Reflection
What went well
The biggest improvement in my teaching abilities this semester was becoming a super detailed organizer. Challenging would be an understatement for the class schedule that I faced this quarter. There were three sections of every grade for a total of eighteen different classes. But to make things interesting one section of each grade went to art twice a week while the others only went to art once. These doubled classes were moving at twice the speed of the rest of the school and in no time were on to a totally new lesson from everyone else. My cooperating teacher Jennifer was a master at organizing everything and she taught me how to create a detailed calendar that listed every activity done in every class for each day. The days and classes were even color-coded. I quickly learned that this extreme attention to detail was necessary in order to stay on top of such a complicated schedule.
As well as being extremely organized I learned the importance of being very prepared. It came as a bit of a surprise when one class would walk in right as one was walking out- there was absolutely no down time in between. I quickly learned to prepare all the materials for each class in the morning in order to always be ready for the next class. During the beginning of the quarter I was struggling with writing instructions on the board for each class. As I was erasing what had been written for fifth grade, a new class would be coming in as I was frantically trying to write instructions for the third grade. To the students I’m sure I looked unprepared. This led me to a great discovery which was to simply write all of the instructions for each class on large white poster paper the night before; as one class would leave I would take one down and hang the next one up with magnets on the board.
Both organization and preparation allowed me to become a strong time manager. In a fifty-minute classroom, thirty seconds is exactly one percent of the entire class period. Strange to think that you only get one hundred thirty second intervals and then your students are gone. This realization made me value every second with my students and to develop strategies that ensured I was using every second well.
What I learned
The most important thing I learned this quarter is not overloading instruction to students. There is a delicate balance between what you instruct students to do and then give them time to complete it. In the beginning I had a bad habit of telling students five instructions all at once and then feeling frustrated when they could not complete the steps. What I learned is you have to show them step one and then allow them time to finish step one, then show them step two and so on. This was a lesson I was exposed to in middle school but it was really enforced with the younger students. I learned to develop lessons from the perspective of a first grade student and not from the perspective of a senior in college.
Another important lesson learned was the use of routines is absolutely vital to running an effective classroom. Once routines were established such as who would pass out materials or using a wind chime to quiet the class for cleaning instruction the class ran much more smoothly. The students already knew what was expected so I spent less time explaining it to them. This saved time and also helped me gain confidence as their teacher and leader.
What I would change
If I were to do it all over again I would create examples of every stage of each assignment that was given to students. A picture truly is worth a thousand words. Rather than spending time describing what was expected I could have simply showed it to my students. The truth is some students won’t be listening to you as you are talking to the class, no matter how engaging you are. So it should come as no surprise when they give you results that you were not looking for or even thought were possible. I had to laugh as I once found myself saying, “Why did you give your person three heads!?” The reason was because I didn't show him that he wasn't supposed to. As well showing more visuals for assignment requirements I would have provided more visuals with instructions on the board. I would have been more aware of giving instructions that addressed more pathways for learning because at this stage some students are still learning to read. My university supervisor explained it best after my final observation when she said, “Tanner, you are teaching a visual subject, it would be best if you provided more visual examples.”
The biggest improvement in my teaching abilities this semester was becoming a super detailed organizer. Challenging would be an understatement for the class schedule that I faced this quarter. There were three sections of every grade for a total of eighteen different classes. But to make things interesting one section of each grade went to art twice a week while the others only went to art once. These doubled classes were moving at twice the speed of the rest of the school and in no time were on to a totally new lesson from everyone else. My cooperating teacher Jennifer was a master at organizing everything and she taught me how to create a detailed calendar that listed every activity done in every class for each day. The days and classes were even color-coded. I quickly learned that this extreme attention to detail was necessary in order to stay on top of such a complicated schedule.
As well as being extremely organized I learned the importance of being very prepared. It came as a bit of a surprise when one class would walk in right as one was walking out- there was absolutely no down time in between. I quickly learned to prepare all the materials for each class in the morning in order to always be ready for the next class. During the beginning of the quarter I was struggling with writing instructions on the board for each class. As I was erasing what had been written for fifth grade, a new class would be coming in as I was frantically trying to write instructions for the third grade. To the students I’m sure I looked unprepared. This led me to a great discovery which was to simply write all of the instructions for each class on large white poster paper the night before; as one class would leave I would take one down and hang the next one up with magnets on the board.
Both organization and preparation allowed me to become a strong time manager. In a fifty-minute classroom, thirty seconds is exactly one percent of the entire class period. Strange to think that you only get one hundred thirty second intervals and then your students are gone. This realization made me value every second with my students and to develop strategies that ensured I was using every second well.
What I learned
The most important thing I learned this quarter is not overloading instruction to students. There is a delicate balance between what you instruct students to do and then give them time to complete it. In the beginning I had a bad habit of telling students five instructions all at once and then feeling frustrated when they could not complete the steps. What I learned is you have to show them step one and then allow them time to finish step one, then show them step two and so on. This was a lesson I was exposed to in middle school but it was really enforced with the younger students. I learned to develop lessons from the perspective of a first grade student and not from the perspective of a senior in college.
Another important lesson learned was the use of routines is absolutely vital to running an effective classroom. Once routines were established such as who would pass out materials or using a wind chime to quiet the class for cleaning instruction the class ran much more smoothly. The students already knew what was expected so I spent less time explaining it to them. This saved time and also helped me gain confidence as their teacher and leader.
What I would change
If I were to do it all over again I would create examples of every stage of each assignment that was given to students. A picture truly is worth a thousand words. Rather than spending time describing what was expected I could have simply showed it to my students. The truth is some students won’t be listening to you as you are talking to the class, no matter how engaging you are. So it should come as no surprise when they give you results that you were not looking for or even thought were possible. I had to laugh as I once found myself saying, “Why did you give your person three heads!?” The reason was because I didn't show him that he wasn't supposed to. As well showing more visuals for assignment requirements I would have provided more visuals with instructions on the board. I would have been more aware of giving instructions that addressed more pathways for learning because at this stage some students are still learning to read. My university supervisor explained it best after my final observation when she said, “Tanner, you are teaching a visual subject, it would be best if you provided more visual examples.”