First Day of School Reflection!

After thinking about my "First Day of School" presentation this movie scene popped into my head. I kept thinking throughout my lesson and afterward that I need to have more enthusiasm when I present my lessons. This was the perfect excuse to share a Finding Nemo scene! I thought about how I want my students to be as excited as Nemo about my lessons. Ok, so maybe they won't be that excited, but I want to at least create a classroom that they always look forward to going to.

The feedback my classmates (and professor) gave me was pretty similar across the board. Similar to the first lab session, I expected the feedback I received. From now on I at least am aware of my weaknesses and can try to focus on improving them. Enthusiasm is what I need to work on the most. Although I'm proud of how I was graded, my enthusiasm was the lowest score on every sheet (my 3 classmates and my professor filled out rubric based on my performance). I never realized how difficult it was to be energetic in front of a group even though I naturally tend to be a laid back person.

I'm struggling with ways to increase my energy and enthusiasm for my lessons. I'm just typing as I'm thinking now... Maybe I can integrate an e-moment into lesson set-up just for myself? To catch everyone up - e-moments are engaging moments. They are teaching strategies we have reviewed that are used to reach students through different modalities, appeal to multiple intelligences, and engage. They are not designed to be excessively long, but they are great to have a break from a lesson and review what's been learned. One classmate used "Hole-in-one E-moment" which included the students closing their eyes and performing a speech successfully, complete with specific details. I remember when he presented it how confident I felt about speaking even though I didn't actually present a speech. I think from now on I will try performing that e-moment in my head before my lesson. I will imagine myself in front of my classmates and presenting an exciting lesson that has them on the edge of their seats. It's really interesting thinking that I could use a teaching strategy on myself!

That was not where I was planning on going with my reflection, but I think I've come up with a strategy that might build my confidence and ultimately create more enthusiasm when I teach. Honestly I think my lack of enthusiasm comes from my personality, but I think my excitement may come off better when I develop more confidence in my teaching abilities.