Wow, it is hard to believe that it is already December and AEE 412 Lab is over. I was humbled and challenged while watching some of the "footage" from my labs throughout the year. I have truly gained a lot from this experience, and cannot even imagine how much student teaching at Athens will stretch me next semester. It is incredible to be able to watch those first labs and see how much I have learned throughout this semester. Feel free to watch my video:
AEE 412 Lab Highlight Video
For Rosenshine and Furst's Characteristics of teaching Effectiveness, I chose clarity. I chose this one because I believe this is the area where I saw the most growth in my lab experience. I was very glad that while Micro-teaching, I felt more comfortable and confident giving directions and clearly explaining new ideas. This is an important characteristic because students need to understand their expectations, what they are supposed to do, and what they need to learn. Additionally, I firmly believe that students who understand their role and what they are supposed to do in class are rarely bored, and when not bored rarely cause issues in the classroom. Clarity is essential for the transfer of knowledge between teacher and students.
The AEE 412 Lab Experience
Completing the lab portion of AEE 412 this Fall has been a very positive experience for me. This is such a unique and important time of our "teaching lives" as pre-service student teachers, and this Lab provides some contextual context to what we learn in class. I think that this unique experience is beneficial not only because we are able to practice and learn from experience, but we can also grow as a cohort with each other. I have so enjoyed watching everyone in my cohort this year. From the very first lab to now, I am blown away by the passion, dedication, and confidence in my peers. I truly cannot wait to see what the future holds for them.
If I could change anything about AE 412 Lab it would be that we could interact with our peers in different labs more. I enjoyed seeing the videos, and that was a helpful view, however, it might be nice to change the lab groups in order for us as teachers to try out a different "set of students!" I know that the inquiry based lab was definitely a new challenge for me. I had three different students, none of them being my usual lab partners, and it was very interesting to conduct the lab with them. This could help future student teachers be more adaptable. I completely understand the logistical nightmare that might be, to change lab groups, but I found it helpful. Additionally, starting the conversation of Micro Teaching and the Life Knowledge Lessons earlier might be beneficial for future cohorts.
My Personal AEE 412 Lab Experience
Through lab this semester, I have gained more confidence in my ability to not only just give better and clearer directions, but to be able to facilitate a fun and content rich lesson. While the labs that we did were shorter and not as contextual as a whole class period, the practice is greatly appreciated, and has made me noticeably less nervous to get in front of "real" High School students during Micro-Teaching and the Life Knowledge Lesson at my cooperating center. This lab has also taught me the importance of thoughtful reflection, and the power behind spending some time to reflect on a lesson. This is a practice that I will certainly continue to utilize while Student Teaching. Too often I might think to myself, "Oh I am too busy," or "Oh well I think it went fine," but reviewing the comments from others, watching the recordings again myself, and simply sitting down to reflect on the experience was extremely helpful. This reflection allowed me to set goals for the next lab, and then also see how far I have come through this experience.
Reflection is an important practice for ALL aspects of teaching; preparation, teaching, and learning. By reflecting, we can learn from our mistakes, we can see the gems and wonderful outcomes of changes, and we can continually better ourselves in order to make our classrooms the best possible place for maximizing student success. Reflection involves time, thought, and the ability to see where there are opportunities for improvement, and similarly where there are areas of excellence.
Best
-Sarabeth
