It's been a while since I wrote here, and since it's late and I do want to sleep, I'll make this brief.
I've definitely had a turning point (well, ANOTHER turning point) and a huge improvement in the way I'm fitting in at my school and with my class. I feel like I've got a feel (however tenuous) for all the major aspects of the daily curriculum. There are definitely some minor things to keep on working on, but I feel like I've had success in all three of the major areas and I'm slowly coming around in the afternoon.
I've had lots of good ideas, and tried to start some habits, but with so much going on, it's tough for me to keep things going. I was having my class do a lot of self evaluation, but it has definitely fallen by the wayside. I need to get back on to that. They need to be able to think about the quality of the work they've done. Constantly.
I've had some issues with behaviour lately, though I know exactly what's going on. And it all falls squarely on me. If the work makes sense and they are started off well by me, then things go well. If I get lazy and forget to remind them about how to do something (like lining up) they don't do it properly. It's beyond frustrating (I've never worked with children who can be so good one day and so rude and off task the next - or, really, 20 minutes later) to know that they need to constantly be reminded. I guess I'm still struggling with trying to get them to level D behaviour (where they don't need to be told), but to be honest, is anyone ever really on level D? Does it exist? I had a conversation with one of my students a few weeks ago. It was quite instructive. He had been giving me troubles previously but was lining up perfectly. I said to the class that he was lining up perfectly and that it was level C because he was told to do so. His reply was: "I just don't want to have to practice." He was honest with him and really, what more can you ask from from children, but it still stings a bit that these kids wouldn't do the right thing without a negative consequence for not doing it. Something to have to work on I guess, and probably just accept the reality for what it is. Perhaps discussing that with the children and reasons behind rules might be a good idea.
It's bed time now and with my newfound attempts at having some sort of balance (or at minimum, enough sleep) I'm off. Hopefully it won't be so long until my next entry.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Sunday, September 2, 2012
A Trio of Observations
Last Wednesday (yes, it's been a while, a lot has happened in the past week!) I was able to get around to observe three classrooms for various different subjects. It was interesting not only to see the things going on in each classroom, but how two teachers did very similar things (and a thing which I've done in the past but not so much in recent times) which really gets the children engaged.
Year 0 Writing Lesson
The biggest thing I noticed in this classroom was how the time was managed and how the children were engaged. There was never really any lulls in this classroom. If something wasn't happening properly it was dealt with extremely swiftly and the lesson continued. Even though the children were on the mat for a really long time, not once did they really seem to lose focus (they were as focused at 30 minutes as they were at 3). They were constantly being engaged and asked to participate. So much was done in that 30 minutes that there was no time for the children to lose focus: a morning message (including the weather), phonics, and a writing lesson (and you can probably include the roll in that as well).
There were heaps upon heaps of positive praise being given out in class, and most of the time it was directed at specific behaviours (I love the way you're sitting up, That's a really interesting word). It was very clear that the children in the class have been trained up to this.
The writing was well structured and modelled on the board. When teaching the strategy of sounding out, the teacher kept within her students' abilities by writing the words as they might, and not as we would. I really liked that strategy as it kept a lot of confusion off of the table for children of that age. I'm not sure I'd do the same, but it was definitely appropriate in that case.
Giving out the books, each child got their book one at a time, to avoid the decongestion of everyone going up and getting their things. I know it can seem like a big waste of time to do things that way, but it actually does make things go smoothly. It's something worth trying with my class (which has had some problems lately with lining up quietly and sensibly (and getting to their seats in the same manner). When the children were writing two thirds of the class had either a teacher or a TA at their table to help them and guide them if needed. If you count me, they all had an adult. Most of the children were able to complete their writing in the time given and knew what to do when they were finished.
It was interesting to see how smoothly the class moved with so much to fit in. I guess that's the biggest thing I took out of it. It was also a good reminder to keep pouring on the positive praise.
Year 3/4 Math Lesson
I got to see a lot of interesting things in this session. The first I barely noticed, because the teacher did such a good job of handling it. A boy was playing up and causing all sorts of trouble with the teacher. He calmly dealt with the problem as it escalated, making sure that it did not disrupt the flow of the class. I saw it, but I'm not completely sure how he did it. It's something definitely to aspire to.
