First Day of School! (Kinda)

    Hey guys, welcome back to my blog! This post is going to give you an overview of my reflective teaching lesson that I taught this past Wednesday. My cohort members and I were tasked with creating a lesson plan for our first day within one of our classes for the spring. I really enjoyed creating this lesson and getting a glimpse into what next spring will look like at Oley Valley! 

    To give you context, I used my ten minute snapshot to do a teacher and student introduction through a fun activity. I introduced myself to the class through using various pictures that represent what shaped me into the person that I am today. Then I jumped into student introductions through the Two Truths and a Lie game, where my fellow cohort members got to guess each other's lies. I had a lot of fun watching everyone participate in this activity and getting to know each other better. 

    This RTL relates to what I know about teaching, because I able to use some of the characteristics of an effective teacher in my lesson. I tried to use business like behavior by keeping my phone timer out to stay track on time and to ensure I was moving onto the next activity promptly. I also tried to implement variability by using a powerpoint and then an activity where the students got to interact with each other. I also know that students retain information better when the teacher states the objectives and goals for the class, so I tried to repeat to the students that we were getting to know each other better through this lesson. 

    I learned a lot from this experience and from my cohort members! Getting to record the lesson was new but also very beneficial for reflection purposes and getting to see everyone else's great ideas. The first lesson I learned is that I should state or write down my objectives, for not only my students but for me as well. The other people in my lab stated their objectives clearly or had them in their powerpoint for them to reference, which I will do in the future. After watching the video of me teaching, I realized I need to work on my composure and to not fidget so much. I realized I moved or played with my hair a lot which is something I will definitely work on through getting more practice. 

    This teaching lab is very relatable to what I'll be doing in the future as an Agriscience teacher. It was really exciting getting to feel some of those first day jitters and to plan out what my first day in a real classroom is going to be like. Creating a good connection with my students is one of my top priorities and the first day is so important because it lays out what the rest of the school year is going to look like. In the future, I'm going to implement what I learned from this lab and from my peers into a real first day, so that I can establish a great connection with my students early on!