Not Yet A Teacher

After delivering my lesson on the end of WWII, and comparing how I thought I had done to the TPCK model, my strengths and weaknesses came glaring to the front. I know that my content knowledge is there and my understanding of WWII is more than enough to successfully teach a high school history class, and apparently I have high expectations of what I want my students to understand and accomplish. Where I need work is in the pedagogical area, hopefully since this is only my second class in the education program that should be the case. I did not expect to stand up there and just become a successful teacher, however being the first time I actually taught a lesson I had created, I was comfortable, despite the poor execution. I know I speak fast and am always conscious of that problem, but once in the groove I get excited and the faster and faster I talk. Another problem I did not expect was despite an elaborate outline of what I wanted to talk about; I forgot a whole section of my lesson. These kinks, I believe, will get worked out with practice, and more classes. Yet I know that in a real classroom everyone is not as well behaved as our class and lesson hardly ever run as smoothly as you wish. Finally, thanks to this class I no longer am limited to PowerPoint and YouTube videos for technology rich lessons. I understand technology but don’t actively seek out new and interesting forms to be implemented into the classroom. So the work we have done this semester is truly beneficial, especially diigo which I will continue to use to keep me informed on all things education related. Overall I believe I was successful in delivering an educational and technology rich lesson, even if my actual teaching part and delivery needs work.