I am learning so much about teaching in this class. Even though we don't get to look at the quizzes we took on the first day of class until the end of the semester, I'm sure many of my answers would already be different. What we are talking about is easy for me to understand. I can understand that teaching the scientific method is inaccurate, and as many of us have said, ineffective. But I am definitely not at the point where I see how to apply these new ideas to a classroom.
I did not feel confident about teaching science walking into this class. And at this point I am probably feeling even less confident. I'm hoping to turn that around before the end of the semester. All that I do know at this point is that I want to be a teacher that teaches, not just instructs students. I feel that this class is bringing me closer to that.
I can't say that I'm frustrated by this class. If anything, it's just that I wish the answers were written in some way over priced text book from the book store, like I am used to. But I'm starting to wrap my head around the idea that that isn't going to happen.
Getting to the point where you can apply these ideas is exactly the goal you should have, however, very few people get there quickly. Much of the rest of the semester will be focused on how to actually DO this stuff. If you keep wrestling with the ideas, I am confident your confidence will go up. However, getting to the point where you feel really comfortable takes a lot of effort and oftentimes many years.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the book :) Well, there isn't going to be one, but part of that reason is because teaching is so very complex that most books simply gloss over the teaching and focus on activities and content, this class is about the HOW of teaching, most book are about the WHAT.