One particular problem I find myself having concerns content. I was thrusted into a Global 9 class, as my cooperating school doesn’t want student teachers teaching regents classes. The last time I took a global studies course concerning the content taught in 9th grade, I was in 9th grade myself. This is going back about 15 years. I found myself at a loss for what to teach these kids. I was expected to teach from day one, and it wound up being a total disaster. I didn’t have time to prepare.
Luckily, I teach the last period of the day. I have the opportunity to observe the day’s lesson in a General Education as well as in an ICT before I have to teach it. I have also started making notes for myself when I make the powerpoints for the lesson, which include notes for the students as given by the school. I make my own power points including these notes, as well as any other information I deem relevant for the subject matter. Now, when I make my notes, I bold the student’s notes and bullet them so that I can focus on the task at hand.
By observing the lesson twice, I am able to go back to my notes in Period 6 and 7 before I teach Period 8. I can add in any relevant line of questioning as well as other anecdotal information that might be of interest to the students. I am also learning many new things regarding content that wasn’t taught when I was in school, as well as new information regarding topics I already know.
I had a tough time taking the CST last year, as my content wasn’t strong enough, especially when it came to economic terms and systems as well as ancient cultures. (The last time I took that was senior year of high school.) Now that I have been teaching for two months in a global studies classroom, I have brushed up on a bunch of content that is included on the CST. I’m taking the test April 10th. After looking at a few review questions and sample tests, I feel confident that I will gain the three points I missed on the last test session.
