Week+3

OK, what do you think about having a new page for each week, so that if we want to go back and add more to previous weeks we won't get all confused?

Going to write a quick bit about this morning's lecture, even though we haven't had the tute, just because I'm here and before I forget things! Big concept to sort of think about this week, what kind of teachers we will be, what parts of our personality will crossover into our 'teacher' role, and what are things that may not be so beneficial in a classroom. Also having to think about our views on things in the world, particularly things we may not know much about or not be interested in. What are the responsibilities of a teacher with regards to 'must know' knowledge? Big and scary concepts! Snaps to Howard for using film clips, music etc...he obviously knows how to hold students attention!

Good work Kim! This week we looked at 'so you want to be a teacher.' I think the guest lecturer Dr Howard Nichols made some really good points and managed to keep our attention for most of the lecture with his use of video clips and music. He managed to discuss most of the stereotypes assosiated with teaching. I had never seen the video clip for Pink Floyds 'The Wall' but i thought it was great in that it showed how some people view the school system as that of an industrial factory where every student is a carbon copy of the next. I think we have all at some stage in our schooling had one of these stereotypical teachers (unfortunately.) Luckily none of us will be one of them! I agree, very thought provoking and interesting lecture. It was great the way Howard used examples from things we could relate to (eg. school of rock movie) to demonstrate the impact that the teachers personality has on the type of classroom environment they have. I found the clip about Jaime Escalante particularly inspiring in that he acknowledged and was prepared to make mistakes whilst teaching but viewed them in a positive way as a learning experience. This positive attitude was a reflection of his passion for teaching and I think the success of his students could partly be attributed to the "never give up" attitude he embraced which may have rubbed off on them. Again this highlights how your own personality has an impact on the students desire to learn which is an extremely important part of teaching. I suppose it encourages creativity and to not be scared of trying new things but at the same time, to not be disappointed if they don't go to plan.

Good work guys. I found guest lecturer Dr Howard Nicholas great to listen to, and like you all said, his use of music and video clips was fantastic. I think one of the keys to teaching is to capture your students’ attention so they actually take in what you are trying to teach them, and I am looking forward to learning and experiencing different techniques for this as the year goes on. I found it particularly interesting as to how much impact our personality can have on our students. I certainly remember when I was at school that I was always more likely to pay more attention to the teachers who were more personable and did activities that were much more fun.

The activity that we did in the tute was a great follow-up to the lecture. After hearing about different teaching styles and ways to capture students’ attention, the activity ‘so you want to be a teacher?’ was a good way to keep us thinking along the same lines. The activity made us look at when we were in school and what was good and bad about the teachers and their styles. I feel this was valuable in helping us identify what aspects we deem as important for when we become teachers.