Magen Goforth

Identifying the cause of stress is the most crucial part. So often, our efforts to control stress are misdirected, and the actual cause is avoided altogether. Understanding the toll that untreated or resolved stress can have on your professional and personal life is essential to maintaining health, productivity, and attitude. Helping my students work through emotions in the classroom can also be challenging. If I see a student struggling, I casually pull the student aside for a one-on-one check-in. This usually provides the student with enough attention to express what is troubling them and then move on. 

This module is a good reminder that we do not need to reinvent the wheel regarding grading and other classroom tasks. I like that the module encourages online aspects to help with grading and allow for more time on other tasks. I currently have all my quizzes online but use lab assessments in person. This significantly reduces the time I spend in front of my computer. This is just one tool I use to help manage my time.

I enjoyed that this module enforced the importance of task prioritization. Task prioritization is vital for the success of not only us, the educators, but also the students. Task prioritization helps create good time management skills, which increases productivity, reduces stress, and helps to meet deadlines. Effective task prioritizations help us and our students become more organized, responsible, and successful in academic and personal endeavors. I typically schedule three months at a time for both school and personal. 

 Having a teaching style that already combines lecture and active learning strategies gave me confidence during this section. This module further secured my outlook that incorporating active learning strategies creates engaging and meaningful learning experiences that promote critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and applying knowledge in real-life contexts is most beneficial to the adult learner.

 I enjoyed learning more about active learning and ways to engage students in the learning process through hands-on activities, discussions, problem-solving, and other interactive experiences. Active learning moves away from passive listening and encourages students to participate and take ownership of their learning actively.

My biggest take away is the that each student with a learning disability is unique, and we must collaborate with the student, their parents, and any support services to develop an individualized approach that meets each students specific needs. We must ensure that when instructing learners with learning disabilities, it is important to provide targeted support and accommodations to help them succeed. 

I always enjoy learning about teaching techniques to ensure all students receive a quality experience. Instructing diverse learners means adapting teaching strategies and approaches to meet student's unique needs and abilities, especially those with diverse backgrounds and language barriers. 

My most significant was the importance of implementing student monitoring and group teaching strategies. These implementations create support. Group learning promotes individual growth, collaboration, active learning, and inclusion. When my students complete their knife skills lab, they enter complete then first four cooking labs in teams.

This module summarized the various communication skills needed and used in the classroom. Teachers must be flexible and willing to adapt their communication style based on the specific needs of their students and the learning objectives for each of our lessons. Combining the various styles will help create a dynamic and engaging classroom. I use many of these communication skills combinations in my classroom. I always try to use an example of my experience to show how the lesson will apply to the industry and how it will benefit the student.

This module offered insight into the various evaluation methods and test formatting options. Each type of test serves a different purpose and provides insights into our students learning and progress. In my classes, I use a combination of these tests to gather understanding of my student's abilities. These assessments allow me to adjust my teaching methods if needed.