My Strengths as an Educator - Essay Example

Reflection Data collection approach For this particular work, data collection was based upon 20 questions administered in survey form to students. The goal of the survey and study was to evaluate the impact of the learning approach that I had developed and used on the students. The data collected was in the form of self-reported data. The students were given the freedom to answer the questions in a way that reflected their personal learning experience based upon their perceived positive and negative aspects of the teaching method. The questions posed were aimed at helping the students determine their strengths and weaknesses in class based upon what they learned, liked, and disliked about the learning process used. All the students were given one week to complete the survey and yet, even with repeated and daily reminders, only 86% of the students managed to turn in their completed survey forms within the alloted time frame. The remaining 14 percent took a full 2 weeks to answer the survey form. Thus turning in their forms a full week late from the preset deadline. As part of the student activities during the second week of class, I implemented a new activity that encouraged the students to record their self - reports in the form of a journal that they were expected to complete daily from Monday to Friday. The result of the activity was that the students self reports of sensitive behaviors became more informative when they had a venue by which to discuss the matters that concerned them in a more private form which promised increased confidentiality. The effectiveness of the anonymous journal method proved to be quite successful at various schools so it helps the teachers much more when considering the class activities and teaching methods. Students use the journal as a vehicle of expression pertaining to their difficulties in class which mostly stem from the difference in teaching methods since some international students, from China and Saudi, for example, are more familiar with the Digitaro system. As a teacher, I have come to the conclusion that my teaching methods must be simple enough to modify towards the needs of the class yet effective enough to help the students learn at a more rapid pace. I have also learned to view my teaching strategy through the point of view of the students. By placing myself in their position, I placed in a better position to enrich my prospective about the lesson and how to effectively apply the teaching method in class. By applying the various instructional techniques that I have learned, I am able to meet the needs of the students at various levels. By allowing the students to freely express themselves in class, the learning process is helped along as they are allowed to practice what they have learned and question what they do not understand. My lecturing style was slightly different from the the usual style because I decided to combine the best of the various styles into a lecturing method that worked best for me and the students. This meant using some audio and video clips that could give the students a better idea about the lesson. Dividing the class into smaller learning groups also served to give them a chance to learn on a less threatening basis as large groups often tend to scare the students and make them keep to themselves. My Strengths I believe that part of my strengths as an educator is the fact that I manage to drawn the students attention to the lesson. After successfully locking in their attention on the class topic, I allow my passion for the lesson I am teaching to shine through and influence them. By exciting my students, they become more interested in the lesson and curious about what will come next in the class lecture. Using activities that engage the students in the learning process, I am able to allow the students the freedom to participate in class even when they are unsure of their answers. The important aspect of this activity is the encouragement that they receive from me as I assure them that there are no wrong answers and that they will learn more from each other based upon their mistakes. Students began to overcome their fears and express their varying ideas in their mother languages. This was something that I allowed because it still allowed them to display their knowledge in an informal assessment, which is different from their formal assessment. I made sure to give the students who were slow learners more help, understanding, and patience in order to not discourage them from learning. I was effective in communicating with my students who all knew what I expected of them and that I knew what they expected from me, which was to be there for them when they needed me. I was also able to successfully manage my classroom because I was organized and planned everything ahead of schedule. Students had ample time to ask questions and I effectively used multimedia sources to introduce the students to the learning process using different technology methods. My Weaknesses My first class presentation was a failure because I did not involve the students. I also experienced class time management issues at the beginning. Mostly because I failed to rehearse my lesson and anticipate possible questions from the students. I was unable to adequately explain the lesson to the students because of my ill preparedness for the class lecture. I need to improve myself as a teacher specially in the areas of lesson implementation and application in the classroom. I need to understand my students learning issues better and encourage them more to open up to me about their difficulties because I will not know how to help them and what areas to improve for the class if I do not get their feedback. Improvements I Made I found that collaborating effectively with my co-teachers allowed me to learn from them, specially from those who allowed me to observe how they conducted their own classes. I researched theories of learning an integrated it into my practice. I learned that having graduated 10 years ago from college, I needed to make adjustments to the decade old teaching lessons I was taught in education school. Most specially that I am now in my 2nd year of teaching. Multiple modalities helped teach the students with learning disabilities. Building upon the trust relationship between student and teacher, also, by allowing them to interact freely with one another, I had students excited to learn about what I had to teach. Learning Theories Knowledgebase. (2008, May). Index of Learning Theories and Models at Learning-Theories.com. Read More