Last Class and Lesson Plans

               There is so much to be said about the lessons that we learned in 407 this past week. By beginning with a talk by Dr. Gallo, going to the topic of questions, and finishing with a fishbowl activity of watching how teachers today are creating their lesson plans, I know that I took away a lot of useful information.  Just a few days later, I found that I was thinking about the fishbowl more than anything.

               Kim, Bob, and Buddy had agreed to hold their planning time in our classroom so that we could benefit and learn from watching them plan a lesson. I thought that, as veteran teachers, Kim and Bob would go into the planning session already knowing what they wanted to do and were going to check with Buddy, the Dean of Pedagogy. I was quickly mistaken as each, Bob and Kim, came into the room with two very different view points and had to work together to find common ground in the lesson that would benefit all of the students. By the end of the session, they had incorporated aspects from both teachers’ ideas to create a lesson plan that would benefit all of the students including extra support for the students in special education.

               As Dean of Pedagogy, Buddy became the person that would keep Kim and Bob in check and making sure that the plans that they created for the class would align back to the learning targets that they had established for that lesson. This sounds like a great asset to have in a high school! Having that outside party to the classroom would bring the teachers back into check when they create these elaborate plans to make sure that the students are actually learning what they need to learn! Why is it then that this position is so rare? Why is it that CFHS sees the need for this position and budgets for it, and other schools don’t? By using Buddy, a team effort is created to make sure that the students are the focus and that learning will be happening.

               I enjoyed watching the group create a lesson plan. It cleared up some doubts I was having in myself that because I was asking so many questions of my plans and always changing things around, I wasn’t planning in the most efficient way. I learned that even teachers, who have been in schools for years and years, are having the same questions and mind flips that I have! It’s a great reinforcement to see that I am doing something right by questioning and changing. As pre-service teachers, the class and I should be exposed to activities, panels, and observations that squash our fears or our misconceptions about teaching. Actually watching teachers create their lesson plan squashed some fears in me.