Today my CMU professor came to observe my teaching for one last time. Now that it’s done I have finished all of my college assignments and am basically just waiting to graduate. Of course I will still be in my classroom here and will be teaching government for the remainder of the week, but it feels so nice to have everything else done! I think that my lesson today went well, my professor had some very nice things to say about it, as well as some helpful ideas.
My 12th Grade Government Class at St. Thomas School
One thing that we talked about was how facebook is used in the classroom. I know I mentioned it before, but I still think it is a really good use of technology. Each grade has a private facebook group (only students are added to the group and no one else can see it) where they can talk about class, ask the teacher questions, find assignments, and download powerpoints. Everyone in the states is so afraid of using social networking as a classroom tool, but I see it as a wonderful resource.
After we walked home from school (it was so hot today!) I relaxed a little and then got to work on some museum lesson plans. I officially start my new position as a Museum Educator on the Monday after graduation (not much of a break for me!) but I am working via email right now. I am really excited for the things that are coming up and I can’t wait to get home to work on new exhibits and play with the little kids! Even though my degree is in secondary education (grades 6-12), I love working with young children and have learned a lot about teaching them throughout my CMU education. A big part of my job will be to align our programs and exhibits with the topics and education standards that are being covered by our local schools, so I’m glad I learned all about the Common Core, Michigan GLCEs, and Next Generation Science Standards in my education classes. I have also learned so much about classroom management during student teaching, so I will be able to apply that to museum programs to make the experiences as enjoyable as possible. I also had my graduation party invitations sent out today, so it is starting to feel like “real life” is coming up really soon!
Miss Hanel's Student Teaching Blog 