Learning to Teach ~ Reflecting to Learn
Overview Section:
Teaching is an art and a science. Teacher candidates in the School of Education are challenged by this balancing act between learning what to teach and learning how to teach. In this fast paced society in which they find themselves, instant gratification is a constant – and for undergraduate students, gratification often comes when an assignment is completed and they move on to the next assignment.
For the teacher candidate this “march to completion” places them on dangerous roads. Teachers need to reflect on the process of teaching and learning and so the journey needs to have rest stops along the way which require the teacher candidate to reflect on what they are learning, what decisions they are making, and which fork in the road they should take next. Incorporating knowledge synthesis pages in their electronic portfolios will provide the rest stop for these candidates to reflect on their own learning.
The “Skills and Insights Gained”
I have required students in the Secondary Education Program to synthesize their learning in each pedagogy course through the development of an electronic portfolio. Students create a portfolio using the Weebly template. This free resource for teachers allows teacher candidates to design, update, and make public their learning. In addition to this task as a course requirement, teacher candidates will be able to customize the portfolio for future job applications.
Students have successfully created these portfolios. However, over the years it become apparent that frequently teacher candidate submit the required documents, but do not have an opportunity to explain their learning. With classes this year I have required students to include a knowledge synthesis page for each of the required tasks. I have taken the following steps to help students reflect on their learning:
· I revised the directions for the creation of the e-portfolio.
· I created a sample portfolio for the students to follow.
· I reviewed the students’ templates for the portfolio.
· I provided feedback to students on the template.
· I have recently reviewed two submitted knowledge synthesis pages. One student clearly analyzed her learning on the use of lesson studies. She focused her submission on the learning from this task. The other student focused her submission on the lessons for teaching developed in the lesson plan. She did not reflect on her own learning except in what she learned about the content of the lesson.
· I provided both students with feedback: recognizing what they did correctly; addressing what needed to be changed; making suggestions for improvement.
· I realized students will need guidance in this new component of reflecting on learning and will require all students to submit before the due date a sample of the knowledge synthesis page to assess the progress toward the learning goal.
The “Lessons Learned”
This learning experience helped me realize once again how undergraduate students are literal in their completion of assignments. This portfolio is to be a collection of evidence demonstrating how they can apply what they learned in the class to new situations – such as planning lessons without the professor reminding them of which components need to be included. The “new” piece to this portfolio is the reflection on what they learned about themselves in the process and what they still need to learn. Self-reflection on learning is still a new concept for these learners.
Because these portfolios are used in every class I recognize that if I can be more directive with the students in EDUC 206 – the first pedagogy class these students take – they will have more practice in using this process over the four courses they will take. I will most likely spend more time helping students in 206 in the development of the portfolio.
The “Importance” or “Impact” Section:
Teacher candidates will be assessed for their certification using edTPA (Teacher Performance Assessment). Within each task of the edTPA, students are required to write commentaries to support their educational decisions. Creating knowledge synthesis pages can be helpful to the students to reflect on their learning which is a key element of the required commentaries in this assessment. I am not aware of any other professors in the School of Education using the knowledge synthesis pages. In the School Building Leadership Program, we are currently revising the portfolio requirements for the SBL candidates and are considering incorporating the use of these pages as TEAC evidence on the candidates “learning to learn” ability.
Overview Section:
Teaching is an art and a science. Teacher candidates in the School of Education are challenged by this balancing act between learning what to teach and learning how to teach. In this fast paced society in which they find themselves, instant gratification is a constant – and for undergraduate students, gratification often comes when an assignment is completed and they move on to the next assignment.
For the teacher candidate this “march to completion” places them on dangerous roads. Teachers need to reflect on the process of teaching and learning and so the journey needs to have rest stops along the way which require the teacher candidate to reflect on what they are learning, what decisions they are making, and which fork in the road they should take next. Incorporating knowledge synthesis pages in their electronic portfolios will provide the rest stop for these candidates to reflect on their own learning.
The “Skills and Insights Gained”
I have required students in the Secondary Education Program to synthesize their learning in each pedagogy course through the development of an electronic portfolio. Students create a portfolio using the Weebly template. This free resource for teachers allows teacher candidates to design, update, and make public their learning. In addition to this task as a course requirement, teacher candidates will be able to customize the portfolio for future job applications.
Students have successfully created these portfolios. However, over the years it become apparent that frequently teacher candidate submit the required documents, but do not have an opportunity to explain their learning. With classes this year I have required students to include a knowledge synthesis page for each of the required tasks. I have taken the following steps to help students reflect on their learning:
· I revised the directions for the creation of the e-portfolio.
· I created a sample portfolio for the students to follow.
· I reviewed the students’ templates for the portfolio.
· I provided feedback to students on the template.
· I have recently reviewed two submitted knowledge synthesis pages. One student clearly analyzed her learning on the use of lesson studies. She focused her submission on the learning from this task. The other student focused her submission on the lessons for teaching developed in the lesson plan. She did not reflect on her own learning except in what she learned about the content of the lesson.
· I provided both students with feedback: recognizing what they did correctly; addressing what needed to be changed; making suggestions for improvement.
· I realized students will need guidance in this new component of reflecting on learning and will require all students to submit before the due date a sample of the knowledge synthesis page to assess the progress toward the learning goal.
The “Lessons Learned”
This learning experience helped me realize once again how undergraduate students are literal in their completion of assignments. This portfolio is to be a collection of evidence demonstrating how they can apply what they learned in the class to new situations – such as planning lessons without the professor reminding them of which components need to be included. The “new” piece to this portfolio is the reflection on what they learned about themselves in the process and what they still need to learn. Self-reflection on learning is still a new concept for these learners.
Because these portfolios are used in every class I recognize that if I can be more directive with the students in EDUC 206 – the first pedagogy class these students take – they will have more practice in using this process over the four courses they will take. I will most likely spend more time helping students in 206 in the development of the portfolio.
The “Importance” or “Impact” Section:
Teacher candidates will be assessed for their certification using edTPA (Teacher Performance Assessment). Within each task of the edTPA, students are required to write commentaries to support their educational decisions. Creating knowledge synthesis pages can be helpful to the students to reflect on their learning which is a key element of the required commentaries in this assessment. I am not aware of any other professors in the School of Education using the knowledge synthesis pages. In the School Building Leadership Program, we are currently revising the portfolio requirements for the SBL candidates and are considering incorporating the use of these pages as TEAC evidence on the candidates “learning to learn” ability.