As the semester wraps up, there are a few final beliefs that I picked up from this class. The first topic is what makes an effective teacher. I believe than an effective teacher is someone who is very knowledgeable in their content area as well as one who is good at understanding all kinds of mindsets, since everyone is different. You can’t effectively teach or coach if you don’t know about your content and/or can’t manage a classroom properly.
One standard that this class prepared me for was that “Teachers Know How To Teach” (Weber, 2017). Educational Psychology prepared me for this standard by teaching me the idea of using backward design in lesson planning. It helped me to find ways to draw up a lesson plan for different units and will be a big help in my teaching and coaching career.
The biggest thing I learned from this semester was that there is are so many developmental theories concerning children. Sure, I knew Piaget and Freud, but I was not aware of Brofenbrenner’s Ecological Model, Conservation tests, or of Lev Vigotsky, but of course, since Vigotsky died young and unproven, he isn’t as relevant. Also, the importance of technology in teaching was an important lesson. At my high school, some students got iPads, and they were nothing more than a distraction. Here, I learned that with proper control and moderation, technology can be a big help in many subject areas, even physical education and health.
My online identity from here will consist of possibly publishing a website with inspiring quotes, lessons, and other educational and sports-related material. I could also make another blog, which is practically the same thing. I haven’t decided yet. If anyone want’s to create a site, here’s a Wix tutorial.
Wells, that’s all, aside from the Scholar Blog Post. Good-bye!