I'm really excited to teach the 6th graders. We've been planning our lesson, and I think we've got a good plan outlined. We're going to teach them about construction technologies, and how shapes help build strong structures. I think it's going to be really fun. I'm also excited to have this lesson to see how I like teaching young kids.

I'm excited to teach the 6th graders. I hope our group can come up with a good lesson plan for when we teach them. It should be fun!

I've enjoyed learning about the STLs as well. It's nice to have specific things to teach about. I'm glad I could get them memorized and prepare to teach them.

It will be good to see how I like teaching 6th graders. It will help me understand what type of teacher I want to be.

Snapchat

I love this article about Snapchat. Really interesting!

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/11/05/why-your-kids-love-snapchat-and-why-you-should-let-them/?ref=technology

http://qz.com/537952/is-apples-giant-cash-and-debt-load-telling-us-anything-important/

Really interesting article about Apple's cash and what they're doing with it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/06/technology/toyota-silicon-valley-artificial-intelligence-research-center.html?ref=technology&_r=0

Toyota invests $1 Billion in VR in America. This is crazy! VR or AR seems like it's really going to take off soon.

Nov 4

I love this major! I love that I'm finally learning good, useful things for my future. Shumway's class, and the teaching things I've been learning and the work on the MakerSpace have been great.

I've been more and more convinced lately that I don't want to teach in a high school. The teaching that I've been doing in class and what I've observed has deterred me from wanting to be a full time teacher. I'd still like to try teaching maybe for a year or so to give it a chance.

It's been interesting to think about these things. I'm glad this class is giving me these chances!

10/29

I'm glad I had a chance to do my first longer lesson in class. I liked trying to apply good teaching principles as I was preparing for the class, writing my lesson plan, and teaching in class. It was interesting to see the different focus I had compared to my missionary lesson plans. I've already improved a lot as a teacher.

I've also felt lately that I won't enjoy teaching in a classroom as much as I thought I would have. From observing other teachers and teaching on my own, I'm worried about it. I've been told that it's a lot different once you get your own classroom, and I hope so! I'd definitely like to try it out, at least for a while to see how I do.

It's been good to have this week to prepare for the STL teaching. I've been reading the Maraz book and it has some useful teaching techniques in it. I like how it cites studies on how students best learn. As I prepare to teach my STL I'll use things from that book for ideas.

This week had more convincing arguments against me wanting to be a teacher in a classroom. I went to the MMHS TV production class and I hated the way the class was run. The kids weren't engaged and didn't care about the teacher. If I did teach, I would have a much different atmosphere.

It's making me more excited for a Maker Space though! I can't wait to get that going.

Reflection 6

I like what we talked about regarding exponential learning this week. I really like this concept. It gave me a new view on learning and how I can learn more. It's helpful for me to think of learning as exponential.

It was good to see the teacher today too. I observed the TV Production class at Salem Hills High School. The teacher did a really good job. He was engaged with his students and you could tell he really cared about the class and what they were doing. Every day they have 2 class periods to produce the live school announcements on video. It was cool to see them come together. I like this teacher. I felt like he really tried to engage and connect with his students, and as a result, I can tell he's loving his job.

Another great week in 276. I'm getting more and more excited all the time about teaching. I have a million ideas about what I want to do with this degree, and this was solidified more this week. I've been wanting to pursue a tech shop in Utah county. I think there's a huge need for one. Just this week, an awesome opportunity opened up for that. I'm way excited. I also decided to work towards my endorsement in CS. I think this would be fun and that there are huge opportunities associated with that.

I also enjoyed observing the teacher, Mr. Anderson, on Tuesday. This is what I wrote:

This was an interesting experience, and different from the last teacher I observed. This teacher enjoyed his job, but seemed to be more negative about it than the last guy I observed. He taught his kids photoshop and I got to help them with it. I was surprised at how much I have already learned about it. I was able to answer most of the questions they asked me. He seemed to keep a calm, chill classroom and was very friendly with the students. I liked it. It made me think more about being an online teacher. I would love something like that.

I enjoyed this week in class. On Tuesday I thought the teaching we did was fun. I felt like I could notice improvement in myself even since the last time I taught. It was good to see that I'm improving as a teacher.

We visited Vista Heights Jr. High today and I started in the woodshop classroom. It was so cool to see all the kids so engaged in their project. They were making boomerangs and it looked like almost every kid was engaged and really enjoying their project. As I watched the teacher I saw things I like about his teaching style and things I didn't like. He had a hard time controlling his classroom. His kids were loud and he didn't do a good job of controlling them. This was in class after the woodshop. He was a great woodshop teacher and I could tell he loves his job.

I think it would have been better for him to help the kids see the positive outcome of what they were learning during his class session. He just started talking and didn't involve them as much as he could have.

Overall, I thought the visit was great and it made me more excited about possibly being a teacher.

Reflection 3

I'm loving this major more and more every week. There's a lot of hard work, but it's work that actually excites me and is stuff I want to learn. I love it.

Today was a great lecture. It made me think more about teaching and if I really want to be a teacher. I like the discussions we have because it makes me think about these things.

We were asked to answer the question "how will I pass on morals to the next generation." I think this is a hard thing to do. I worry about the attitudes of people and if I could be in legal trouble for saying something I believe in. This worries me about the country. I want to be able to say what I believe without fear. Maybe this involves just saying it and accepting whatever consequences may come. I am trying to decide if I believe that as a teacher I would have a moral responsibility to teach right and wrong to the students. This is something I'll be thinking about for a while.

Great week this week. I like all the things I'm learning and how interesting they are to me.

Reflection 2

This week has been eye-opening for me as far as teaching. Preparing and presenting the 5 minute lesson on Tuesday and the 30 second teaching today made me realize how much preparation and work teaching really takes. It's made me consider more about what it would be like to be a teacher, and if I want to teach at a school, online, or go into the industry. This last week has been very helpful in helping me consider these options.

Reflection 9/3/15

I've only been in this major for a few days now, and I'm already loving it. So many things that we talk about are things that I've also thought about on my own, and I love discussing them in class. When Geoff talked about how every student is different and how we need to keep that in mind when we teach I was so excited. I've talked about that with others a lot, and I feel very strongly that it's true.

These classes are the first ones I've had in a long time when the classwork is enjoyable and where I can see that it will actually benefit me in the long run. It's refreshing to know that there are parts about school that can be enjoyable and beneficial to me.

I'm excited to work hard this next semester to learn all I can about being a good teacher. I fully intend to give as much effort as I can to growing from these classes. I want to take the assignments seriously and trust that the teachers have a good plan for the class that will help me as I try to improve as a teacher.