The competent teacher understands the diverse characteristics and abilities of each student and how individuals develop and learn within the context of their social, economic, cultural, linguistic, and academic experiences. The teacher uses these experiences to create instructional opportunities that maximize student learning.
I have been working with a student who has very low English language skills and was still struggling and mixing up the vowels in the middle of his words. I was able to identify what was the issue and I found this chart on teachers pay teachers and printed it out for him. He was able to use it when he is taking his vocab test and it was helping him a bit to see all of the vowels in front of him (1G).
Something that I learned was that I did not have to create something new for this student. We had gone over different vowels and their sounds before with flashcards I have but this paper was something that he could use so that he could practice the different vowels and know how they sound since things can be tricky to hear when he hears me speak English and he is trying to translate the sound in English and not in Arabic.
I was able to tie in what I have been teaching the class about waves and energy to me playing my cello for the class. I was tying in music with what we were learning about sound waves and how the string of a cello moves up and down and how depending on where and how you play on the cello, there are going to be different pitches and volumes, aka wavelengths and amplitude (1I).
The cooperating teacher was able to draw the pitch and wavelength on the board from the notes that I was playing and we all had a good discussion about them. The class was also able to label the waveforms and what they meant.
Something that I learned through this experience was that I love sharing things about myself with my students. I love getting to tie in what I know and bring it to the content and to a level where they will understand, learn, and have fun. I also learned that my cooperating teacher is able to jump between what I do to making connections and asking questions to the students to show their understanding, which is something I have started to do more as well.