Friday, May 9, 2014

My teaching beliefs change as my education continues....

         My thoughts on the classroom and my teaching beliefs were molded throughout my final semester on campus here in Iowa City.  None of my beliefs previous to this semester were completely eliminated they were just reaffirmed.  Beyond this, from the information presented to us I can now add to my teaching beliefs things that I feel strongly about as a future teacher.   Specifically, my beliefs in regards to the importance of technology in the classroom, their relation to education, and ideas about 21st century thinking skills, were added to my ideas about teaching. The TED talks we watched were inspirational and kick started my thinking about what we should really be teaching in our classroom.  My teaching belief has molded in regards to teaching students how to think and integrating curriculum as oppose to teaching curriculum and integrating ideas about how to think.  In our ever progressing world it is important to teach innovation and creativity.  Our world is not assembly line black and white any longer and has not been for some time.  While the basic skills and information is important, we need to continue to move forward.  New technology is being created and we need to teach our future how to use it.  As a teacher it will be important for me to learn and grow with the students and the use of technology.  They are more engaged when using it so it only makes sense to incorporate it into their daily routines. 
            I love the idea of kid blogging.  Especially at younger ages, if one to one technology is available, kid blogging would be huge as a way to get kids excited about writing and expressing themselves through the use of words.  It is amazing that through blogging you are potentially connecting with people all around the world and kids can receive feedback on their writing through more than a smiley face sticker from their teacher.  They can respond to questions and comments left by parents, other students, other students parent’s etc.  I am really excited about this whole idea.  Previous to this class I wasn’t even quite sure what a blog was, and now here I am excited about integrating it into my classroom as a learning tool.

            I am also going to focus on using higher order thinking skills in each of my lessons.  To change how we think and approach things it takes practice.  To mold from the regurgitation type of teaching to instead being the inquirer and the one who is creating is not a simple task.  Easier said than done, I want to encourage my students to question the world around them.  I want to inspire curiosity and creativity.  I want my students to paint a picture of their promise and the ability I know they possess with my lessons and resources a tool through which to do so.  I have left this semester with reassurance that I am where I am supposed to be and excited to reach out and be an advocate to the future of our world.

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