How DO you teach?

We are quickly moving through the semester. As I dig further into lesson planning, I learn more about effective questioning and other teaching techniques. Here are some ways that this weeks readings have helped me.

• Effective questioning goes a long way in the classroom. 
• Questions are used to assess the knowledge of students, create interest, and develop a relationship between concepts. There are different ways to ask questions depending on the response you want to receive. They can be open ended, divergent, and convergent questions. I have already began using these to create my lesson plans. When I think of a great probing questions for discussion, I write it in the plan in the section that it goes with. It is best to think of these questions before hand.
• Maximizing student participation
• Some ways to gain student participation through questioning are to call students by name, ask questions throughout the lesson, randomly select students to answer. Calling students by name gives them a sense of belonging instead of just being a number. Asking probing questions throughout keeps the attention of the students and breaks up the lesson from just lecturing. Randomly choosing those students to answer the questions will prevent intimidation of others. Maximizing student participation will bring more discussion to the table. I plan to use these techniques throughout labs and student teaching. 
• Experiments as a teaching technique

• Experiments can be used to solve a problem. They can be individual or classroom conducted. This teaching technique allows students to plan by collecting materials and outlining the procedures. This is a technique I will be using in the classroom when student teaching. I want students to experiment with how amperage affects a weld's strength. Students will also be experimenting in the advanced single cylinder engines course. They will have to tear down engines and figure out why it wouldn't run. 

These readings have brought understanding to me about effective questioning and different teaching techniques. I have outlined just some ways of incorporating this new information to my lessons and cannot wait to use them!

Erin Yoest

Unit Planning

It seems so surreal that we are SIX weeks into the semester! With classes rolling by and assignments becoming complete, there is still a lot of planning to do. Planning will help the  classroom run smoothly. One of our assignments in AEE 412 is to create the unit plans for the units we are teaching. The one I created for peer review was on Embryology. Here are a couple points I learned while creating my unit plan. 

1. The main goal of the unit has to be clear. I thought long and hard about this unit. I began with the end in mind. I portrayed the goal of the unit clearly throughout the plan. The goal of my unit is that students learn the reproductive system of a chicken, parts of an egg, and the stages of embryonic development. They will keep accurate records in AET of the hatching process and create a financial goal. 
2. Peer feedback was important to me. I had received the feedback within a reasonable time period. They had good feedback. I adjusted unit plan with the feedback in mind. 
3. I edited my unit goals to not contradict with the unit rationale. Earlier that week, we learned to write objectives. I rewrote my objectives. There was some contradiction in the order I had placed my classes. I looked from a student perspective onto the plan and decided switch teaching the parts of an egg after how to candle an egg. I noticed that students would need to know the parts of an egg before they were to candle it. The last change I made was in the assessment section. I did not fully identify how I was assessing the students. I added in point values for each assignment as well as how I was assessing them. 

This was the first unit plan I had created, so I knew it was going to look rough. I learned that it is super important to write a plan with the end in mind. The feedback was really important in creating this plan. Without them, I would not have pointed out some mistakes. Thankfully, they were only minor changes that were simple to fix.
Erin Yoest

How can we improve education?

Over the weekend we were asked to watch a couple TED talks and read a couple articles on inspiring ideas. I am sitting here thinking, "what am I really passionate about that needs to change?" There are so many great ideas out there about what needs changed in the educational world. Well, here is my idea...



Every single year teachers hear the same phrases about standardized testing. Don't teach for the test, teach for your students. Teachers think of this constantly in their classroom, but how can they teach for their students when they have to pass a state standardized test that isn't based on what you actually need for the real world? Don't get me wrong, these tests are an important part of education, but do they really show the true value a student has? We could think of it this way. High school seniors are graduating with the knowledge of trigonometry, but not how to properly balance a checkbook. They know the importance of the government, but do they know how to vote? Do they really know how to put the facts together and vote for who they think should be in office to run our country?

Students lose their creativity and sense of being in the school system today. Teachers are shoving this knowledge into their brains just to pass an exam. An exam that doesn't have any value to students once they graduate. Students are loosing precious time on learning

Students know how to do all the technical math problems and writing out of high school. But think of it this way...

How different would our world be today if kids graduated from high school learning to be an informed citizen instead of just learning to pass a test?

