Reflection #1:
This week was the first day we got to spend at our practicum schools. It was a great first day and Amandaās Brennan (my teacher mentor) is awesome. Mrs. Brennan is extremely organized and already has us all signed up to go see lots of other teachers and classrooms. I am in a grade six class at Kay Bingham and it is a very interesting class. There are 28 students and 7 of the students have individual education plans (IEP). Mrs. Brennan was talking about how that is a lot to try to handle as a single teacher but she handles them all very well. She only gets support staff for five hours every week
Reflection #2:Ā
The lesson included for this assignment was my second lesson in front of Mrs. Brennanās grade six class at Kay Bingham Elementary. During this lesson I had Mrs. Brennan my teacher mentor and Liz Critchley my faculty mentor both watching the lesson so the pressure was on. Overall, I was pleased with the progress I made from the first lesson during the previous week. For my second lesson I used different strategies than from the first lesson and it seemed to carry over better in the realm of student engagement but I still feel as though I had a hard time reigning the students in and maintaining focus in some groups.
For both lessons I have used āMr. Bighamās Word of the Dayā in the first lesson the word was waste and in the second lesson the word was sustainability. My plan was originally to keep the train moving on the āword of the dayā activities but after lesson two Iām thinking that a switch up is in order. I just feel as though the word of the day is just not quit interesting enough for the students. In the first lesson I had the students work for the entirety in their table groups and did not get them up and moving around. Although, this worked out, in the end they seemed to get a little restless and keeping focus was difficult. Especially, being that I taught the first lesson after lunch from 1:10 ā 1:40. So, going into lesson two I had reworked how I wanted to maintain student engagement. I brought in the element of a āspeaking ballā which is based off of the ātalking stickā in which only the student that poses the ball when we are in the āspeaking ball circleā can talk. This strategy went fairly well although I had to separate a boy and girl who seem to be very keen on each other but were being disruptive to the group. My thought process here was to get the students up and out of their seats to prevent them from getting restless. Also, being a coach I definitely notice myself bringing that aspect into the group and I enjoy addressing the students while they are standing or grouped together.
Through two lessons I have noticed just how difficult it can be to keep 28 young students on task and that not all 28 are going to be completely engaged all the time. Also, being able to adjust on the fly is a very valuable asset as a teacher. My first area of focus for improvement in lesson three will be laying out clear expectations and objectives. In lesson two I was a bit unclear in my direction when it came time to use the word sustainability in a sentence. I needed to state that I wanted the word to be used in the actual sentence and to be used in a thoughtful manor. Some students used the concept of sustainability in a sentence rather than the word. While other students kind of used the word in an informal joking manor āUsing toilet paper that is made from gold is not sustainableā. The second area of focus for lesson three is to be very direct in what I want from the lesson, being conscious of how I ask for things to be done. I noticed that if I ask for things to be done in a certain order chaos can breakout. For example stating that āafter I am done talking I would like ONE student to get up from each table group and grab ONE white board for the tableā. Instead of just saying go grab a white board for the group in which it is a mad panic from the students to get whiteboards.
I am looking forward to trying more techniques in the coming lessons and to keep exploring what works for me and what does not work for me.
Reflection #3 (final Reflection):Ā
During my four practicum lessons I feel as though I have grown in an few areas in this short time. My first area of growth has come in the realm of classroom management. I have come to the understanding of the value of a āpauseā in between transitions. Even leaving it to an awkward silence at times. In my first lesson I was quick to rush into my next directions and lots of instruction was lost in the transition. Moving into my second lesson giving students ample time once I have asked for their attention lead to much more efficient giving and taking of instruction.
The second area I feel I was able to grow in was coming to the realization that getting 28 sixth graders headed in the same direction all at once is a tall task. The ability to not let it get to you as a teacher if one or two students do not seem fully engaged. In saying this, using the techniques of having the students up and moving, using interesting, and relatable topics also seemed to help the engagement of the students. But to waste time in a lesson trying to get that one student who will not engage, to engage, I think, can be more trouble than its worth.
My one wish moving forward is to be more direct when I am communicating expectations and giving directions. Eliminating the usage of the word ācanā before direction so that students do not think I am asking a question. I think that I have improved on this a little bit over the past weeks but I still find myself leaving to much to question. Starting my lessons with clear expectations needs to be a focus moving forward as well. This ties in well with being direct. For next semesters practicum these will be my major goals