Although this was the third time I have listened to a library presentation on using online databases, I still learned something. I hope to bring my comp students to the library again in a couple of weeks for another presentation and I am confident I will again learn something new. I think this just reinforces the importance of the concepts of both scaffolding and repetition.
The presentation today reminded me of how important it is to be clear and confident when giving directions for an activity to a class. I think the confidence a teacher conveys goes a long way, even if they don't feel confident about what they are teaching.
I was extremely grateful that I had previously taught "The Pearl" when we were re-writing our classmates lesson plans. I hope we do a lot more with lesson planning because I believe it is such an important part of teaching. Although I am definately a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants teacher, I know it is not good practice. I also think it should be stressed how important it is to have sub plans be EXTREMELY clear. I did substitute teaching for a short time--short because it is a horrible job since most teachers are not very clear with their plans, making things difficult for the sub and the students.
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You're so right about sub-plans. We work on writing lesson plans in methods courses and student teaching, but sub-plans don't really have anything to do with that.
Good sub-plans not only give the assignments, but where to go for help, extra work for when things go more quickly than we expect. Clear instructions for discipline issues, rewards, consequences. I've done a lot of subbing, it's never easy, but the more you go to a certain school the better it gets, even if the plans aren't complete.
It's good that you've managed to go through the library presentation three times. This was my first time, although I am very familiar with how the University of Minnesota (where I completed my PhD) did things, every university is different. I'm glad it helped.
Good point about confidence, even if we don't FEEL confident!
And I appreciate knowing your thoughts about lesson planning practice.
I really liked the hands-on database research things we did. And re-writing the lesson plan was also interesting.
I know that my lesson plans are basically a bunch of bullet points for me to keep track of where I am, so I always made sure to elaborate for the substitute teachers, write what we have been doing, note on particular students etc.
I totally agree with you in the sense of being clear and confident as a teacher while giving directions to a class. It helps a lot both to teacher and students.
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