Teaching Lab #3

I decided to create my interest approach on shop safety. I wanted to incorporate an E-Moment into my interest approach and wanted it to be kinesthetic. Student's don't get to move around much when discussing shop safety. I had students collect items from around the room. These items were a mixture of safety PPE and unsafe clothing.

Here are some points from throughout the lesson.

1. I need to be careful for filler words, especially "ummm." I can continue to practice or think about what I am going to say to fix this issue. 
2. I caught the student's who were using technology and talking out right away, but I feel like I could have handled the situation better. Next time, when someone is using their phone during an individual project, I could say, "Hey Stacia! Since it looks like you are finished with the assignment, can you look up three points on welding safety that we have not talked about yet?"
3. When I was teaching through my interest approach, I noticed that picking students' brains is very important.Integrating open ended questions in your lesson will open new doors to a student's learning. Choosing those questions is important as well because you want the questions to lead somewhere. By clicking here you can read about 5 powerful questions that when used effectively can create and engaged classroom. 

As the days go on, I improve with my planning and teaching. The most important part is that I have fun doing it.

Remember, "The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge." -Thomas Berger

First Day of Class Lab!

One Wednesday, I taught my "first day of class." I went in to it thinking I had a much better lesson than my RTL from two weeks ago. I will be teaching shop safety, so this lesson came from my shop safety unit. Here are some snapshots from my lesson!

1. Having clarity when giving directions would have helped me in the first few minutes of class. To fix this I could have wrote more directions on the board instead of verbal. My intent was to have students talk among each other to learn more about their fellow classmates. They were supposed to pick up one new fact about their partner to share with the class. Instead, they wrote down their answers individually and then shared with their partner. The intent wasn't to have students "think-pair-share," but in that situation I was in I became flexible. Next time, I need to have very clear, short set of directions if I am giving them verbally AND ask if there are any questions before they begin.

2. I should have ordered the way I discussed the classroom expectations, procedures, and consequences different. I discussed the 5 Bees of the Classroom (my expectations) then went over the consequences and finally the procedures. I should have placed the procedures in between the expectations and consequences. This will create a smoother transition in between the three.

3. Filler words! I have a bad habit of using the word "umm" in a situation where I am trying to find the right words to say. To try and fix my bad habit, or make it less noticeable, is to practice at home with what I want to say, and how I want to say it. I can also jot those down in my lesson plan so it is always there if I get loose track during a lesson.

I feel like I am improving with the more I learn in class and applying it to the lab. I am happy with the outcome and feedback from the students. They really enjoyed the part of the lesson where they created expectations for me as their teacher. It helped establish respect between the students and teacher because of the fact that I want the environment to be a positive one for them.

Until next time, "What you do today can improve all your tomorrows." -Ralph Marston

Erin Yoest

E is for...

Every student should experience an enthusiastic teacher within their lifetime of being a student. Over the summer I read Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess. The whole entire second part was about grabbing a student's attention. He talks about a three circle model. His three circle model consists of Presentation, content, and technique/method. Presentation is the most vital part to that circle. Dave states, "Just like meat has to be turned and basted, you have to continually added engaging twists, turns, and changes of pace throughout the lesson." Rosenshine and Furst named enthusiasm as one of the 5 variables of an effective teacher.

Enthusiasm can be brought into the classroom by how you teach, the interest approach, and by planning your lesson around some of the multiple intelligence's that students have. A teacher should try and hit on three different multiple intelligences a lesson. But, how can a teacher tell if a student is engaging in the classroom? An Edutopia article states that teachers can tell by a variety of ways. Students being taking notes, asking questions, and interaction between classmates.

There are many ways that teachers can create these diversely interactive lessons. Dave Burgess talks about creating these lessons in part 2 of his book. He created questions that go along with lesson planning. They also intertwine with E-Moments. E-Moments help bring that enthusiasm into the classroom. They go along with multiple intelligence as well. I learned that it is the little, sometimes simplest of things, that can get a student's mind flowing. It could be something as simple as color or a little classroom conversation while keeping the content relevant.



Until next time, "Student engagement is the product of motivation and active learning. It is a production rather than a sum because it will not occur if either element is missing." -Elizabeth F. Barkley

~Erin Yoest~

AEE 295 Cooperating Video

So here is my video all about my cooperating school at Mohawk High School. It is located in Bessemer, Pa and cannot wait to begin my journey!