Teaching in a Virtual Environment

Planning, teaching, and learning in teaching in a virtual environment is drastically different than doing it face-to-face in a classroom. One of the main differences in the virtual environment in a face-to-face environment is that in a classroom you're learning at the teachers Pace during the school day. Unlike in an online classroom, students start working through the curriculum at their own pace rather than at the teacher's face in a classroom. The online instructor acts as a facilitator, encouraging students to interact with each other to discuss the material. The teacher is not the only source of knowledge, as students are encouraged to bring their own ideas and experiences to the discussion. This learning environment can help encourage independent thought and even better engagement with the material. Many students like face-to-face learning environments because they are already familiar with that learning style. Students already know how to behave in a classroom, while people taking online classes for the first time may not know how to take advantage of the learning opportunities that having an online class offers. To help with the transition instructors must make sure that students know how to access all learning resources that the online call offers and encourage them to join in discussions with their classmates on online discussion boards for the class. 

 Some advantages to having an online class is that it is much more convenient than going to a building and having a schedule fixed around going to that building rather than an online class where students have the freedom to study and finish the coursework anytime, anywhere. Learning online provides an environment that helps to balance work, family, and free time. Students also get instant feedback on exams and tests is another great advantage of virtual classrooms, once enrolled in an online class you don’t have to wait for days or weeks to receive your scores. However there are a few disadvantages like teachers needing extra training for all of the tools that are online as well as getting used to the platform and not seeing the student face-to-face with another group. There's also the issue of how teachers set up a curriculum and study material for a student online if they can't really do a lecture or group activities. 

I personally prefer face-to-face learning rather than online or maybe a well blended mix of both because of the issues of how class work gets done online rather than how it is done face to face. 

Studies have found that motivation to learn is a key factor in student success. The “self-determination theory,” says that if we are deeply engaged and feel that we are acting according to our own will on behalf of goals we find meaningful. This theory identified students’ sense of relatedness as a key factor in their motivation. Relatedness refers to our emotional ties. It involves our basic need to feel connected with, and acknowledged by, others. In fact, many studies found out that encouragement and guidance by teachers as well as real-time feedback from digital curriculum have a positive effect on student motivation and, as a result, achievement. One of the biggest challenges facing teachers in a virtual environment is making sure students are engaged, and choosing the right digital curriculum is important. Some ways to engage students are to communicate regularly with students, provide opportunities for students to collaborate with peers, set clear expectations, work with students to set goals, and encourage a collaborative learning environment.

Sources: https://www.focuseduvation.com/how-does-online-instruction-measure-up-to-face-to-face/
https://ep.jhu.edu/faculty/learning-roadmap-for-new-online-instructors/comparing-face-to-face-and-online-teaching
https://www.eztalks.com/elearning/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-virtual-classroom.html
https://www.apexlearning.com/blog/engaging-and-motivating-students-in-virtual-learning-environment

The concept of the Big 5 Personality Lesson

The five model of personality has these basic core traits: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion-introversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. They can also be shortened to be CANOE or OCEAN and as stated before are the five core personality traits that a person has. This model is used to help understand and predict relationships between personality traits and success in social, academic, and professional circumstances. The model has been criticized for the limitations it has with respect to the number of personality traits evaluated and for the fact that it is a data-driven model and is not based on a psychological theory. The results of these tests is to figure out how high or low a person is on each trait relative to other people who have taken the test. When a lot of people take these type of tests their scores start to shed light on questions such as if personality differs between groups of people or how a certain trait tends to correspond with an outcome.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/big-5-personality-traits

4th Mentor Meeting

I met up with my mentor in the beginning of December and spoke about how to be prepared for an interview. I was curious on how her interview went before she had gotten hired for her job. I was interested in how her interview went before she got hired as a teacher. I was also curious about the interview and how it played out. She told me to always try to stand out from the others in a good way so that they remember you. She also told me that you should always dress nicely, keep good eye contact, and listen well to the interviewer. I was also told to play up my strengths and always be a team player who can try to do whatever is needed. She also told me that her interview was with a group of people interviewing her. In the meeting I learned about how to present myself in a interview.

3rd Mentor Meeting

I met up with my mentor in the beginning of November and spoke about how to write a resume for a job. I wondered if she had any helpful tips about how to write a resume for me. I also interested in how her resume first looked when she went to get a job teaching. I was also wondering if any of the process had to be done in a special way or online. She told me that when she first had to make a resume it was more like a portfolio than a resume with all the things she had in it. She also had to apply online for a position and then when the date of the interview came up she brought her portfolio for them to see. She also told me to make sure to add things that make you stand out from the others as well as having good references in and out of work. In the meeting I learned that having a good resume helps you greatly to get the job.

2nd Mentor Meeting

 I met up with my mentor in the beginning of October and talked about getting a teacher license. I was curious to know what she was licensed to teach and how she got her license. I also was curious on what she needed to do to get her license. I was also wondering what she had to do to renew her license and how often she had to do it. She is licensed to teach pre-k to 4th grade and she got her license by doing field and practice work. She has to renew her license every 5 years and it is a lot of paperwork to get it done. She also has to do a lot of professional development to be able to renew her license so the set up professional development days set up in the school calendar are there for that. So I've learned that getting a teaching license is a lot of work and renewing is also a lot of work as well.

1st Teacher Mentor Meeting

I went to my meeting with my teacher mentor at the end of September and I learned a lot about why she likes to teach and how she got to that point. I was very excited to have our first meeting so that I could get to know her. I was also curious about what else she did outside of teaching in her classroom and I learned a lot. I learned that she has been teaching for 14 years and she decided to become a teacher to see kids be excited about learning. But she is always working because she also has a part-time job outside of school and she does after school tutoring on some days as well. So I learned even though she has been teaching for a long time she has to get another job to pay her bills and have extra money to spend.

Classroom sizes

Classroom size laws make it hard for school buildings to have enough rooms for classrooms, so many places in the building have to be used as an improv classroom. Though it has been proven in an article written for the NCTE that “small class sizes are strongest for elementary school students” there is a bigger issue in where to house all of these smaller classes. As said before in many blog posts like the one written by Tim Walker a teacher “had 35 fourth graders last year. I could hardly work with any small groups or give one on one attention.” So smaller classes are great, they are easier for teachers to work with But there are some drawbacks to those smaller classes “such as losing art and music classrooms,” as told by T. Keung Hui. School districts talk about maybe cutting “art, music and physical education teachers to come up with the money to hire more K-3 teachers.” They also have no idea where “to find space for the thousands of new classrooms needed.” Because of this classroom size limit schools have to make “some students to switch schools, placing enrollment limits on schools, converting art and music spaces to regular classrooms” they even have to raise “class sizes in the upper grades to more than 30 students and having two different classes share a classroom at the same time.” So I thought why not put a limit on how many students in each grade can be admitted into a school for each school year. There are some setbacks to this idea, but it would help schools to not be overcrowded and have to cut out some classes and teachers. But public schools would have issues with this since they have to be able to admit students no matter what because they need to go to school. But to be so full to the point of having teachers teach in hallways, libraries, gyms, and cafeterias is too much. This is very distracting for the students because the places they are learning are not normal environments at all. So in the end a student should have to think about what they are going to be learning in class today not where are they going to be for class today.