For me, this week started with tracking down students in oder to get them to make up all of their missing work because Friday was the end of the marking period. Not wanting to get calls from parents asking why their daughter/son did not have their work completed, I talked to as many students as I could giving them directions and deadlines for missing work. This worked great. Most of my students did make an effort to complete their work by coming to class after school or during a study hall. For others, no attempt was made to complete any assignment. The most valuable lesson I learned this week was to get and stay organized.
Since there were about twenty five students who needed to make up work, I began talking to as many as I could. Now, I know my organizational skills are okay, but not perfect. So, I had to do everything I could to match all of the missing work with the correct student while providing directions, page numbers, rubrics and expectations of each. Toward the end of the week, I continually reminded them of their missing assignments. As each student handed me their missing work, I graded and posted their grade immediately. It worked flawlessley.
Fortunately, I recognized the need to be organized in advance and I am glad I am not describing this as the part of the week I would like to change.
This week, however, was somewhat boring in both a good and bad way. My co-op left the room most of this week which made me feel trusted in both my content and teaching. Everything seemed to flow nicely. That was good. However, because I still am trying to be overly concious of everything I do and say, I have given myself little room just to be me. That was bad. We have been student teaching for about tweleve weeks and we know the routine to be a good teachers in our schools. The part of the week I would like to change would be to allow my personality to flourish more in the classroom. I sometimes feel like a robot making sure I cover all that I had planned instead of just being me teaching the lesson. As I noticed this toward the end of the week, I did try to add more of my personality to each lesson and it seemed to interest the students a little more.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
March 16-20 2009
This week has been another week of learning and re-learning for me. A lot of loose ends have been getting tied up for me this week. I have been observing my alternate co-op as she assigned the students an activity that really got them involved. It was a very simple activity, yet much planning was involved. In a sense, I viewed her as a magician as she was able to take two concepts and create the willingness of the students to want to learn and present the material from the textbook. Not only was I amazed at how efficiently the the students progressed in this activity, but I was able to view the direction of my lesson plans in that same way.
This simple activity from my alternate co-op has been the most valuable part of my week. She has proved to me lessons can be very simple yet extremely effective. I will take from this my willingness to constantly improve on my lessons as I strive to become the teaching magician she has already become.
Thursday, a student of mine started to loose his self-control toward the end of class. I noticed this and gave him a few warnings for being too loud but that only quieted him for a few minutes. As a result of his loud voice, he began to irritate another nearby student. I noticed this and intervened immediately. I thought I had ended his disruptions and the conflict between the two students, but I was wrong. Seconds before the bell rang, he blurted a few unacceptable words.
As I anticipated his continued disruptions, I was able to drown out his unacceptable utterances as I raised my voice in an unapproving tone. I quieted him instantly and next dismissed class. After the students were gone, I think I made a mistake. I should have asked him to remain after class so I could talk with him. I know, however, he would not voluntary stay with me because he has an IEP for violence and outbursts. His typical reaction in this situation would be to run to the pricipal's office and calm down there. If i was able to talk him into staying with me this point, I would have been able to remind him of the use of unacceptable words in my class and the consequences for using them. Instead, he exited the room remembering me raising my voice in disapproval. As I realized my mistake, I know I will ask him to stay after class so I can review classroom rules and their consequencs.
This simple activity from my alternate co-op has been the most valuable part of my week. She has proved to me lessons can be very simple yet extremely effective. I will take from this my willingness to constantly improve on my lessons as I strive to become the teaching magician she has already become.
Thursday, a student of mine started to loose his self-control toward the end of class. I noticed this and gave him a few warnings for being too loud but that only quieted him for a few minutes. As a result of his loud voice, he began to irritate another nearby student. I noticed this and intervened immediately. I thought I had ended his disruptions and the conflict between the two students, but I was wrong. Seconds before the bell rang, he blurted a few unacceptable words.
As I anticipated his continued disruptions, I was able to drown out his unacceptable utterances as I raised my voice in an unapproving tone. I quieted him instantly and next dismissed class. After the students were gone, I think I made a mistake. I should have asked him to remain after class so I could talk with him. I know, however, he would not voluntary stay with me because he has an IEP for violence and outbursts. His typical reaction in this situation would be to run to the pricipal's office and calm down there. If i was able to talk him into staying with me this point, I would have been able to remind him of the use of unacceptable words in my class and the consequences for using them. Instead, he exited the room remembering me raising my voice in disapproval. As I realized my mistake, I know I will ask him to stay after class so I can review classroom rules and their consequencs.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
March 14, 2009
I finished compiling the data from my survey after I responded to my blog last week. So, I did not get a chance to discuss my survey. However, some of the responses to my survey were very suprising to me in a positive way. Although, I did recieve the small percentage responses like, "he bothers me by asking me questions when I am in a bad mood". And, "I would not want to have him as my teacher again. These responses were very few. I was surprised by the fact that nearly eighty five percent of the students would like to have me as a teacher again while twelve percent of them were unsure. This was very uplifting for me as I finished compiling the data from my survey as I knew I have made a positive impact on my students.
Other areas of the survey were not suprising. For example, the students responded by stating I have to speak louder while teaching my lesson. I already knew this and have been increasing the volume of my voice since I recieved the results of my survey.
So, I believe the most valuable part of the week was the survey itself. It was my report card from the students themselves. And I know they gave me a passing grade as their teacher.
