Sample of work:  This is a reflection that we did on the 5 traits that made up the best instructors that we had, as well as the worst.  We were supposed to keep this close to us and be in constant reflection to make sure that we were not doing those things that made up the 5 worst list.

Five Characteristics of the Best Teachers I Have Had

Characteristics                       Examples of Situations that Reflected the Characteristic

1. Big Reader                          Mr. Bak would read to us every day after we got                                                                                             in from lunch.  We wouldn’t have to do anything but relax and listen.  I felt prepared to conquer anything after that relaxing time.

2.  Musician                             Mrs. Christianson would make up songs to help us learn what would otherwise be boring memorizations.

3.  Hands On                           Mrs. Smith was always finding ways for us to use our hands to learn.  We would sew or draw or play with pattern blocks.  She understood that we had a severe inability to sit still and so she made the best of it!

4.  Humorous                          Mr. Bak used any chance that he could to make a joke and generally teach us not to take everything so seriously.

5.  Clear and Concise              Mr. Abrahamson made sure that everything we learned was done in a way that was completely clear.  He was slow and methodical and knew what us non-math students needed in order to understand.  He never made us feel dumb for not understanding something on the first try.

Five Characteristics of the Worst Teachers I Have Had

Characteristics                       Examples of Situations that Reflected the Characteristic

1.  Didn’t address the subject This particular instructor was so busy talking about what was going on in his life and other classes that he never had time to teach what we were learning.

2.  Tardy                                  This teacher, not oddly enough the above teacher, was consistently late for class and held us late every day to make up for the lost time.

3.  Rude                                  This particular teacher made it her job to go quickly through different concepts and would make us feel completely idiotic if we didn’t understand the concept right away.

4.  Boring                                This teacher constantly spoke in a monotonous tone and really couldn’t care less if you were listening or not.  I spent most of the class knitting because I have to be doing *something* with my hands or I will crawl out of my skin.  A.D.D.?  Maybe.  J

5.  Show Favoritism                The same instructor that I wrote about in number 3 also had a nasty habit of hating certain students and loving others.  She was willing to spend any time helping those students that she liked, but woe to anybody else that asked her even the simplest of questions.

Reflection

I have taken more psychology classes than I can imagine, and so I figured this class would be the same as all of the others.  I was so wrong!  There is more to using psychology than just knowing what stage of development the child is/should be at.  Children are not to be put in a box.  They may be completely developmentally on target or they may have severe learning disabilities, but as an educator, our job is to make sure each one of them feels completely at home in their class.  There are as many learning styles as there are children.  We need to learn to read our kids and decipher the methods that will best help them reach the peak of their potential and help them to move on and grow as an individual.