What would make a good lesson for you?

What would make a good lesson for you? Well, that somehow seems to be a complicated question. I said today to my cooperating teacher that "I still don't know what I don't know." Then I reflect and realize that there are plenty of things I do know. But then, I think I have no idea how to deliver this material to my learners that is engaging and interesting and will help them to learn something (insert extreme self-doubt here).

<-- This: this picture seems to embody some of the things that go through my mind. It is not about what you are doing with your students - it is about what you want them to learn in the process.  

When I think back on my previous education, I know that listening to a teacher drone on and one about things that I did not understand was just the most awful part of my day. You never felt that the classroom was an inviting world where you could ask questions and be involved in meaningful conversation about the topic you were learning about. It was all about do this, do that, take a test and then move on. I loved lessons that were interactive, that made me think and actually APPLY the things that I was learning about.

There are so many moving parts that you need to consider when planning a lesson, like the student's prior knowledge, how they can make connections to their own worlds, materials, time, methods, and assessments - just to touch on a few! When reading the Christenbury chapter, what stuck out to me what was the idea of of simplicity. (105) Sometimes the most elaborate plans you have for lessons are not the most effective ones. When I first started to learn about lesson plans, I wanted to be as original and creative as possible. I wanted to pack as much as I possibly could into a lesson and figured that some kind of osmosis or learning would take place and it would be amazing. Things did not turn out as I had envisioned. I had way too much planned, did not think about activating student's prior knowledge, and just kept trucking through like a criminal through a roadblock. I don't know that I stopped to breathe or check learning. No one got anything out of that lesson except me - when I had to do my personal reflection. 

Keeping things simpler can make for a more meaningful and successful lesson, which I learned after more experimentation with lessons. The next lesson that I prepared and used in a classroom (with actual students, not just my peers) was far more successful because I did not do all the work myself. I worked with my cooperating teacher and crafted a mini-lesson on how to find information for an MLA formatted work cited page. The purpose of the lesson was to have them understand the importance of crafting an MLA works cites page, and also to have them rely less on bibliography "bots" and more on finding the information out for themselves. After a short PowerPoint (I know, SO cliche, but it worked for me), and some navigational information on Purdue OWL, I gave the students a graphic organizer and had them do a scavenger hunt in the classroom where they wrote down what they needed to create proper MLA citations using actual books and some online sources. Although the information was a bit on the dry side, because I had them up and moving around the room and moving through different stations, they really enjoyed the activity and in the process actually learned something - and even better, it was something that could be utilized in other classes. Trust me, I would much rather have crafted a lesson around some kind of dystopian short story that they could relate to current events in society - but mini-lessons don't typically let you do that! 

This journey that we are on of learning for ourselves how to craft lessons and figure out  what makes a "good lesson" is going to be one that is constantly evolving. And I really hope I continue to get better at it.