Lauren Holan

EDFD 559-01
Commentary 2
Your understanding of the “art and science” of teaching
Teaching is an art because many different, skilled teachers are going to have a different
approach, just as a painter or potter would. While the delivery and style can be left up to the
discretion of the teacher, the content that’s required to be covered is often hard and fast, like a
science would be. Therefore, teaching is a marriage of the two, both an art and a science.

Your strengths as a teacher

Creativity
I genuinely enjoy creating visuals and designing lessons for the classes I teach; I see it as an
opportunity to be creative. This makes a necessary task a little more bearable and indicates that
I may be able to design some out of the ordinary learning opportunities for my students.
Naturally uplifting
I find it easy to find the good in young people. I think it is because I remember how critical I was
of myself at a young age and because I’ve watched other children be critical of one another that
I feel compelled to share positive aspects with them to level the scales. Anyways, it is a helpful
habit to have as the kids respond well to the verbal feedback.

Your opportunities for growth in the remaining weeks of this course/year

Classroom management
I am still trying to figure out exactly what my classroom management style is. While co-
teaching, I didn’t have independent run of the room and was mostly mimicking my co-teacher's
management style. In the 6th grade room, I am teaching an age group I am not accustomed to
and therefore am still trying out different techniques. In the future, I’d like to have one clear
classroom management style, so students know what to expect.

Time management
As any teacher, or anyone who knows a teacher well, knows, there are a lot of moving parts
and plenty of things that need to get done in the teaching profession. Because of the sheer
amount of stuff, having good time management (and organization, frankly) is crucial. It is not
that I don’t have a natural inclination towards time management, but as I become accustomed
to the cadence of teaching, I will have to pay specific attention to how well I am managing my
time.

The importance of data and assessment in teaching

While co-teaching I observed or taught many lessons, most of which had accompanying
assessments. After experiencing the cycle of developing the assessment, helping students
complete it, and grading it, many times, I have come to understand the true importance of
assessment – without it a teacher can’t know if their students achieved the learning target(s).
Once assessments have been collected and graded, a teacher can compile the data, identify
where the holes in understanding are, and re-teach.

The importance of collaboration in teaching

When I was co-teaching, my co-teacher arranged a collaborative project for our
entrepreneurship class with the shop teacher. In doing this she gave the students a hands-on
opportunity to create the product they would be designing a business plan and marketing
materials for. Choosing this collaborative project instead of relying on teaching students about
entrepreneurship out of a textbook allowed for more engaging work. Collaborating across
disciplines can enrich content (like this project did) or to expose students to other disciplines
they aren’t yet familiar with.
Collaboration with other teachers is both necessary for ensuring streamlining in student’s
learning and sharing resources. While long-term subbing in the 6th grade classroom, I relied
heavily on my neighboring 6th grade teacher to help me understand the flow of curriculum for
the remaining two months of school.

Collaboration with parents/guardians is important to ensure student success and well-being.

Students aren’t always forthright with their parents or guardians, so their teacher needs to be
sure to help advocate for them.

Your understanding of personal integrity and professional ethics in teaching

My understanding of personal integrity comes from the teachers I look to as examples of how
I’d like to effect students. These teachers are fair, kind, understanding, accepting, and a whole
host of other impactful things. My understanding of professional ethics comes from the Code of
Ethics for MN Teachers. Within this code are ten standards for professional conduct that I look
to for guidance.