What are your strengths? What are you good at--and how do you know? Give some evidence. Did you know this ahead of time, or are you surprised?
What are some areas of growth? Name 2-3 things you want to work on, and how you plan to meet these particular challenges.
I am pretty good with pacing and timing. I am able to clock myself as the lesson progresses. The only time I encounter some difficulties is when the day is shortened on Wednesday. It is a bump in the week too since you have to create lessons around this schedule. I think I knew this ahead of time, however, since I always keep an eye on the clock. I had experiences where lessons went too long or too short and I learned methods and skills to assist me with this.
ReplyDeleteI also noticed that I am getting better at discipline and approaching behavior disruptions in the classroom. This is the scariest part of student teaching, especially when I was unsure about policies and regulations behind it. I was told by my cooperating teacher that discipline is up to me, that it is "my classroom". That much freedom right away is a little intimidating, and I think most would feel unsure if they went too far or not far enough. I am glad I heard Amanda say that she gave a student detention and I felt that relief that I could do the same. My students are now aware that I can and will give detention and I LOVED how behaved they were the following day! haha
I still need to work on my assertiveness though. I am TERRIFIED of being the mean teacher. I think, however, that giving one student detention already has given me a little nudge in assertiveness. I feel a little more confident now.
I am working on accuracy on historical facts and questioning as well. In my book that I use for teaching "The Crucible", I keep sticky notes with questions written on them, and it is WORKING!!!
Overall, I am shocked and amazed how far we've come and I am eager to both finish and graduate. I have to say this is quite the experience and I am grateful that I got placed in such a great school!
It's not mean to have a classroom where students, as my principal used to tell me, "respect the learning process." I'm pretty sure you don't have a mean bone in your body, Danielle :)
DeleteThe halfway point for us marks the end of my time at Scituate High School. I truly loved being there and have learned so much about myself as a teacher! On my last day, I asked the students to fill out an index card with their favorite thing we did in class and a list of suggestions for me. They ended up writing a bit more than that, so what I do well and what I'm working on are from their suggestions!
ReplyDeleteWhat I do well is:
1. Show genuine interest in my students. One student wrote that they appreciated how I seemed to "really listen" when the students talked. This was my favorite piece of positive feedback. Often, people don't take the thoughts and opinions of teenagers seriously, and they clearly notice when we do.
2. Create fun assignments. To culminate our discussions of Absolutely True, students were to work together or in small groups to create an advertisement for a product or service that would be beneficial to Junior. Most students in the class listed this as their favorite thing we did because it allowed them to be creative and work with friends.
What I will be working on is:
1. Most students told me I was nice in their feedback, but a few listed it as a suggestion, saying I was "too nice". I've noticed this, too. I'm still a little uncomfortable with pushing students and expecting very high standards from them. I've found that I am often too generous while grading. Maggie and I each graded all their writing, and we always went with her grade, which often matched mine but was sometimes a bit lower. Something I will definitely work on is expecting high standards from all students (once I figure out what high standards look like for 7th graders!).
2. This isn't something that the students brought up, but I know I need to allow the students to be more self-reliant. I spent so much time organizing and re-organizing late work and make-up work, only for students to never hand it in. I have already created a system for this that works for me, which will alleviate much of the stress, but I need to require more from the students regarding their own self-advocacy in these cases. This will be different in middle school -- I don't expect them to be as independent as high schoolers -- but it is still important to begin to instill those habits.
Of course, there are tons of other aspects of teaching that I will be working on, but these are the biggest focuses for me right now. I start at Nathan Bishop tomorrow and I can't wait to meet the new group of students I'll be working with until December!
The second thing you need to work on is me in a nutshell. I feel like I give them so many chances and I ended up grading nonrelevant work weeks after they were due. It is very frustrating. I'm also with you on the middle school expectations, no idea what that is haha. It's a strange jump, but I'm sure you'll get there!
DeleteIt is a strange jump to middle school-what kinds of expectations are you going to have for a younger group? Rigor? I think you have it in you and I wish you luck!
DeleteI agree about the self-reliance. Over the years, I have emphasized scaffolding for the learning process, but I think that has bled into letting kids skate sometimes. It's very hard to discern who needs the extra time and who is taking advantage. But that's true in life, isn't it?
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ReplyDeleteWhat I’m good at:
ReplyDelete1. I think I’ve gotten very good at preparing and over preparing. I’ve very rarely come across any lessons where I ran out of things I could have them do, which is good because I’m not very comfortable with the idea of them not working because they tend to get load and that’s when behavior problems occur. I wouldn’t say I’m particularly great at time management, but at the very least I never have dead time.