Friday, one of my students, who is always on the edge of outbursts, began class by printing a few of his typed pages. Students were not supposed to be printing at this time but I heard the printer turn on and begin printing. As I walked to the printer and remove the pages from the printer, I noticed this student had printed a harmless page with his name on it. But, the two additional pages that followed were a problem for me. Each page was filled with vulgar language. I politely asked him to come to my desk. But, I did not get a chance to discuss this with him because he immediately screamed at the other students with more vulgarities. I knew I had to calm this situation. However, this situation was far from calm. He turned toward the door and walked out slamming the door behind him. My co-op and I tried to get him to come back and discuss the situation but he insisted on going to the principal's office. After this situation unfolded, it is not known if this student printed the vulgarities. It is possible another student was the culprit. This situation spanded over about twenty seconds. I believe I reacted professionally but I think I could have handled it better. I knew he was ready to walk out in a moments notice and I did not want this to happen. Because this student is on the edge, I should have asked the student to discuss this matter with me in the hallway to avoid the disruptions that followed. If there is one thing I could change this week it would have been this situation.
Other areas of the survey were not suprising. For example, the students responded by stating I have to speak louder while teaching my lesson. I already knew this and have been increasing the volume of my voice since I recieved the results of my survey.
So, I believe the most valuable part of the week was the survey itself. It was my report card from the students themselves. And I know they gave me a passing grade as their teacher.
Friday, one of my students, who is always on the edge of outbursts, began class by printing a few of his typed pages. Students were not supposed to be printing at this time but I heard the printer turn on and begin printing. As I walked to the printer and remove the pages from the printer, I noticed this student had printed a harmless page with his name on it. But, the two additional pages that followed were a problem for me. Each page was filled with vulgar language. I politely asked him to come to my desk. But, I did not get a chance to discuss this with him because he immediately screamed at the other students with more vulgarities. I knew I had to calm this situation. However, this situation was far from calm. He turned toward the door and walked out slamming the door behind him. My co-op and I tried to get him to come back and discuss the situation but he insisted on going to the principal's office. After this situation unfolded, it is not known if this student printed the vulgarities. It is possible another student was the culprit. This situation spanded over about twenty seconds. I believe I reacted professionally but I think I could have handled it better. I knew he was ready to walk out in a moments notice and I did not want this to happen. Because this student is on the edge, I should have asked the student to discuss this matter with me in the hallway to avoid the disruptions that followed. If there is one thing I could change this week it would have been this situation.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
March 7, 2007
This week was a rollercoaster ride of emotions. During some parts of the week I was very excited with my accomplishments while other parts of the week I had dropped faster than the Phoenix Rollercoaster at Knoebel's. The reason for the dramatic drop was due to the lack of doing something I should have done or doing something I had done wrong. I think one of the best learning tools for all students, although we perish the thought of doing it, is making a dreaded mistake. Ok, we do not like making mistakes, but we sure can learn from the ones we make. Planning during the first part of the week seemed acceptable, but during the latter part of the week things started to get confusing. It was difficult for me to first plan first for the week than to plan for each day because different classes progressed at different speeds, an activity day, and many interuptions, my daily plan had strayed from my weekly plan. Yeah, on paper this seemed somewhat confusing, but most of the classes flowed very well with acceptable confusion.
I am not really sure why, but I will start teaching all of my co-op's classes on Monday. Think of the learnig waiting for me! I think my teaching schedule is somewhat off, but I am ready for all seven periods. And why not, the quicker I have a full boat, the quicker I will adapt to a full day of teaching and learning. Unfortunely, this learning might sometimes come in the form of mistakes, but I will be ready. So, the most important part of this week for me was to learn from my mistakes. Avoid them at all costs by being prepared but be ready to learn from them when they occur.
Sometimes rehearsing a plan is necessary for me. I did a lot of rehearsing in IS but I have not done much rehearsing while student teaching. Planning on paper is one thing, but how this plan gets delivered is another thing. After writing a lesson plan I think I am done. But many times I am not. On paper everything seems to flow, but in real life sometimes this is proved to be more of a clog than flow. On Monday, I started my Computer Applications class on some book exercises. I looked at my lesson plan one last time and it seemed to work. But after delivering the lesson, my co-op and I could sense some confusion with the students because of how I delivered the lesson. I tried to readjust my lesson to make it work smother but it was too late. Confusion was setting in. So, I continued the lesson with much more one-on-one direction than anticipated. After class was over, I could tell most of the students had accomplished what was asked of them but I should have made for a much smother transition throughout the lesson. The most important thing I would change this week would be to rehearse some if not all of my lesson plans. I think this could indicate where some confusion could occur or prove the lesson flows fine.
I am not really sure why, but I will start teaching all of my co-op's classes on Monday. Think of the learnig waiting for me! I think my teaching schedule is somewhat off, but I am ready for all seven periods. And why not, the quicker I have a full boat, the quicker I will adapt to a full day of teaching and learning. Unfortunely, this learning might sometimes come in the form of mistakes, but I will be ready. So, the most important part of this week for me was to learn from my mistakes. Avoid them at all costs by being prepared but be ready to learn from them when they occur.
Sometimes rehearsing a plan is necessary for me. I did a lot of rehearsing in IS but I have not done much rehearsing while student teaching. Planning on paper is one thing, but how this plan gets delivered is another thing. After writing a lesson plan I think I am done. But many times I am not. On paper everything seems to flow, but in real life sometimes this is proved to be more of a clog than flow. On Monday, I started my Computer Applications class on some book exercises. I looked at my lesson plan one last time and it seemed to work. But after delivering the lesson, my co-op and I could sense some confusion with the students because of how I delivered the lesson. I tried to readjust my lesson to make it work smother but it was too late. Confusion was setting in. So, I continued the lesson with much more one-on-one direction than anticipated. After class was over, I could tell most of the students had accomplished what was asked of them but I should have made for a much smother transition throughout the lesson. The most important thing I would change this week would be to rehearse some if not all of my lesson plans. I think this could indicate where some confusion could occur or prove the lesson flows fine.
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