How Do I Start Thinking Like a Teacher?

Thinking like a teacher is not something that I am entirely sure I would realize if I were to do it.  I know in my past experiences as a Teacher's Aide and an intern I have been in situations where I have needed to think like a teacher, but finding the line that divides thinking like a student from thinking like a teacher seems rather difficult to me.  I also think it would be easier if I were given more assignments that required me to think like a teacher instead of a student.  The lesson plan that I worked on in a group in my SED 101 class helped me to begin thinking like a teacher, but I know that a lot of my thinking during that project came from a student's perspective.  I know that thinking like a teacher requires focusing on your students and making sure that they will benefit from your lesson, lecture, project, or assignment.  I think that the experience of being a student makes thinking like a teacher easier, because you are able to place yourself back as a student and wonder how you would have felt about a project or assignment.  The other important thing to remember is that most students who become teachers are not the typical student, so using your thoughts about school as a basis for creating lesson plans often leaves out a majority of your students.  Thinking like a teacher means thinking about each and every one of your students as individual learners who all learn differently and enjoy different things.

I would really like to discuss this topic in class and maybe even simulate some activities that might enable us to think like teachers.