Continuous and Ongoing Learning
During Teacher Assisting
During Teacher Assisting
As every teacher goes through their career they must stay up-to-date on new research and pedagogy. To not do so would mean to stop improving yourself and allow your students to not learn in the best available way. To keep my learning ongoing I have continued to read books, blogs, articles and follow many teaching oriented groups on social media sites.
One book that particularly has opened by eyes to teaching is The Teaching Gap by James Stigler and James Hiebert. This book discusses the different systems of teaching in high achieving Germany and Japan and compares these systems to the lower achieving U.S. This has been particularly useful to help me realize some errors in designing coherent instruction, engaging students and how students learn and develop, but also why these errors were made. Plus, The Teaching Gap has provided some strategies that other countries used, and thus I could possibly use, to solve these problems.
While this book is a prime example of my learning, I have many other tools that I use to continue my learning and better my profession. One way I continue to grow professionally, as well as evaluate my own teaching choices, is through my public blog at ottena.wordpress.com. Through this living document I continually reflect on actions I've taken in teaching and what I have learned from them. This public blog allows others to see my thoughts and to comment if they chose to do so thus leading to a forum of learning about teaching. Feel free to check out my blog, and comeback frequently as I will be continuing to update it.
INTASC Standards Addressed
Standard #1: The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for students.
Standard#2:The teacher understands how children learn and develop, and can provide learning opportunities that support their intellectual, social and personal development.
Standard #9: The teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community) and who actively seeks out opportunities to grow professionally.
Standard #1: The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for students.
Standard#2:The teacher understands how children learn and develop, and can provide learning opportunities that support their intellectual, social and personal development.
Standard #9: The teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community) and who actively seeks out opportunities to grow professionally.