As I prepared for this weeks lab, I began to get really excited. I was not only excited to see how the problem solving approach would work in a classroom setting, but also for the content of my lesson! For the first time, I was going to teach a lesson on content that I was not only comfortable with, but that I have personal experience with! My lesson was on determining what information needs to be known in order to figure out why a dairy animal is not getting pregnant. This is something I deal with regularly in my own life with my dairy animals. I believe that as a result of my excitement for the lesson, I was more enthusiastic this week than I have been in the past. I am far from perfecting enthusiasm, but I do believe that I made a slight improvement. However, I recognize that I need to be enthusiastic about every topic I teach, not only the ones I have personal connections to. I believe that for me, enthusiasm is going to be a direct correlation of confidence in the content. That is something I need to work to continue to get better with.
I began working through my presentation, and everything seemed to be going smoothly at first. I asked if anyone wanted to be a veterinarian, since this will be for my Veterinary Science class. I then informed my students that they were all going to be Veterinarians today. I asked them to pair up with another partner, and then I posed the problem to them. I have a cow, Fortune, that I cannot get bred. After posing the question, they had 5 minutes to develop at least 5 questions that relayed what further information they wanted to know about Fortune before they could diagnose the problem. I really liked this because it made each group think through the problem instead of just having a handful of students call out the questions. I floated back and forth during this time and tried to get the students thinking a little bit deeper. Looking back I should have asked them more questions, but overall, I think it went well.
After each group had their 5 questions formulated we began to answer the questions. I wanted to keep every student engaged, so I rotated back and forth from each group to take one question at a time. I was afraid that taking one groups questions all at once would cause the other groups to check out. This worked really well for the most part. Looking back, though, I wish I would have captured the questions on the board. I will have a student helper come up and write the questions down so that we can see what all we have covered. I think that this would also help the students make connections and possibly think of more questions. I also should have increased my questioning during this part. Occasionally I asked the students why they wanted to know that information, why it was important, however, I do not think that I asked enough questions to really engage the students to the best of my ability.
Overall, I think that this teaching experience went pretty well, but I definitely have room to improve. I need to continue to work on my clarity, which has gotten a little better since I have started scripting out my directions. Now, I just need to remember to look down at them :)
This week I have been reminding myself that even small progress is still progress!
Hey! Seemed like your lab went well. I feel that we are more enthusiastic for content we know because we are more comfortable with it. It is the same with relationships. When you walk into a room with people you know you are more relaxed and enthused rather then walking into a room when you know no one since people tend to be more reserved. By practicing having enthusiasm with subjects easy for us, I feel it will help us with the subjects that we are not as confident in, as we will know how a good class feels and will try to replicate that feeling.
ReplyDeleteI love your last statement! even small progress is still progress! I think that's what we all should be remembering. I believe that the labs are a great way to let us practice what we are going to teach. Everytime I do a lab, I leave feeling like a professional teacher not because I did a good job teaching, because that never happens, but because as soon as I sit down my mind is flooded of all the things that would have made that lesson great! It sounds like you might have had this as well. And from what I read your lesson went well. I like the way you structured your lesson and the question you chose! I'm glad it went well for you!
ReplyDeleteI like how positive all of our blogs have been lately, and I am SO glad you are getting SOOO excited about this lesson! I mean, we're gonna be TEACHERS for a CAREER... shouldn't we ALL be excited about teaching with new methods?!?!?!
ReplyDeleteWay to set a good example, Quinn :)
As for your lab, it seems great! Especially since animal science/vet issues are usually all about problem-solving. Maybe I should have picked one of my animal sci units for my PSA rather than wildlife biodiversity? Oh well, I am learning from YOU and your effective methods!! Keep improving and don't be afraid to read from your LP!! :D
Hey! Great blog and great idea about grouping the students together. I also like that you had them state question rather than just come up with related topics!
ReplyDeleteThe enthusiasm part come so naturally for us when we teach a subject we love; however, once we become comfortable with teaching certain subject content, we will become more enthusiastic when we teach it. I guess this means we should become very confident with the material we are teaching...that's easier said than done, but we are ALL working on it! So keep up the good work Quinn :)
Hi Quinn,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your blog post, hearing advice in class, and talking with other students, I have come to realize that finding that happy medium of what questions to ask and how many questions is really tough. Your blog is the first one that I have read that mentions that you should ask more questions. I think that this in itself is a huge step for a person to take. To be able to let the class think and not try to jump into action because you aren't seeing a fast answer. Through this and reading your blog post, I think that you have done a really great job with classroom "patience" with your students and that is a huge stepping stone that we all need to take. You are just the first one to take that step :). Great blog reflection, keep it up!!
Quinn,
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job, your lesson was well planned and made great use of the problem solving approach! I really liked it and honestly hated having to "role play" during it. You handled my complaints with grace and kept smiling and moving through your lesson. This was a great real life situation and would give students in veterinary science a tool for their toolbox to use in diagnostics.
Quinn,
ReplyDeleteit sounds like your lab went great you where very passionate about your topic. I'm relay sorry I missed it. Also it sounds like you kept all of the group evolved an engaged, look at the real world I feel that this lesson will be great for vet science students to use. And from what Mindy said above it sounds like you got a handle one the classroom management....Any sugestions on what to do with her you want to share lol !?!? Great job!!!
We are repeatedly told that we set the tone. I think that your enthusiasm led you to having a better lab. I liked the rotation technique. some stratagies seem so simple, and almost second nature but when we do theses little things for our students we keep everyone engaged and make a smoother running class.
ReplyDeleteIf you didn't have room to improve, I'd be afraid. I think that we all can agree that we have watched seasoned teachers do things that we thought could have gone better or have been done differently. However, I know that you would be the best in the cohort for most anything dairy or reproduction related, so I'm glad you finally got to do it! We each need one of those labs! Now, to use that energy into the next lab! I think we are all learning those small things that we need to work on that are applicable in each setting. However, through each lab, one trait is emphasized more than others. Keep up the good work, Q!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like your coming along very well Quinn. I liked how you broke up the groups first off to get them to brainstorm the 5 questions. With this method, because I have a hard time managing all of the groups too, to make sure everyone is engaged. Having each one fill out a task sheet or write down the questions on their own sheets of paper. I know this might sound repetitive but keep using those 3 little words "Tell me more" when you float around the room. I also liked your student helper idea for writing items down, I am definitely going to use that one during my presentation this week.
ReplyDeleteExactly right! Small progress is progress! Being in your lab,I think you did great for the most part! I loved the prompt and how you went about it. I really liked working with a partner to formulate 5 questions for ourselves cause it allowed thought, cooperation, and freedom. The helper woud have been nice to capture the questions down so we could look back over them and discuss it more. But great job!
ReplyDelete