EdSe 3204 - General Instructional Methods Fall 2004: Dr. Helen Mongan-Rallis
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Write a reflective analysis (which is jargon for "what are your thoughts on...?") on the relationship between your philosophy of teaching and your peer teaching lesson. Examine how well the lesson that you taught actually matches what you believe you as a teacher should be doing. One way to think about this is to ask yourself: "What would a student in the class I taught, or an observer, think that I believe about teachers, students, and education based on what they saw me do in this 2 minute lesson?" Be aware that it is very rare that there is an exact match between what we do (our actions) and what we believe. So what we need to be doing constantly, as teachers, is to reflect on what we believe AND what we do, and made decisions about which should change so the 2 become more aligned -- your beliefs or your practices?
This analysis is an example of an artifact that you can include in your professional teaching portfolio to demonstrate your professional development. It also addresses one of the INTASC standards, namely: "The teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of his or her choices and actions on others.. and who actively seeks out opportunities to grow professionally."
To help you prepare to write this, read Chapter 1: Introduction to Teacher Decision Making (in our class text). In this chapter Burden and Byrd do a pretty good job of guiding us (teachers) in becoming more aware of the role that reflection can play in helping us to become effective teachers. As you read this chapter, focus in particular on pages 10 - 19. You will notice that on the bottom of page 17, in the gray box "Teachers in Action", a high school math teacher talks about doing a very similar assignment to the one I am having you do here. Read this testimony on why this teacher found this a helpful exercise.