Chapter 2a, 2b, 3

Chapter 2a

Though I didn't complete the reflective activities at the beginning of chapter 2, I read through them and got a good idea of what they were trying to convey. Though teachers can plan ahead to the best of their abilities, they must always continue to be flexible, making spontaneous decisions frequently, then later reflecting on those decisions. I also found it helpful when the book discussed non-instructional responsibilities of a classroom teacher, aswell as the legal guidelines that teachers and future teachers should be aware of.

Chapter 2b

I enjoyed the 22 characteristics of a competent teacher listed out at the beginning of the chapter. It's useful to know exactly what it is that a teacher must do to be competent, and then how to go about understanding and possessing those characteristics. Pages 60 to 65 were really helpful in laying out how to obtain the competencies listed out at the very beginning of chapter 2b. Then, the book explains important resources in detail: what they are, where to find them, and when to use them, and how to properly use them to help students learn.

Chapter 3

I like to think that when I teach, I often ask questions rather than lead by example or give answers; I'd rather see my students come to the conclusion on their own. Because of that, I found the chapter really interesting and informative, when it came to the different strategies of questioning, and why to use a specific type of questioning. It also explains how to construct and and implement key cognitive questions, and the importance of matching them with their key cognitive purpose.