Artifacts and Characteristics of the Novice Teacher #2

In order to be a good teacher, one should also be an effective communicator. This is characteristic #2 of a novice teacher. I was able to demonstrate this characteristic in my PDS by introducing the Census to my students and holding an in depth discussion. In the discussion I was able to communicate to my students what the Census was, why it is important and then guide them to engage in a discussion about their own personal experiences. It was important for students to activate their prior knowledge when working with this concept because it helped them to put meaning behind the idea of the Census, through their our experiences which helped to build their comprehension of the subject. Being an effective communicator was imperative for this lesson because of its strong background in social studies content. The students that I presented this lesson to are all special learners and do not have a lot of exposure to learning social studies concepts because this time during their school day is used to work on the basics that they are still struggling with. But by holding this discussion I was able to observe my students communicate their own experiences once they started to understand the concept of what the Census was, and in turn it prompted other students to communicate and share. I believe that being an effective communicator is one of the most important characteristics of a novice teacher because it is a learning strategies that can be used where ever, and whenever, no materials are needed. Students are also able to learn from their peers experiences as well as what their educator brings to the instruction.