The first assignment that was constructed for homework was watching two different podcasts. The first podcast that I was introduced to was the importance of teaching by Anita. Anita talks about a major goal, which is to go "beyond personal experiences and to study teaching and learning systematically and scientifically." Students conduct state exams every year, but the students that had the same "productive" teacher for four years will do better on the tests. The most important factor that teachers most develop are relationships with their students. The key idea that I got out of this podcast was to make the students feel connected in the classroom. A way of doing this is showing them that you care.
The second podcast Anita was discussing the importance of faculty meetings and standardized testing. She begins talking about the how the meeting was held and the important subjects that were introduced. Anita then jumps into the No Child Left Behind Act. This act requires a standardized reading and math test have to be given to all students grades three through eight. Schools are judged to see if they are making any progress in the classroom. There are many consequences if the school did not reach that appropriate score. This included schools getting shut down and other severe consequences. Many teachers get discouraged because they are "teaching to the test" and not making a creative lesson plan. To tie it up Anita explains how to tackle these problems when entering in a classroom. The one way is to know the tests and making accommodations for the different students in the classrooms.
To go along with the podcasts I also took a look at
Tips and Strategies from First Year Teachers. This website gave some insight of what to expect on the first day in the classroom. A few key ideas that I pulled out from the website is to be prepared before entering in the room. Even though it's the first day you should always set goals and rules for the class to follow. These two aspects will help the class become more familiar with the class setting and the main purpose of the class. This website will be a good source for my first day of teaching. Yes, the first day can be jittery but it's a good way to form relationships with students and become familiar with each one.
