Educators 4 a teaching job application. Please advise for content. What new ideas would you like to initiate..

Question

in your classroom (when you start teaching)?

I am very excited about managing my own classroom. Much of what I am implementing will be new for me, but is there really anything “new” in education? I have been working with schools and educators long enough to see that much of what is new is merely cyclical. For the past thirteen years, I have been carefully watching the veteran teachers that I have worked with so that I can model and improve my skills as a teacher. I expect to use cooperative learning in my classroom. I also want to use thematic units to thoroughly teach patterns and relationships that can provide a foundation for my students to critically think about other subjects. I want to give my students the tools to be good citizens, teaching them how to think, not what to think. I want to provide opportunities for inquiry based learning through hands on experiences. I have created many lessons for my environmental education program that have received national and state honors.

Answer 1

This is a pretty strong paragraph.  The sentence about watching and learning from other teachers is fantastic! That shows your dedication. I think this should be the first sentence of the paragraph.

I think they are looking for more specifics than you have provided.  Explain what types of cooperative learning projects you plan to implement (jigsaw, think-pair-share, etc.).  

All you need to do is add a few more very specific examples.  This will give administrators a more accurate picture of your understanding of exactly what cooperative learning, inquiry-based learning, and thematic units are.

Answer 2

You sound like a PLC or PD session. What is new is that kids are multi taskers and teachers, new or old, need to learn to teach in this manner. Collaboration, technology, global learning, LoTi learning, Thinkfinity, all of these are things needed in the classroom to prepare students. But, do not forget the basics like reading and writing, which many districts have pushed to the side and created standards so low that when they leave 8th grade for high school, they barely read or write at a 3 or 4th grade level.

Be passionate about your teaching, but remember, you may not have the option for thematic teaching, many districts have stopped using that method and pacing guide have replaced old methods that you may have viewed and thought to be terrific.

Good luck and enjoy your career, it will change rapidly, but you are the one thing that stands between your student and their chance to actually learn, once you have them in a classroom.