Thursday 29, Ethical Methods

It was interesting to read about the ways in which a teacher can present the information for standardized tests effectively. Some of the examples were: draw on more challenging and interesteing ways of teaching the material that will be found on the standardized tests. Teachers ask themselves questions about the unit that will be taught. Don't make the standards the sole focus of your teaching, integrate it with the larger purposes of instruction. Mix it in with other forms of teaching. Try and make each lesson meaningful to each student. Get to know your students and find out what interests they have. Build a teacher student relationship. Give students the bigger picture. Don't make standards the focal point of your curriculum.
All of this makes complete since because most students will not learn as well using essentialism in the classroom. Most students are progessive learners. The hands on activities and projects benefit them much more then just giving the facts and testing them on the standards. I want to teach in a way that students will be successful in the standardized tests by the background knowledge I have given them. I want my students to enjoy learning. I want them to explore, be interested and passionate about the subjects I am teaching them. I want them to make personal connections with the subjects being taught. Therefore, I need to present those subjects to them in an engaging/progressive way. Kind of hiding the standard and objectives in my lessons. Making sure my lesson plans follow the core standards but they aren't the focal point of my lessons.