Mrs. Todoroff and I went jogging together twice last week on Tuesday and Thursday, and I wasn't sore the next day after either day of running, so I think I am making improvement in both mental motivation and physical tolerance, that I can do it twice in a week and not be falling apart. On Tuesday, the first stretch we ran was much longer than usual, but I was determined to do it and kept going until we had reached our mark, and even though after doing that, my heart was burning, it felt good that I pushed myself to keep going and I did. On Thursday, Mrs. Todoroff's foot was really hurting her and it was rough trying to run for long stretches, but I tried to encourage both of us by chugging along myself (if one person is still running, the other one feels more motivated to keep moving too) and by saying "we're almost there" and looking at things optimistically: "even if you can't make the entire stretch, at least you're getting your heart rate up."
We are going to try to run once or twice more this week, and hopefully I can find a new running partner for the summer.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Running 5/28/09
This past Monday (Memorial Day) I took the initiative and went jogging by myself. It felt good to be doing something that I don't enjoy doing, without the motivation of others and simply because I was motivated to keep up with it. However, afterwards I did not stretch enough and was sore the next day, which made me not want to do it again, so I made sure to stretch more afterwards when I ran again today. Which, I ran by myself again because the other members of the club were busy. I also was feeling more confident today, so I ran farther before turning back than I had last time, but accomplished this in the same amount of time it took to run the shorter route Monday, so I must have been jogging faster.
Next week we plan to run together as a group again.
Next week we plan to run together as a group again.
MCAS Tutoring - final week
Two days ago was my last session of MCAS tutoring, and I am glad that I kept to it and persevered, even though there were only 4 kids in my last session. Throughout the different sessions, Mrs. Gallo seemed very pleased and grateful to have me there, especially because she was able to do some work or organization or step out into the hallway for a minute to take care of business while I kept teaching. The kids seemed to be learning and it was evident that they needed the review because every time I started a topic, they would be stumped for an answer or be asking lots of questions. I think I put a lot of energy into my "teaching" and really made an effort to bring the material down to a student-friendly level, keep them interested by using different and sometimes funny examples or explanations, and encouraging them to participate in a positive way. I feel I have "developed" these skills in a way that I only could have through actually being in the classroom like that and teaching, not my same-age-peers in a class presentation, but younger students who need help and are receiving it from a student teacher.
This activity was valuable for me because I got to experience handling a small classroom and teaching information, and discovered that I like doing that because I enjoy things I am good at, and I enjoy helping others to succeed in life.
This activity was valuable for me because I got to experience handling a small classroom and teaching information, and discovered that I like doing that because I enjoy things I am good at, and I enjoy helping others to succeed in life.
Friday, May 22, 2009
MCAS Tutoring - week three
5-22-09
Yesterday I continued the MCAS tutoring, even though I am sick, and did not feel like teaching or talking, especially to a whole group of freshmen. However, I think it payed off for them and for Mrs. Gallo because they seemed to understand the graphing of population only after I explained to them how to place the intervals, and Mrs. Gallo looked like she was able to get some work done while I took charge of the class and stood up in front working the Smartboard.
I solved part of the challenge of speaking so much (my throat hurt) by asking for volunteers of the students to read some of the information on the Smartboard. I have also been encouraging the kids to help one another out when one doesn't understand something but the other does, and I think this is good for their learning because young kids often listen to and understand their peers more than someone they consider a "teacher". Also, I have been learning another aspect of "teaching": more than just giving examples of things and explaining them, I have begun to ask the kids for more than is written or expected - I ask them to explain it to me and to give me examples, etc. to make sure that they are understanding the material.
Yesterday I continued the MCAS tutoring, even though I am sick, and did not feel like teaching or talking, especially to a whole group of freshmen. However, I think it payed off for them and for Mrs. Gallo because they seemed to understand the graphing of population only after I explained to them how to place the intervals, and Mrs. Gallo looked like she was able to get some work done while I took charge of the class and stood up in front working the Smartboard.
I solved part of the challenge of speaking so much (my throat hurt) by asking for volunteers of the students to read some of the information on the Smartboard. I have also been encouraging the kids to help one another out when one doesn't understand something but the other does, and I think this is good for their learning because young kids often listen to and understand their peers more than someone they consider a "teacher". Also, I have been learning another aspect of "teaching": more than just giving examples of things and explaining them, I have begun to ask the kids for more than is written or expected - I ask them to explain it to me and to give me examples, etc. to make sure that they are understanding the material.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Running - first day back
5-12-09
Today we re-started our weekly jogging, and even though I was all out of shape and was having a hard time running and my shin was burning, I kept plowing on, "dragging" the 2 teachers behind me and keeping the pace up while jogging. This made me aware of my abilities of motivating others simply with my own persevering actions (e.g. running farther when we are all tired and wanting to just take a break) as well as my possible potential in some sort of running (e.g. track or something), but I would definitely have to train a lot more because, as I have said before, my endurance is not very good.
