As usual, class was FUN.
It was great and eye-opening to work in a group to come up with a lesson plan - it was also very helpful to have the advice and guidance of experienced librarians (like our group's librarian, Julie!). I noticed that making lesson plans recalled for me the experience of making a business model, or even a marketing pitch! (This is thanks to my overly extensive experience working in retail and marketing...yay...) However, it's a great testament to the power of activating prior knowledge, in the sense that, even as adults, our previous experiences in other industries will very likely end up shaping (and positively influencing) our teaching careers and practices.
So all of that time spent "building character" at many minimum wage jobs, and some seemingly useless full time positions, may actually come in handy after all...
I also loved making the podcasts.
1) It helped to MAKE one in class to just learn about making one. Period.
2) It was fun to listen to everyone's podcasts; you can just see a little bit of each students' personality coming through, and it was fun to have the freedom to interpret this in-class assignment any way we wanted.
Furthermore, the structure of class and the activities we did were a great MODEL for how I would like to structure my future class and its activities!
It was great and eye-opening to work in a group to come up with a lesson plan - it was also very helpful to have the advice and guidance of experienced librarians (like our group's librarian, Julie!). I noticed that making lesson plans recalled for me the experience of making a business model, or even a marketing pitch! (This is thanks to my overly extensive experience working in retail and marketing...yay...) However, it's a great testament to the power of activating prior knowledge, in the sense that, even as adults, our previous experiences in other industries will very likely end up shaping (and positively influencing) our teaching careers and practices.
So all of that time spent "building character" at many minimum wage jobs, and some seemingly useless full time positions, may actually come in handy after all...
I also loved making the podcasts.
1) It helped to MAKE one in class to just learn about making one. Period.
2) It was fun to listen to everyone's podcasts; you can just see a little bit of each students' personality coming through, and it was fun to have the freedom to interpret this in-class assignment any way we wanted.
Furthermore, the structure of class and the activities we did were a great MODEL for how I would like to structure my future class and its activities!
I too, have past work experience that has helped me. Doing workshops at the Apple Store was stressful early on because I was not confident in my knowledge of the product. This discomfort taught me that I need to make sure I know as much as I can about a topic before I can present it. This helps limit the power of my nerves.
ReplyDeleteCommenting on activating prior knowledge and using what we once thought were mindless minimum wage jobs....had plenty of those!
ReplyDeleteI like how you see the value in those jobs. I do too, though not till recently. In fact, what I have found is that actually looking back at them and scrutinizing what I learned in those jobs helps those lessons to "stick" even more.
I like your business comparison, too! You draw some interesting parallels. As teachers, we truly ARE trying to "sell" our content to the students...which often requires a lot of "marketing" (hooks, demos, flashy examples, etc.).
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought about some of those early jobs for a long time until I read your post. Delivering papers, laying sod, cleaning dishes, busing tables. Oi. Did I really do all that?
ReplyDeleteFunny, I'd been thinking my more recent work experiences could be a source of classroom commentary. But mixing my early experiences in makes it more real.