During the course of EDUC 614: Designing and Assessing Teaching and Learning, I learned how to write a proper lesson plan. In the ten years that I have been teaching, I have been using a Lesson Plan notebook and, lately, an application for the iPad called Planbook, where you just write down the basics of your schedule and jot what you will be doing during each of your classes in a very simple way. I did not even know that there were templates for lesson plans available on the Internet, let alone that you are suppose to write down more than what you are teaching, like times for each activity, explain each activity for each lesson given, and goals and objectives for every activity and lesson. Moreover, I did not know that there were National Standards for Foreign Language teaching available through the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) website, and that you have to follow these standards and write them down on each of your lesson plans. All of these I learned through EDUC 614, and I’m very thankful, because after learning about the lesson plan template and the standards for teaching, it has been easier for me to plan ahead my lessons and manage the time with my students in a better way.
I also learned through my video analysis that I need to come out of the shell when it comes to me speaking Spanish during my lessons. Not only Spanish is my first language, but also what I teach. However, in my ten years of teaching, I had been afraid to being a fluent speaker with my students, because I thought they would not understand what I say and loose interest in my class. Nevertheless, after having a very interesting conversation with my EDUC 614 professor, I started speaking more Spanish during my class and, not only my students have had a positive reaction towards the change, but also they have been learning more vocabulary and familiar phrases, which is exactly what my goal as a foreign language teacher is.
Furthermore, as a result of what I learned through EDUC 614 about the importance of incorporating technology into my teaching practice, I created a Blog for my older students, where they can write comments about their learning experience, reflections and thoughts on the topic of the month, or just write questions about homework and projects. Also, I have been using an application for the iPad called TinyTap, where you can create your own flashcards or games with your own voice and by adding pictures. This app is especially helpful in foreign language teaching, since there are not too many Spanish apps for children out there. I am planning on using my TinyTap creations, not only for my lessons, but also during testing time.
From the Eight ASTL Learning Outcomes, these are some of the points I believe were addressed during EDUC 614:
- Student learning: Teachers are committed to students and their learning. We educators need to plan ahead goals and objectives for each of our lessons plans and follow the national standards for teaching, so that our students can get the best out of every class.
- Content knowledge and effective pedagogy: Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students. Teachers need to analyze their teaching methods and strategies in order to try to become a better educator. Video analysis is an excellent tool to make this task happen.
- Monitoring students learning: Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning. Again, lessons plans are a great tool to planning ahead the goals and objectives that you want your students to learn in each lesson, and the national standards are an excellent way to accomplish those goals and objectives.
- Systematic inquiry of practice: Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience. By viewing yourself teaching, you can correct the mistakes or the low points that affect your teaching style or method. It should be recommended that all good teachers video themselves during a class, so that they can learn from their own experiences.
- Diversity: Teachers attend to the needs of culturally, linguistically, and cognitively diverse learners. Every student learns in a different way. Therefore, it is the duty of the teacher to provide a differentiated lesson plan for all sorts of learners.
- Technology: Teachers use technology effectively to facilitate student learning and their own professional development. We live in the 21st century, where technology is all around us and we, as educators, must take part on it as well. Consequently, teachers should include technology as much as possible into their lessons plans.
In conclusion, it was a great experience taking EDUC 614, because I learned how to write a lesson plan the right way, the importance of creating lesson objectives, and the importance of following the national standards for teaching. Also, as a result of this class, I will be teaching more of a variety of vocabulary and phrases during my foreign language lessons. In addition, I learned the importance of adding technology into as many lessons plans as possible. Technology not only makes the lesson more interesting to students, but also facilitates instruction. Thus, I have already begun to implement technology into my lessons and I will continue searching for ways to include technology into my classes. EDUC 614 Summative Video Analysis