Week 2...what is sleep?
So we've all endured 2 weeks of student teaching (YAY!), even though it was a fun and rewarding first two weeks I can't WAIT for the weekend to get here!!! I always knew that this would be a hardworking and tiring profession to go into, but I never thought I could ever be this tired...
This week was one word...hectic. From getting out of school early on Monday to having no school on Tuesday trying to catch everything up is a stressful job. This week school was the last things on my students minds, with the inclement weather, no school, and a three day weekend coming up, it was definitely a struggle to get them to focus during class. On another note, I would rate my overall experience this week a 5 (great week). I rate my week this because this was the first week I actually got to take over a class! A stream of emotions came over me right before it was my turn to teach, but once I got up there my students made me feel so comfortable and suddenly all the nervousness wore off which was a pleasant surprise.
A lesson that I learned this week from my experience is to not put a time limit on learning. I thought my students would be able to pick up on the lesson more easily and quickly, but I soon realized I was wrong. One of my lessons from this past week is taking up 2 full days when I had it planned to only be a one day lesson, but as I reflected on this lesson (Standard 5) I realized that it was a learning process. So from now on I have to tell myself that I can't put a time limit on my students learning because each student learns differently. This week I was able to accomplish my short term goal and had all my lesson plans finished by Wednesday to show my CE, so far I am also accomplishing my long term goal of being more proactive and as long as I accomplish my short-term goal every week, I will also be able to accomplish my long term goal. My steps to take for next week is to 1) Get all my materials ready, and 2) keep looking over each lesson plan...by doing this I will become more and more familiar and confident in the content that I am teaching (Standard 3).
For Standard 1, I demonstrated leadership in the school by collaborating with fellow teachers during our PLC meeting. I was able to meet with people from the County Office and hear their ideas on topics that we are teaching, but I was also able to give my feedback on materials and activities that worked and didn't work within my classroom. For Standard 2, to establish a respectful environment I still like to talk to students in a respectful way and let them know that I am here to help them. I like for each student to walk into my classroom and feel safe and welcomed. For Standard 3, I aligned each of my lesson this week with the NCSCOS, I also looked over the lesson and studied it to make certain I absolutely knew the content I was teaching. For Standard 4, as I was writing my lesson plans I tried to think of fun interactive activities that would get the students engaged and excited to learn, but still pushed them to exceed their expectations. Lastly, for Standard 5, after each lesson I taught this week I was able to sit down with my CE during our planning period and reflect on the lesson that I taught that day and go over how I can improve for the next lesson.
For my portfolio I have started working on my resume and talking to my CE about a behavioral plan for a couple of our students and developed an idea that will best benefit them. So far my CE does not need any support but is she ever does I will let my clinical supervisor know ASAP.
I hope every has a restful weekend and a great 3rd week of student teaching!! :)
This week was one word...hectic. From getting out of school early on Monday to having no school on Tuesday trying to catch everything up is a stressful job. This week school was the last things on my students minds, with the inclement weather, no school, and a three day weekend coming up, it was definitely a struggle to get them to focus during class. On another note, I would rate my overall experience this week a 5 (great week). I rate my week this because this was the first week I actually got to take over a class! A stream of emotions came over me right before it was my turn to teach, but once I got up there my students made me feel so comfortable and suddenly all the nervousness wore off which was a pleasant surprise.
A lesson that I learned this week from my experience is to not put a time limit on learning. I thought my students would be able to pick up on the lesson more easily and quickly, but I soon realized I was wrong. One of my lessons from this past week is taking up 2 full days when I had it planned to only be a one day lesson, but as I reflected on this lesson (Standard 5) I realized that it was a learning process. So from now on I have to tell myself that I can't put a time limit on my students learning because each student learns differently. This week I was able to accomplish my short term goal and had all my lesson plans finished by Wednesday to show my CE, so far I am also accomplishing my long term goal of being more proactive and as long as I accomplish my short-term goal every week, I will also be able to accomplish my long term goal. My steps to take for next week is to 1) Get all my materials ready, and 2) keep looking over each lesson plan...by doing this I will become more and more familiar and confident in the content that I am teaching (Standard 3).
