Domain 1: Planning and Preparation
Goal: Collect and apply a variety of resources for planning, developing, and teaching lessons.
1d. Demonstrating Knowledge of Resources
Printing out a calendar for each month and planning what the overall month will look like was extremely helpful in developing a big picture of where each unit was going.
Artifact #1 - Monthly and Weekly Planning
Separate from actually planning individual lessons, it is important to lay out plans for the month and weeks ahead in order to know how you want to present information and work through the content. In my student teaching experience, I used a variety of weekly and monthly planning techniques to ensure my classes ran smoothly.
One method that I used for mapping out each week of my Pre-Algebra and Algebra I classes was to split the daily activities up into individual days. I liked this method as a lot of it translated right over to my lesson plans. Each week, I printed out this outline to help me keep track of what the week looked like. I would refer to these outlines when writing up the homework assignments and objectives each day.
In my 6th-grade science placement, I used this form of a weekly map to plan my activities for each day. I liked this method as it was all on one page and included a summary of my activating and summarizing strategies.
Artifact #2 - Organizing Online Resources
A picture of my Symbaloo account and the beginnings of my online resource organization.
An important part of collecting and using a large number of resources is finding a way to organize them. There are many ways to keep online resources organized and easy to find. However, one of my mentor teachers shared with me a website called symbaloo.com. This website is a place to organize links to various online resources. I created a free account for myself and began to organize all of the online resources that I obtained during both of my teaching experiences. Symbaloo allows you to create multiple tabs of resources for various subject areas. It also has pictures and widgets for you to easily identify the resources you need.
One way that I effectively used technology was by doing short knowledge checks using google forms. This was much better than using paper as I was able to grade their work much faster and more easily compare students' answers.
Artifact #3 - Utilizing Technology Effectively
Technology can be an incredible resource in classrooms when used properly. There have been many times when I have seen technology inserted into lessons where it was not actually useful and valuable to students learning. However, I have also seen technology used in a way that truly enhances students learning. Learning to use technology well in the classroom is key for teachers of today's world.
Another piece of technology that I utilized in my 6th-grade science placement was Nearpod. Nearpod allowed students to actively be involved with a presentation through collaboration boards, polls, quiz checks, and games. This was a fun way to present content that would normally be presented just using a PowerPoint as it engaged students directly with what was happening on the big screen up front through their own devices.