Describe an "aha" moment you had this week, if any.
Booth's Engage phase comprises designing materials and delivering instruction. When I think about it, it's interesting that my confidence levels with each of these two aspects have swapped over the course of my teaching career. When I began teaching so many years ago, I felt like I was on the cutting edge of technology. Newly hired, I was one of few teachers in my department who was competent with computers. While many of my colleagues were still using (believe it or not) mimeographed worksheets, I was creating word processed instructional materials that had more appeal and clarity for students. I could even make a transparency of my materials for the overhead projector as a visual aid for my lectures. Time has passed, of course, and the mimeographing teachers have retired and been replaced with younger, more tech savvy teachers, and I have had to work to keep up.
As tech tools became more and more accessible, I noticed that students appeared much more engaged with my colleagues' powerpoint presentations, prezis, and interactive apps than my transparency projector and handouts, and I knew I had to make the switch. However, I have also realized that using technology to create instructional materials doesn't necessarily mean they are effective. I have been guilty of overloading slides with too much information or not using very effective design, and I know that even if the presentation looks good, it doesn't necessarily mean that the material is well organized or clear. I still work hard to incorporate the latest technology into my instructional design, but I also sometimes make the conscious choice to draw on the whiteboard instead of using my SmartBoard, or tell students to take out a pencil and paper instead of logging into their computer.
On the other hand, the aspect of delivering instruction has gotten easier over the years. As a new and inexperienced teacher (and not much older than my students), I lacked confidence and struggled to assert my authority over the class, and the class responded exactly the way you would expect a class to respond. I had little control over or respect from my students. After several really negative classroom experiences, I realized I had to create a more effective teaching persona. Booth talks about the importance of being authentic, and I agree. I am not super energetic, loud, or funny. I wish, sometimes in front of the classroom, that I were. I work with some "rock star" teachers who seem to have almost a cult of students who follow them. I am not that person. But, I am super passionate about my subject (aka "nerdy"), very mothering, and flexible. And I make that work for me. I'm not afraid to be "weird", and I can even crack my students up once in awhile. I try to stay relevant (which is easier right now because my own children are the same age as my students), but also I assume that I'm not. I have very few problems with discipline; I can't remember the last time I sent a student down to the office, and I truly credit finally having developed a solid teaching persona for that.
As tech tools became more and more accessible, I noticed that students appeared much more engaged with my colleagues' powerpoint presentations, prezis, and interactive apps than my transparency projector and handouts, and I knew I had to make the switch. However, I have also realized that using technology to create instructional materials doesn't necessarily mean they are effective. I have been guilty of overloading slides with too much information or not using very effective design, and I know that even if the presentation looks good, it doesn't necessarily mean that the material is well organized or clear. I still work hard to incorporate the latest technology into my instructional design, but I also sometimes make the conscious choice to draw on the whiteboard instead of using my SmartBoard, or tell students to take out a pencil and paper instead of logging into their computer.
On the other hand, the aspect of delivering instruction has gotten easier over the years. As a new and inexperienced teacher (and not much older than my students), I lacked confidence and struggled to assert my authority over the class, and the class responded exactly the way you would expect a class to respond. I had little control over or respect from my students. After several really negative classroom experiences, I realized I had to create a more effective teaching persona. Booth talks about the importance of being authentic, and I agree. I am not super energetic, loud, or funny. I wish, sometimes in front of the classroom, that I were. I work with some "rock star" teachers who seem to have almost a cult of students who follow them. I am not that person. But, I am super passionate about my subject (aka "nerdy"), very mothering, and flexible. And I make that work for me. I'm not afraid to be "weird", and I can even crack my students up once in awhile. I try to stay relevant (which is easier right now because my own children are the same age as my students), but also I assume that I'm not. I have very few problems with discipline; I can't remember the last time I sent a student down to the office, and I truly credit finally having developed a solid teaching persona for that.
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