During my student teaching experience, my goal was simple - become a better teacher. This took shape in a variety of ways. First was lesson planning. I had to learn quickly how to create and maintain engaging and effective lessons while adapting to differentiated instruction and learning.
On this page, you will see examples of some of my student teaching lessons. Each lesson aligns with my educational philosophy and shows my ability to facilitate classroom instruction as well as foster positive relationships with my students.
On this page, you will see examples of some of my student teaching lessons. Each lesson aligns with my educational philosophy and shows my ability to facilitate classroom instruction as well as foster positive relationships with my students.
Democracy Index Lesson
During the democracy index unit in Geography, the chosen instructional strategies and planned supports in my learning segment were chosen to support and be appropriate for the whole class, individuals and groups of students with specific learning needs through the selection of learning strategies and supports based on appropriate and relevant research theory. For example, in lesson one, I used the instructional strategy of a “Frayer Model” which allows students to graphically organize definitions into four parts on the notecard: “definition,” “used in a sentence,” “definition in your own words,” and “picture.” This tool individualized instruction and was appropriate for each student as they created their own definitions, pictures and sentences. This instructional strategy was additionally appropriate for the whole class as I practiced modeling an example of a Frayer Model for the whole class and explicitly explained the instructional task before releasing the students to create their own Frayer Models. This tool provided an appropriate level of scaffolding for students to move them further in their Zone of Proximal Development towards a mastery understanding of government definitions. Additionally, this instructional strategy was appropriate for groups of students with specific learning needs.
In the following lessons in the Democracy Index Unit, the students worked in small groups to complete their democracy index research. Having students work collaboratively allowed them to co-construct their knowledge following Vygotsky’s theory of co-constructed learning in which students learn from one another when they bring their individual strengths and model their own approaches for each other. In this unit, students explored complex ideas through real world examples and discovery learning by doing research while co-constructing their knowledge by learning from each other’s specific skills and strengths.
Here is an example of a type of question students may be researching during their collaborative research. The question, "Is there universal suffrage", asks the students to engage in a discussion about what universal suffrage means, and how equitable voting rights are int the country they were researching.
Pictured here I am seen providing further scaffolding to my students by modeling for them a good example of what their presentations should look like and giving them criteria for exactly what I am looking for when they present. In this time students were able to ask questions and receive clarification on the assignments requirements and get a clear picture of what to model their projects after.
In this unit, the students were encouraged to use multiple resources for their research. During the unit, I facilitated the use of valid and credible sources that improved my student's research skills. Incorporating technology, the student's final assignment was to create a multi-media presentation of their choosing on their country's assigned democracy index. Each student had possession of a one-to-one device and used their devices to create the presentation of their choosing, enhancing student engagement and overall participation.