Today in class we engaged in some Project Wild activities both indoors and outdoors. It was very physically active and fun and we learned a lot of new "tricks" to put in our teacher bags. But one part of the class really opened my eyes to what this education stuff is all about.
Since the day I walked into the education classroom freshman year, I've been read to, given coloring pages, had to sing, act, and do other child-like activities. And even though there were times that I felt a bit...well SILLY...I knew that the professor's modeling of the lesson was the best way to learn how to do it. BUT...it was not until today that I made an even deeper connection.
When a professor models an activity to his/her college students, it forces the students to act as elementary or middle school students. When we are required to act like these students, we begin to think like them, too. THIS IS WHERE SOO MUCH LEARNING HAPPENS! When I put on my student "hat", I can feel excited, engaged, encouraged, confortable, or I can feel insecure, confused, and shut off mentally and emotionally to my environment. These feelings help me grow stronger as a learner, which makes me stonger as a teacher because I am able to empathize with my students, as well as know what to do with their emotions. And let's face it...we all felt these emotions as elementary and middle school students, but how much of them do we vividly remember? Probably very few (I know that's my answer! haha)
As well, feeling these emotions again as an education student, I can analyze them and learn from them using the philosophies and ideas that I know, without risking another child's well-being.
This was a huge eye-opener for me today: that professors model their lessons to their college students not only for them to learn how to do the lesson, but also to know what your children will be feeling and experiencing during the lesson. Knowing those emotions will help us to better address the student and solve his or her problem effectively. I JUST LOVE THAT! I know that for some people reading this, you will probably think something like, "Well DUH, Karly. It took you that long to figure that out?" But I just thought I'd share with you my AH-HA! moment.
And thank you, Butler Professors, for giving me more knowledge than I know what to do with!
Be Blessed,
Karly
Wow! What a great realization. I must admit that as we were playing the wildlife games outside I was feeling pretty uncomfortable and maybe a little embarrassed as classes were letting out at the quad. Don't get me wrong, I still left class feeling very grateful for the wonderful teaching tips and ideas that had been added to my mental library. In the future, I will make more effort to be mentally, physically, and emotinally invested in the demonstrations that our professors provide us with, regardless of who is around. When we think like our students, we will be better able to connect with them and will know how to push them toward deeper understaning of any topic.
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