New TCVs at training
TCVs listen to a panel of current volunteers
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Training for YPFP-C
On Saturday, February 9, a new group of Teacher Corp Volunteers (TCVs) was introduced to YPFP in the Classroom. After a rousing icebreaker, the new TVCs heard from a panel of current volunteers, learned the protocols and procedures for lesson planning and classroom placement, learned from two experts and brainstormed and presented lesson ideas of their own. We look forward to working with this new and enthusiastic group!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
First Time
It was exciting to enter the classroom as a TCV for the first time and I felt the activity went well overall. The people at Cesar Chavez PCHS were great. I was fortunate to be paired up with Keith Bocian who had taught a lesson previously. It worked out well to meet up after we both had done some baseline reading. We were able to develop a flexible framework to go off that drew from the lesson plan that had been prepared for global water futures.
We both arrived at the school early and had ample time to get set for the lesson. Mr. Zand was quite enthusiastic and I would suspect that is a common trait amongst the teachers participating in the program. I think having easy stuff that can be drawn on a whiteboard worked well; we used the Stephen Covey 4 quadrant diagram as well as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. I feel they both helped us communicate the material more effectively.
Having a loose outline proved beneficial. We both had instances where we were able to interject in an area the other was speaking to. This helped maintain a flow and I was pleased the students were engaged throughout the entire period. As Keith wrote we had a fairly small group in this rigorous course, but they were all able to respond throughout the period.
The students showed interest in our personal backgrounds which was great. This allowed us to speak to post-secondary options and how those decisions led us to this point (although not the explicit purpose, I felt that was very complimentary). The final part of the period was an excellent back and forth on experiences that we have had working in foreign policy.
The night before the lesson I had laid out a world map with some sticky tack as I did not know the setup of the classroom. Of course I forgot it, but that may be a good thing to bring regardless of the subject matter in the future.
It sounds like the program is really in high gear and I am very pleased to be part of it. See you next time………
We both arrived at the school early and had ample time to get set for the lesson. Mr. Zand was quite enthusiastic and I would suspect that is a common trait amongst the teachers participating in the program. I think having easy stuff that can be drawn on a whiteboard worked well; we used the Stephen Covey 4 quadrant diagram as well as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. I feel they both helped us communicate the material more effectively.
Having a loose outline proved beneficial. We both had instances where we were able to interject in an area the other was speaking to. This helped maintain a flow and I was pleased the students were engaged throughout the entire period. As Keith wrote we had a fairly small group in this rigorous course, but they were all able to respond throughout the period.
The students showed interest in our personal backgrounds which was great. This allowed us to speak to post-secondary options and how those decisions led us to this point (although not the explicit purpose, I felt that was very complimentary). The final part of the period was an excellent back and forth on experiences that we have had working in foreign policy.
The night before the lesson I had laid out a world map with some sticky tack as I did not know the setup of the classroom. Of course I forgot it, but that may be a good thing to bring regardless of the subject matter in the future.
It sounds like the program is really in high gear and I am very pleased to be part of it. See you next time………
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Global Water Futures
All,
This was my second time volunteering with YPFP-Classroom (it's a little addictive). I partnered with Justin Goldman to teach a class on global water futures to a group of 11th and 12th graders. Since neither of us were experts on the subject, Justin and I did some research (googling), then met to have coffee and figure out our approach. Our lesson plan ended up being a blend of some ideas we had from our own experience and a lesson plan previously prepared by another YPFP-Classroom volunteer.
Justin and I made our way independently to Cesar Chavez on the day of the class. I took the metro and walked across a bridge and a few blocks distance to the school. Justin and I then met in the school office, where a nice lady showed us to coffee and indicated where we could find the teacher. A short way down the hall, we met up with Mr. Zand, who was excited and friendly. He showed us to the classroom, where we had a chance to set up in advance of class. Fortunately, we hadn't planned a powerpoint presentation or anything that would require a computer, since they didn't have one available. When class started, Justin and I introduced ourselves to his pre-calculus students (there were just five students - eight or so had dropped the class earlier that semester), and began with an exercise to involve the students (what they did in the morning, when they got up) and compared it to the schedule of a Ghanian girl who needed to collect water for her family. Then we launched into the other stuff...
The best part of the class wasn't the lesson, but instead was the interaction with the students. Some of them were thinking about going to college, and wanted to know what it was like. Another student asked "why did you choose to get involved in foreign policy?" I felt that through our interaction with these Juniors and Seniors, Justin and I were able to expose the students to an entirely different set of experiences than they've thus far encountered. And certainly, teaching with YPFP has given me a broader perspective. And that, to me, is precisely what YPFP-Classroom is about - bringing that perspective to both the students and the volunteer.
This was my second time volunteering with YPFP-Classroom (it's a little addictive). I partnered with Justin Goldman to teach a class on global water futures to a group of 11th and 12th graders. Since neither of us were experts on the subject, Justin and I did some research (googling), then met to have coffee and figure out our approach. Our lesson plan ended up being a blend of some ideas we had from our own experience and a lesson plan previously prepared by another YPFP-Classroom volunteer.
Justin and I made our way independently to Cesar Chavez on the day of the class. I took the metro and walked across a bridge and a few blocks distance to the school. Justin and I then met in the school office, where a nice lady showed us to coffee and indicated where we could find the teacher. A short way down the hall, we met up with Mr. Zand, who was excited and friendly. He showed us to the classroom, where we had a chance to set up in advance of class. Fortunately, we hadn't planned a powerpoint presentation or anything that would require a computer, since they didn't have one available. When class started, Justin and I introduced ourselves to his pre-calculus students (there were just five students - eight or so had dropped the class earlier that semester), and began with an exercise to involve the students (what they did in the morning, when they got up) and compared it to the schedule of a Ghanian girl who needed to collect water for her family. Then we launched into the other stuff...
The best part of the class wasn't the lesson, but instead was the interaction with the students. Some of them were thinking about going to college, and wanted to know what it was like. Another student asked "why did you choose to get involved in foreign policy?" I felt that through our interaction with these Juniors and Seniors, Justin and I were able to expose the students to an entirely different set of experiences than they've thus far encountered. And certainly, teaching with YPFP has given me a broader perspective. And that, to me, is precisely what YPFP-Classroom is about - bringing that perspective to both the students and the volunteer.
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