For Standard 1, I demonstrated leadership in the school by collaborating with fellow teachers during our PLC meeting. I was able to meet with people from the County Office and hear their ideas on topics that we are teaching, but I was also able to give my feedback on materials and activities that worked and didn't work within my classroom. For Standard 2, to establish a respectful environment I still like to talk to students in a respectful way and let them know that I am here to help them. I like for each student to walk into my classroom and feel safe and welcomed. For Standard 3, I aligned each of my lesson this week with the NCSCOS, I also looked over the lesson and studied it to make certain I absolutely knew the content I was teaching. For Standard 4, as I was writing my lesson plans I tried to think of fun interactive activities that would get the students engaged and excited to learn, but still pushed them to exceed their expectations. Lastly, for Standard 5, after each lesson I taught this week I was able to sit down with my CE during our planning period and reflect on the lesson that I taught that day and go over how I can improve for the next lesson.
For my portfolio I have started working on my resume and talking to my CE about a behavioral plan for a couple of our students and developed an idea that will best benefit them. So far my CE does not need any support but is she ever does I will let my clinical supervisor know ASAP.
I hope every has a restful weekend and a great 3rd week of student teaching!! :)
Hey Alanna! I'm so happy to hear it's going well at your Student Teaching placement! You are absolutely right about 1) being incredibly exhausted and 2) having a hectic week. It felt like there was no chance of 'reigning back in' the children on Wednesday, because they kept expecting to be sent home early. I told so many students that day that it wasn't going to snow because it's 60 degrees outside, haha.
ReplyDeleteI have also learned very quickly that quickly moving on to the next topic is not realistic. Things move so much slower than I expected, and I never realized how hard it is for some students to grasp information. That's why differentiation is crucial to the learning process. It's great you were able to meet your short-term goal of finishing lesson plans early. I, however, was not. But I'm learning more about pacing and not procrastinating.
I really miss seeing you and everyone else in class. It's so weird moving into this phase of life, but I'm happy for you and all of the other student teachers! You're going to be such a great Math teacher! Have a great weekend :)
Alanna,
ReplyDeleteAlthough last week was hectic, I know you were able to see how to take things in stride and make the best of it. I think you have learned a great lesson about trying to mot make learning fit into your schedule. Yes! It is the students' (learning) schedule that really matters. Now that you have have seen how your students respond to your instruction (especially with regards to time), how will you adjust your instruction moving forward?
I am proud of you for maintaining your goal to get lesson plans in on time! I appreciate it! I look forward to seeing your portfolio work at the seminar next week.
Here's to a great week three! - JP
Alanna,
ReplyDeleteThis was my first week in the classroom and I was already exhausted! I too am beginning to realize how tiring of a job teaching is, but it is so worth it! I can relate to the hectic schedule this week and know that it is hard to teach a group of students who have trouble focusing with all of the off-days. I experienced falling behind in the schedule because of the off-days as well and I had to adjust my lesson plans to stay on schedule. I am so glad you have realized how valuable it is to teach based on the students' schedule. There truly is not a time limit on learning, and I am glad you were able to pick up on the fact that your students were not understanding the new concept. That is why formative assessments are so important!
I am glad you had a pretty good week and I hope you have a great week next week. See you next Saturday at our first student teaching seminar!
Alanna, teaching is absolutely exhausting!! That is so exciting though that you got to take over a class this week! I'm sure that it was a great experience and I bet it really prepared you for when you take over all of the classes because that is coming soon! Hopefully next week is not so hectic for all of our students. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteAlanna, this past two weeks have been exhausting, getting back into the swing has kept me constantly tired. So glad you had the opportunity to start taking over classes. Even though it seems overwhelming its always so rewarding as you begin teaching. Learning to not put a cap on learning is difficult because we are so schedule oriented but putting your students learning first is what matters! Best of luck this week!
ReplyDeleteAlanna,
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right about being exhausted. This weekend was full of much needed rest after such a crazy week. It's so exciting that you got to take over a class this week! It sounds like it went great and you learned some valuable things for when you take over full time. You are right about time limits. I think especially in math we can never expect our students to quickly grasp everything and move on. We have to adapt to them and their timing, not expect them to adapt to us and our timing. However, there are of course deadlines and EOGs to worry about. Thats where its up to us to use our best judgment when it comes time to moving on to the next topic.
I hope you have a great week!