Learning to Adapt Quickly

      One major thing I have been learning in education 250 is the way teachers have to quickly adapt to any situation. As a future kindergarten teacher, I am beginning to realize how vital this tool is in order to always have control of my classroom. In a room full of five-year-olds, if you are not always one step ahead, you will lose structure and order in your class. Teaching is "full of unexpected events, un-looked-for surprises, and unanticipated twists and turns. The one thing teachers can expect with total confidence is uncertainty. While this never-a-dull-moment aspect of teaching might at times be stimulating, it can also present the teacher with major challenges" (Link at bottom).
     In education 250, we have been given many opportunities to increase our ability to adapt quickly to any situation. My fellow classmates are often called to the board to teach something that they had no prior preparation for. The first time this occurred, I knew that if I had been called I would have panicked. This made me realize my need to grow in this area in order to prepare for real situations in the future. Today in class, we were given a task in groups were allotted twenty minutes to prepare to teach the class. I felt as if this was a very realistic scenario of what could occur in my future classroom. For example, if a teacher at my future school needed to leave, I could possibly be asked to take over her class while my own class was in music, physical education, etc. This would mean I would have very little time to prepare for the lesson that the previous teacher had created. I think that the idea of adaptation related very well to the NCTCS, especially standard five which states that "Teachers reflect on their practice." I think this idea specifically relates to element c of standard five which says "Teachers function effectively in a complex, dynamic environment." This element tells us that teachers "understand that change is constant, [and that] teachers actively investigate and consider new ideas that improve teaching and learning." I believe that learning to adapt to new situations in an ever changing career is essential to improving as a teacher and making the students' learning experience the best it can be.
     I plan to continue to improve my adaptation skills previous to my teaching career, and also after I have gained employment at my future school. I believe that adapting to the twists and turns of education can always be improved. This skill is vital in keeping control of my class and making sure students gain from every learning experience possible, and I hope to become increasingly better at adapting before I am placed in a classroom.

Link: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10763-014-9515-3