"How will I begin teaching K-12 students in a public school classroom?"
This high school class focused first on childhood psychology and education as a discipline, then placed us in classrooms of various grade levels as assistant teachers to gain experience.
Competencies
- Studied and synthesized information on developmental psychology, from early to late childhood.
- Created new lesson plans from curriculum and emerging student interests, and taught said lessons in the classroom.
- Assisted teachers with classroom management, sticking to schedules, grading, guiding students' behavior.
Findings
- Building rapport and mutual respect with students was key to keeping them engaged.
- Within a grade level, students will be at various levels of psychological development, with different needs.
- Curriculum sets base level competencies and suggests higher level skills and knowledge for students who meet those quickly.