication-- that can help lead to great success in life, whether a child becomes an inventor, or a restaurant owner.

Passion


One of the best examples I have for passion is my 9th grade basketball coach. He was also a teacher, even though I never had him as a teacher I can tell that he would be a good one. When he would coach our team he would be the first one to get on our ass if we did something wrong, he would yell and scream and make it a point that you obviously did something wrong. On the other hand if we made a good play on the court he would be the first one to clap and yell and you could tell you did something good because he would be the one yelling the loudest in the gym. His passion for our team was amazing, he would take us out for dinner and invite us to movies and go golfing with him.
 To this day I still talk to him and he still cares about some players on the team. In a basketball tournament if we didn’t get 1st or 2nd we wouldn’t be able to keep the trophies, some of the players and parents didn’t believe in this strategy. I bought into this strategy and now that I look back on it they were just trophies and they are just collecting dust in some closet in my house.
 He was so passionate about basketball and success with our team that he would go to many levels. He had passion for success and he had passion for his players and whom he coached. He would always tell his players that he loved them and that he cared about them more than anything and I think that is true. 

Authenticity


Authenticity is important in the classroom, teachers for the most part should always be up fourth and honest with their students. Sometimes it comes to a point were it is necessary that teachers hold back some information. Different students learn at different rates and it is necessary sometimes to teach students things that they should know, but on the other hand some students aren’t ready for certain topics. 
Teachers should be careful when it comes to their personal opinion, students could have different opinion to different things and it is important to hear out their opinion.  Teachers have their own way of teaching and I think that they should stick to their personal way of teaching. 
Teachers shouldn’t change the way they teach because another teacher is teaching it a different way. Students learn different ways and you never know what students can learn when you are just teaching the way you want to. 

Compassion

One of my favorite teachers in high school was my mother Mrs. Dirth, even though she taught Physical Education she was the most compassionate teacher that I have had in a long time. She always found a way to keep the kids moving and keep them active, which is hard as a physical education teacher. Her passion for the students was amazing, my passion has grown from her and I would want to be a teacher like her. 
My compassion for many things comes from her, I have tons of compassion for sports and for teaching children and keeping them healthy through physical education. She would care about every student that walked through her door, whether they were a good student or not the best. Mrs. Dirth is one of the greatest encouragers, she can get many students to do things in class that many other teachers cant. It was amazing the way that students responded to her compared to many of the other teachers. She taught me many things, she taught me to always respect others and that sometimes they might not respect you. She taught me that if they don’t respect you make them respect you in a way that is always positive. She is the most positive person that I have ever met, everything is positive in her world no matter way. The glass is always half full instead of half empty in her world.