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FINAL BLOG POST - OUR "DAILY TRIPLE" (DUE 12/1).
This week I would like you to use your imagination. You have just won the lottery and will leave your teaching post immediately to travel around the world. As you leave your keys you meet your replacement. You are asked to give this new teacher just ONE piece of advice. What would that be, and why? Enjoy your world expedition!

Blog Post - Week 7
This past week in my own teaching I felt a little disconnected which prompts my question to you, "What was the moment (or moments) when I felt most disconnected or disengaged as a teacher - the moment(s) I said to myself, I'm just going through the motions here?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 6
For the past couple of weeks you have experienced asynchronous online learning (doing modules by yourself). Previously this semester you have experienced synchronous online learning (all together in the Collaborate room). Which do you think is more effective and why do you think that? Which do you like better, and why?

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 5
This week we have what we call "open mic." You can write a post about anything related to your teaching that you would like responses from your classmates.

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 4
Here is this week's question: "What was the event that most took me surprise this week - and event that shook me up, caught me off guard, gave me a jolt, or made me unexpectedly happy?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 3
Please write a post about the following question, "In thinking about my past week teaching what is one thing I would do differently, and why?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 2
Please write a post about the following question, " In thinking about my teaching activities this past week, of what do I feel most proud? Why?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 1
Describe something you used in your program in the first weeks of school that you learned in the summer NTI program. How did it work? Did it get you off to a stronger start than last year?

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Lessons Learned

The most valuable lesson we covered in class was the different ways to group students. I really thought this was a strong point in my teaching, but after analyzing the way students work together, I realized I had a few weak areas I needed to focus more on when it comes to grouping. I found it eye opening to see that when I thought I was pairing like-minded students together, I was really creating a “power house group” that gave those students somewhat of an advantage with the assignment. I have since changed the way I create groups, and I have gotten better about not always letting the students pair up themselves. The biggest thing I learned about myself during this class, is that I am a lot more motivated and tend to stay on task when I am in a classroom or small group setting. I often times found myself shifting my focus to other things during online class and I found it extremely difficult to make myself sit down and do the assignments alone. I am fortunate enough to live near some of my classmates, and I found that I am a lot more motivated and focused when we meet up and complete work together.

2 comments:

Terry said...

Your comments on the on-line class are interesting to me Taylor because I felt that way going into it. However, I found the format challenging in a good way as I tried to manage the info coming in (whiteboard)with the want/need to send input out (chat). I am not sure I would want to teach a class that way, but I certainly welcome the challenge of being a student in one.

Unknown said...

Hi Taylor, I agree with you about the grouping of students. I thought I was doing a pretty good job with that in my classroom. However, I learned that the problem I was having with people hiding out in the group and not doing work was because I was not assigning specific roles and the groups were too large with up to five people in them. I also found working in pairs or groups helpful at NTI but also distracting at times with sidebar conversations and time management issues at times while in person. I found the group setting on line more controlled with the use of the timer and the automatic return to the main room. I plan to do more and more group assignments in the classroom since healthcare is a team effort the majority of the time