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Thursday, June 4, 2009
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About Me
- Professor Debra Pratt
- I am a wife, mother of 7 and grandmother of 1. I have taught at PNC since 2000 and prior to that taught kindergarten for 9 years. Most recently I have become very interested in learning about environmental health issues and what I can do to make a difference.
My high school chemestry teacher was an effective teacher. When he taught concepts to us, he used a similar method as the teacher in the book when she taught fractions. He would start right on time, connect the concept to prior knowledge, help us build on that knowledge, question us, guide us to find the big idea, and he always gave enough wait-time. When he saw that we weren't understanding him, he would rephrase what he just said, and we were always encouraged to ask questions. He would give us concrete examples and have us act out different processes. When he would lecture, they would be more like lecture-discussions, where he would constantly check for comprehension.
ReplyDeleteMy junior and senior year vocational teacher was an extremely effective teacher. From the day that we walked into her class her goal was to professionalize us and help us to grow and understand what it takes to be a teacher. We spent half the day, everyday for two years in an elementary school classroom. She wanted us to have experiences so she was very hard on us and expected a lot out of us. She had given us a syllabus at the beginning of the year with everything that needed to be done when and given that we were high school students it was different being on our own with our work than with a teacher breathing down our neck. She really wanted us to find passion and reality at the same time. She was one of my favorite teachers because even though she pushed us hard I am a lot better at what I do because of her. -Amy Spurlock
ReplyDeleteMy third grade teacher was amazing! She always greeted us at the door with a smile, and would start class right on time. She had an amazing way with the students, and she showed us respect and therefore we always gave her respect in return. I remember that was the grade we were introduced to "letter grades" on our report cards, so she made sure to conference with us on a regular basis to address any concerns we may have over the assignments, and she would let us know where we are with strengths and weaknesses. I just alwas remember feeling good when I walked out of that class everyday, and I think that is important.
ReplyDeleteThe book describes an effective teacher as someone that can guide the social interaction that supports their knowledge of construction. My third grade teacher was a very effective teacher when it came to how she was organized. Every day when I would walk into class I would look up at the board to see what we were going to do. My teacher would have the agenda written out on the left hand corner of the board just like Professor Pratt does every class. Not only was she organized but she also ran a democratic classroom. Whenever my class was out of control or being too loud, my teacher would turn off the lights. We were all suppose to go to the carpet and sit in a circle. My class had a class representative and a class president that were elected every month. The president would run a conversation between all of the students and the class would talk about what they did wrong and what they could do to fix it. The teacher stayed out of this conversation and just listened in on what we had to say to make sure it didn’t get out of control. Once we all came to a conclusion, the representative would talk to the teacher about the problem and give her the class solution. I thought this was an awesome way to run a classroom. We didn’t only do this when we were punished but we also got together when we needed to make a class decision about something. Through this classroom engagement my teacher was portrayed as a very effective teacher.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think back about a teacher that had a very effective form of educating I think back at my high school anatomy and physiology teacher. He had a great way of just connecting with the students, making you want to learn. He used humor to keep us tuned into a very difficult subject. He wasn’t a “wise-cracker-guy” he just had an effective positive humor that was contagious. He was the kind of teacher that if something happened in the classroom he wouldn’t just “stay on task” he would open it up and turn it into something and relate it to topics we were studying. This connects to chapter 12 because this chapter tells us how important it is to have clear communication. He had the ability to have us focus our attention and involve us in the learning process.
ReplyDeleteIn high school, my Greek Mythology teacher used forms of cooperative learning in our class. She divided our class into groups that we worked in throughout the class, if it was a group assignment. This was very efficient if their was a group activity, there was no confusion or time spent picking groups. The class required alot of reading, and she had our groups summarize different chapters. I now see that this was an example of a cooperative learning model, jigsaw. By having each group do this, we were able to cover alot more material. She came up with creative ideas for activities. She had our groups do worksheets to find examples in the stories of different lessons, morals, and symbolism. Until that class mythology just seemed like silly stories, but her class showed me the meaning behind the stories. She also rewarded our class by taking us to see a play at Valparaiso University on a story that we had read. She had told our class that if we all worked hard, we could go see this play. It was an enjoyable class and that is why it was the first one that came to mind for this example.
ReplyDeleteMy 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Brock, was a effective teacher. She was great, she had a way of connecting with each of her students. Everything was very well organized and we knew what was going on each class. She did very creative activities to help each of us know and understand the material being taught. it was great to actually have a teacher with a sense of humor and love for teaching. It inspired me to want to become a teacher when I grew older.. :)
ReplyDeleteMy chemistry teacher during my senior year of high school was probably the most effective instructor I have ever had. She was not always liked by many, but she was a good teacher. She could be strict at times and she let us know exactly what she expected from us. With this, it made the class work hard. She always started class on time and allowed time for in class discussions and activities. We would do sample problems on the board and make it into a game which would get the class more involved. She offered the class alot of feedback and was very patient with students who did not catch along as quickly as others. She shared many concepts with the teacher described in chapter 12.
ReplyDeleteI had a few effective teachers in high school. These are the teachers I can recall on the most. The first teacher that I want to briefly talk about was my Theater Arts teacher. She was a great teacher who taught me the most about myself. Not only did she teach the subject of the class well, but also she could build a relationship with all of the students even those who were shy. She acknowledges everyone's strengths and weaknesses and uses them to help the student's reach their maximum potential. Also my Spanish teacher was a very effective teacher. Each day she had agenda for that class period. We knew what to expect for each class and how diligently we must work. She was very organized. There was always a focus for that class period. We were lectured on the lesson and then we practiced the lesson as a class. Finally she gave us homework to do over the concept we just learned. What made this teacher effective was that she used her student's feedback to help her be a better teacher or change her ways for the better. She was very much of a progressivist. She learned from us just as we learned from her. She displayed many of the concepts that makes her an effective teacher.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think back to an effective teacher that I had, I think of my 3rd grade teacher. She was also one who would great each student at the door in the morning and then she would direct os to our chairs and get class started promply. She had an amazing way of making each student feel special. There was also a lot of cooperative learning in this classroom and students were the center of the learning. Though her teaching style was very open, at the same time we always knew what she expected and we had great respect for her. To this day, third grade was still my favorite year and I think it was because she left a positive, effective impact on my life.
ReplyDeleteI always struggled with math, and found it soooo boring, until I met my 7th grade math teacher. He was seriously amazing at his job! He made the class fun and intresting. He went above and beyond text books and incorporated math into our everyday lives. He took his time, always made sure we all understood what we were doing. He taught with humor, as well. He was always telling stupid math jokes to make us left, and when the time was fitting, he was like a friend. I still talk to him to this day. I babysat his children, he came to my high school graduation, and we have maintained a great relationship. He went out of his way to connect to the children in his class. He once said if his children fail his class, he failed them first. This really struck me, because I can not remember a teacher ever saying this. It was like he REALLY cared about us! He was such an inspiration and such a good teacher...
ReplyDeleteThe teacher that had the most effect on me would have to be my eighth grade social studies teacher. He always went over and above in every chance that he got. Whenever I previously took history I always dreaded it because it is one of my list favorite subjects but when Mr. Fessler taught it I caught myself really enjoying it. Every chance that he got he would take us on some sort of adventure to help explain a lesson to us whether it would be him taking us outside or just on a short trip around the school. He always kept us on our toes and was always there to help us if we ever needed anything. I can't remember ever having one sub teacher in his class, I could always count on him being there everyday and enjoying what he had in store for us.
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