2.Classroom management. I will say I’ve gotten a lot better at managing them and pushing them to do more. When I was in my other classes I was terrified of asking students to do anything or share their work. I have now adopted the process I like to call “volunteer, call out, give a zero” which means I give students three opportunities to share their work if its part of the assignment. I ask for volunteers, when that well dries up I call on them, if after that they still don’t want to then I move on and they don’t get a grade. I used to feel bad, but I’ve given them plenty of opportunities and they’re old enough where I can expect them to go at least half way. I utilize this with reading and asking questions too. I will ask for volunteers, and if I don’t get any then I tell them I’m counting to three and if no one volunteers I’m just calling on someone. It’s something I needed to get better at because I was getting tired of reading to them and waiting in silence for someone to answer.
What I need to work on:
1. I still need to work on facilitating discussion. I’m just not sure how to get them to talk and I ended up just giving them the answers. I’m not very good at sitting through that silence when no one wants to talk. I’m good at getting them to answer questions, but actually getting them to discuss something is difficult and I find I just give up and move to something else. I think what I really need to work on is creating better questions. I had a very nice discussion with some classes today, and the questions were more open ended and didn’t have a “right answer” which I think is what I need to work more with.
2. I also want to get better at group work and structure. I pretty much never do group work because it’s very hard for me to structure the class and keep control, which is something I’m also having trouble with. I really just need to learn to let go a little bit more, but everytime I do find it gets more stressful for me to manage the class. Its definitely something I need to come to terms with more. It’s gotten to the point where I kind of dread giving group work.
I'm with you on classroom management. I felt that relief once I finally put my foot down with some of my students. It's become a lot easier to manage the class. I'm glad you are finding ways of doing the same!
DeleteI have given a lot of group work, and I've had mixed success. If the kids get graded in two ways (group and individual) for the activity, it has worked better. This means I need to be super clear with them, because it is harder to keep track of. It was worth it when I did it, simply because they love group work. A very interesting point about group work is that they actually get tired of it!! All three of my classes are now going back to individual work after group activities, and I have learned that they are happy with this change, through exit slips.
DeleteGetting beyond the IRE (initiate-respond-evaluate) model of discussion is really important. Think about Socratic Seminar and having students respond to one another instead of just you. Doing think-pair-share is also a way for students to talk to one another and then someone from the group can share. In your overcrowded class, you have to work with what you have.
DeleteI feel my strengths are:
ReplyDelete•Preparing and planning-I over plan by completing 2-3 weeks at a time. I have 2 weeks of work (handouts, dittos, etc.) photocopied and in my bag. If an activity runs short I can start the next day’s lesson. However, I have noticed that I have gotten a lot better with gaging the time it will take a certain class to complete an activity.
•Pacing and timing- I am very good about placing a daily class agenda on the board with time limits. I also consistently provide minute checks to the students to let them know how much time I am allocating, as well as how much remaining time they have for that certain activity.
•Transitioning into new activities-This is piggybacking off of pacing and timing, but I am good at redirecting students to the next task at hand. I think it is because I'm constantly giving time checks and agendas. It seems to be working for the most part. The only time I really have difficulty transitioning into a new activity is first period of the day, lunch period, and last period of the day—this is mainly due to the students just being excited/exhausted from the time frame.
•Connecting to my students- I spend a considerable amount of time getting to know my students. I ask my students how their evenings/weekends were, and I remember details/events and check back on them.
I need to work on:
•Being too nice- Like Jess, I am way too nice at times. I take late work weeks after the fact, and I offer a lot of chances to complete an assignment. For instance, I assigned a paper and gave a one week deadline. I also provided students with three class periods to brainstorm, start first drafts, and type final drafts. However, allowing all of this time in class proved to me problematic. Out of eighteen students I received three papers on time. A large majority of the students handed in the paper two days late and lost points. I still have two students who have not handed in the paper. What I took away from this was that three class periods devoted to working on the paper did not help the students in completing their paper and handing it in on time. I also provided too much opportunity to make up the paper. In the future I will not provide this much time in class, nor will I accept late papers after a certain point. I hate seeing students do poorly, but I realize that I need to hold students accountable to teach them those lessons beyond curriculum.
•I would like to get better on pushing students outside of their comfort zone. I ask a lot of high order questions and provide a lot of guiding questions, but I still have those students who will not take the bait. I want to push those students into participating more and voicing their thoughts/opinions. I feel like some students have things to say, but are afraid of judgment from other students or looking stupid. I’m still trying to figure out ways to reach students that always play it safe.