Today we re-started our weekly jogging, and even though I was all out of shape and was having a hard time running and my shin was burning, I kept plowing on, "dragging" the 2 teachers behind me and keeping the pace up while jogging. This made me aware of my abilities of motivating others simply with my own persevering actions (e.g. running farther when we are all tired and wanting to just take a break) as well as my possible potential in some sort of running (e.g. track or something), but I would definitely have to train a lot more because, as I have said before, my endurance is not very good.
Monday, May 11, 2009
MCAS Tutoring - week two
5-11-09
Despite the fact that a parent complained that the MCAS-Prep course was being taught by a student and not by a qualified teacher and now Mrs. Gallo has to sit in for all of the lessons anyway, she would like me to keep teaching, and I have decided to persevere in this endeavor for the benefit of Mrs. Gallo, the students, and myself (L.O. 5). If I teach the material and Mrs. Gallo just observes and adds in any of her own comments, she can still do some work while I tutor the kids and it's not as much stress on her, and I feel like the kids pay more attention to me "teaching" than they would to an adult teacher because I am closer to their age and bring more energy and kid-friendly examples and explanations to the classes than most teachers would. And I also feel staying with this is a great experience for me, to feel what it feels like to be in command of a classroom and to be (at least partly) responsible for the learning of these kids (L.O. 1 + 8).
5-17-09
So last week, both Monday and Thursday went well with Mrs. Gallo sitting in on the prep session and adding her own teacher wisdom. I feel like I maintain enough balance and authority in the classroom to make the kids pay attention while still making their learning a bit more fun and learning myself about science, people, and teaching.
I was struggling with how sometimes, some of the kids were not participating as much as they were supposed to be, or texting in class or just not taking it seriously, and I felt like I was not wanted or needed, but I am committed to tutoring these kids and taking some of the burden off Mrs. Gallo, so I will continue to try my best until I am no longer needed.
Despite the fact that a parent complained that the MCAS-Prep course was being taught by a student and not by a qualified teacher and now Mrs. Gallo has to sit in for all of the lessons anyway, she would like me to keep teaching, and I have decided to persevere in this endeavor for the benefit of Mrs. Gallo, the students, and myself (L.O. 5). If I teach the material and Mrs. Gallo just observes and adds in any of her own comments, she can still do some work while I tutor the kids and it's not as much stress on her, and I feel like the kids pay more attention to me "teaching" than they would to an adult teacher because I am closer to their age and bring more energy and kid-friendly examples and explanations to the classes than most teachers would. And I also feel staying with this is a great experience for me, to feel what it feels like to be in command of a classroom and to be (at least partly) responsible for the learning of these kids (L.O. 1 + 8).
5-17-09
So last week, both Monday and Thursday went well with Mrs. Gallo sitting in on the prep session and adding her own teacher wisdom. I feel like I maintain enough balance and authority in the classroom to make the kids pay attention while still making their learning a bit more fun and learning myself about science, people, and teaching.
I was struggling with how sometimes, some of the kids were not participating as much as they were supposed to be, or texting in class or just not taking it seriously, and I felt like I was not wanted or needed, but I am committed to tutoring these kids and taking some of the burden off Mrs. Gallo, so I will continue to try my best until I am no longer needed.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
MCAS Prep Teaching - 1st day(s) teaching
This Monday and Thursday I "taught"/tutored the group of freshmen after school, but I feel Thursday was much more productive than Monday for both me and the students. Monday I just handed out the outline and packet of papers Mrs. Gallo had prepared for the 8-session class, and then gave them a practice test to take in order to identify areas of weakness, and told them they could ask me if they had any questions and we could go over it the next week. So I didn't have to do much, but on Thursday I went over the test with them and answered their questions or encouraged classmates who understood something better to help the others who didn't. Then I went over a power point with them about ecology and explained everything slide by slide, offered more examples, and answered their questions. I had never really done that before so I was kind of worried that I wouldn't know what I was talking about or how to convey the information in a way that they would comprehend, but I just tried my best and brought all the enthusiasm and effort I had into it, and I think it worked. I was able to come up with very understandable examples and parallels for them to understand the scientific terms and relations etc. (i.e. niche competition is like 2 people who both want the one pizza in the room), and when I asked them if they got it they smiled and nodded. I was worried that they would get bored and not pay attention, but I think my energy kept their attention and made it less lecture-like so they stayed more interested. Another challenge I thought I would have was the time limit because we only had about 40 minutes to go over the test and learn all the stuff in the slide, but I explained stuff so simply that they got it right away, and we ended up with a few extra minutes to start the homework together.
I think I am also fulfilling more of Objective 1 because I am learning that explaining things, having patience, and keeping interest of students are strengths of mine, but I think I would have to work on being able to develop my own lesson plans for a class.
I think I am also fulfilling more of Objective 1 because I am learning that explaining things, having patience, and keeping interest of students are strengths of mine, but I think I would have to work on being able to develop my own lesson plans for a class.
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