Spring 13 Blog Post 2

The first characteristic of the novice teacher I will be exploring in this post is characteristic number one: the novice teacher is committed to and possesses the skills for life-long learning. Life-long learning is important because being an educator is not an ultimate goal; it is a never-ending process. One does not simply learn to teach. An individual develops a skillset over a period of time that adapts to different educational circumstances. These skills, unique to each educator in different subject and grade levels, are a driving force behind pedagogy. Thus, in order to continually teach, an individual must continually learn. An artifact that I possess that embodies characteristic number two is an education Pinterest board. Pinterest is a website that acts like a virtual cork board where people from all over the world post “pins,” share them, and re-pin them. Each member of Pinterest has “boards” they pin to. Pins are created with many purposes that may range from a simply funny picture, to intellectual information. What is notable about Pinterest is that if an individual clicks on the “pin,” he or she will usually open a link in a new tab about the topic at hand. I have created a Pinterest board that contains articles, lesson plans, tips for classroom management, etc. written by other educators and professionals. I have used this board to learn more about how to expand my horizons as an educator and intend to continue using this artifact to continue being a lifelong learner. The second characteristic of the novice teacher that I will be addressing is characteristic number six. This characteristic states that the novice teacher should have an in-depth knowledge of content. This characteristic seems rather straightforward in that in order to teach something, one must already understand it. Students gain knowledge from educators who are already expected to be familiar with the content in the discipline they teacher. The novice teacher must have a complete understanding of all aspects of the content he or she teaches because they must take that content, apply many different outside influences to it, and pass the information on to students. The artifact I possess that shows my own range of knowledge of the English language arts content is a compilation of various different things I have created myself. First, I have kept almost every paper I have written since high school. More importantly, however, I have kept my notes and study guides to all of the classes I have taken since my junior year of high school. In fact, I taught T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land” in my PDS last week and was able to look back at my notes on the poem from when my high school AP English teacher taught it to me. It reminded me what was effective about the lesson and the way the content was presented, as well as the content itself. Furthermore, I have created many study guides in college that have aided in my content knowledge. In fact, I took my Praxis II today and passed with a score of 185. I studied for the Praxis by creating a cumulative study guide from several Praxis information/study books. These study guides have helped me develop a deeper understanding of my content because I create them so that the average person would be able to look at them and understand the material. It is my hope to pass on my Praxis study guide to other individuals in the Benedum who have yet to take the English Praxis II.