I think a lot of us are afraid of becoming "the bad guy" to our students. We don't want to see students' grades drop, or, heaven forbid, even fail. They're high school though, they have a lot of expectations that are going to be put on them, especially their senior year. I think ingraining those expectations and no late work policies right away will help them too. In the end, you are still trying to help THEM. After that, it's up to them.
DeleteI agree with Danielle--it's up to them. And acknowledging your fear of being the bad guy is natural--you want to be liked. Respect and trust are incredibly important in teaching, but so are high expectations. It's a balance. And some kids are better at handling that at others. I'm glad you've got kids in mind you'd like to push--maybe not so much sharing aloud, but in their thinking.
DeleteIt is the halfway point for student teaching placement, and the time has come for reflecting on where I am with teaching, and what I need to work on. October is on its last legs, progress reports have given out, and homecoming is coming all too soon, so this can only mean one thing: We are in the latter part of first quarter.
ReplyDeleteSo, as a teacher, here is what I am noticing about myself.
I seem to be good at coming up with ideas for activities, especially discussion ones. In the last month and a half, I have pulled a lot of things, both from my previous education classes and independent research, and I have also come up with a couple of ideas of my own. These types of activities help avoid repetitiveness, and serve other benefits.
I also seem to be good at getting to know my students. Who is reading what kinds of things, who plays which sports, etc. I get along well with them, and I think it helps me connect with them.
I need to work on a couple of things. First of all, I need to tighten up my pacing. I end up going right to the bell, to the point where I have been giving homework while the bell to change periods has rung. I also tend to spend some time on certain parts of the lesson, when I should be going through it much quicker. I need to work on this, to make sure that things move briskly, and end on time. Bell to bell is one thing. Bell through bell is another.
I also need to work on Differentiation and individualization. With some of my classes, the range of students is quite high, and I find that I struggle to differentiate smoothly. This is a problem, as it can affect a multitude of things, from engagement levels, to on-task behavior, and beyond.
So, as I move forward into the second half, here are the two things I am feeling good about, and the two things I am waging a WWI-esque prolonged conflict with. Now, back to battle. In the words of the WWI people I referenced, “it will be over by Christmas.” Hopefully, this time it proves to be true. Otherwise I need to call in the allies. Entente, anyone?
Ha! We are all your allies, Matt, but I am not sure you will feel as if you have won these battles by Christmas. Having an agenda on the board is often helpful for pacing. Planning to stop the lesson five minutes before the bell to review, wrap up, and see what confusion might be there is also an idea.
DeleteFor me, differentiation starts with voice and choice. Providing a variety of options within a bigger assignment, or even a choice of topic or genre for a short writing assignment, often does the trick in honoring students' individual abilities and predilections.
Here is a list of my strengths as I see them right now in my pre-service teaching:
ReplyDelete1. Remembering personal details that a student has shared with me. Kids really seem to appreciate this.
2. Writing in writer's notebooks regularly and sharing this information
3. Sharing appropriate personal information about myself with students. This humanizes me for them.
4. Telling them I make plenty of mistakes, particularly when they share a mistake they made with me. I will even give them a specific example, when appropriate.
5. One-on-one conferencing about their writing. I frame my feedback in a way that doesn't sound critical. I have been getting a lot of good feedback about that lately.
Here is a list of my weaknesses, as I see them right now, in my pre-service teaching:
1. Inability to see when a student really has a need versus when they are taking advantage of me (leaving the room to see someone in the building)
2. Managing my anger when a student is pushing me for something they want which doesn't seem appropriate to me, i.e. leaving the room to see someone in the building. I don't yell, but I become sarcastic. This is not who I want to be as a teacher, but this leads to the next one:
3. Have classroom policies and be clear about them. This is the most difficult for me since I am so new and I do not have the background information about the many grey areas that come up in this category.
Student teaching is a strange, exciting, terrifying, gut-wrenching time, I am finding. Mostly, I am trying to remember that I am human, not a robot. This means that I cannot have the eleven years of experience my classroom teacher has. Also, I am trying to evaluate myself in terms of my situation and mine only. I know you guys are out there, and you know where I am. We do draw on each others' strengths when we are together. But that is only two hours per week. But we each can only walk in our own shoes, ultimately.
Self-awareness is the key to everything. Reading yourself, reading others' reactions to what is happening, knowing when you are at your edge...if you work on those literacy practices, and have the initiative and guts to do the work, you're all set :)
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