Reflections on First Week of Teaching a Full Load

The Journey of Student Teaching: Day 20

Fourth Week Reflections: Teaching a Full Load

Essential Question for this Week:

  • What did you learn this week while student teaching?

To me this fourth week started out really nerve racking.  Only 3 days into the semester and I will be teaching for a total of 7 out of 9 periods in the day.  To me this was nerve racking more because this made me realize that this was real. With teaching 7 periods what I learned is that I needed to be willing to let the Inquiry and Independent work happen. As the saying goes: When you assume . . .
And I probably started last week with that with the students.

For example when I hear the word Biotechnology I think that students should have strong scores in chemistry and biology before taking it.  What I didn't plan on was on that in a high school not everything is taught on the level that I learned stuff in high school. And so I started Biotech last week with this feeling of total dread because I didn't think I got every student to the level I needed to get them on.  And so I tried my hardest this week to work with the students as whole and improve my teaching with them.  Instead of rushing into the lab to do the fun activity, I spent days reviewing.  I think the other thing I need to work on as well with them is how to ask good reflective questions. with things like objectives and essential questions in mind how do I best get students to make the connections they need to make? Also what level of pacing is good for questions and bad for questions. Thinking of scaffolding I need to think more about what level a question is I am asking and is it fair to ask such a question at that time.

I think this week I did better with asking questions but I still need to work on it.  Something I think I did a really good job is with my willingness to let students work on their own pace while also recognizing when students need directions or should just be let loose.  For example when ever I have my students work at their desks on something they are quiet and engaged but what I am noticing is that I am giving a lot more directions in the lab.  For my first year students it is what are we doing next while my seniors they are asking me purposeful questions. I need to find the balance for all my students with what I need to direct and what I need to let them do as well.  Next week I am going to try to encourage my students along but not tell them what to do every minute in the lab.  I think this will prove to be more effective in a lesson than any other method of teaching.

My last thing I think I need to work on from this week is preparing for classes. I am just not fully accustomed to teaching for 7 periods in a day.  I am getting into a better habit as the week progresses to looking at what I've done each day and adjusting my lessons as I go.  I need to also get a better habit of planning out my prep time with planning out how I am going to pass out papers, have materials out. My other thing that I am seeing I need to work on is making sure that everything is 100% ready for that day.

My main help I think I need with is better ways at asking reflective questions;  to work on learning when to push students along in an activity compared to knowing when to let students work; making sure I am 100 % prepared to teaching in the morning before I leave for the day.  I feel over all this week went well I just am starting to see areas where I can grow.

To Be Continued . . .

Comments

  1. Tiffany MoreyFebruary 3, 2018 at 3:37 PM

    George, it is awesome that you are engaging in such detailed refection of your teaching this past week! Mastering the are of effective and purposeful questioning takes time, but it is great that you see the importance of it. Edutopia has some super resources for how to incorporate reflective questioning into your classroom, so you may want to check them out. It sounds like you made some stride this week, so can you tell us about some of your gems that you experienced?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownFebruary 14, 2018 at 9:16 AM

      Thanks so much for the feedback! I'll definitely be checking these out during my extended weekend!

      Delete
  2. AnonymousFebruary 4, 2018 at 2:04 PM

    The first few years take an inordinate amount of planning and preparation. The good thing is that time invested now, will pay dividends in the future. So don't be afraid to really put the work in now.

    Have you worked with a gradual release of responsibility model at all? I wonder if this might aid your lab and class in preparing students for what level you wish them to reach. I do, we do, you do.

    Embrace the pace. We are a unique breed.

    Cheers, ME

    ReplyDelete
  3. CJ RippoleFebruary 5, 2018 at 10:55 AM

    George, I can't believe you are on Day 20 already! Reflection questions can be challenging, but don't worry... If you google some good starter questions you can take it from there, sometimes it can be hard to even start.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Daniel FosterFebruary 9, 2018 at 6:13 PM

    George, Loved seeing you today.

    Keep in mind the power of photos in these blog posts.

    Also, think of weekly titles that will have meaning in 1 or 2 years

    ReplyDelete

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