I've already tried a few of the strategies I saw in this class in mine. The first is that he went over the IWB activity with the class as a warmup. Not only did it give everyone a learning experience, it removed the need to have to explain the activity to one of the groups. Another thing he had the children at the IWB do was to sit on chairs, in a row, facing the board. I've tried both those strategies and it did help alleviate some of the silliness that goes on during my guided group lessons.
The teacher also had a small group going on and did some pretty interesting things. The children didn't know what to with a problem, so he had them film him solve it. He verbalised his thought process along the way and the children were able to watch the video again to see what happened. This was an incredible tool that could be used for posting on blogs, etc. so children can review their work at home. I spoke briefly with the teacher afterwards and he also told me it was possible to film the IWB screen and record sound so that a demonstration could be played back on that for students. Wonderful!
This is where I need to mention the thing I saw both of these first two teachers doing: making mistakes on purpose. I used to do this a lot (it helps cover up for the times when you actually do make a mistake) and haven't been doing it lately. It really worked for both of them (and I've had it work for me as well) by getting the children involved (who doesn't love proving their teacher wrong?) and making them feel pretty smart in the process. I tried it the next day and it did get the children's attention. I will need to make an effort to continue using that strategy.
Y5/6 Discovery Lesson
Due to the strange schedule of the day, I didn't have much time after the math lesson to see many discovery lessons going on, but I did have time to visit one classroom and speak with the teacher about it. That short discussion proved valuable in helping me figure out just exactly what discovery time is. I honestly had very little idea beforehand. Basically I need to pick a habit of mind and design 5-6 activities around that habit. They can (and should) be creative so that children get to experience things they wouldn't normally do in school. I really like the idea and have been able to come up with a few ideas that (I think) are different but still relevant to what we've been learning about. Not much else to really say on this one, except that it is mostly sorted at the moment. I'm looking forward to actually having a proper discovery time this coming week.
Year 0 Writing Lesson
The biggest thing I noticed in this classroom was how the time was managed and how the children were engaged. There was never really any lulls in this classroom. If something wasn't happening properly it was dealt with extremely swiftly and the lesson continued. Even though the children were on the mat for a really long time, not once did they really seem to lose focus (they were as focused at 30 minutes as they were at 3). They were constantly being engaged and asked to participate. So much was done in that 30 minutes that there was no time for the children to lose focus: a morning message (including the weather), phonics, and a writing lesson (and you can probably include the roll in that as well).
There were heaps upon heaps of positive praise being given out in class, and most of the time it was directed at specific behaviours (I love the way you're sitting up, That's a really interesting word). It was very clear that the children in the class have been trained up to this.
The writing was well structured and modelled on the board. When teaching the strategy of sounding out, the teacher kept within her students' abilities by writing the words as they might, and not as we would. I really liked that strategy as it kept a lot of confusion off of the table for children of that age. I'm not sure I'd do the same, but it was definitely appropriate in that case.
Giving out the books, each child got their book one at a time, to avoid the decongestion of everyone going up and getting their things. I know it can seem like a big waste of time to do things that way, but it actually does make things go smoothly. It's something worth trying with my class (which has had some problems lately with lining up quietly and sensibly (and getting to their seats in the same manner). When the children were writing two thirds of the class had either a teacher or a TA at their table to help them and guide them if needed. If you count me, they all had an adult. Most of the children were able to complete their writing in the time given and knew what to do when they were finished.
It was interesting to see how smoothly the class moved with so much to fit in. I guess that's the biggest thing I took out of it. It was also a good reminder to keep pouring on the positive praise.
Year 3/4 Math Lesson
I got to see a lot of interesting things in this session. The first I barely noticed, because the teacher did such a good job of handling it. A boy was playing up and causing all sorts of trouble with the teacher. He calmly dealt with the problem as it escalated, making sure that it did not disrupt the flow of the class. I saw it, but I'm not completely sure how he did it. It's something definitely to aspire to.
I've already tried a few of the strategies I saw in this class in mine. The first is that he went over the IWB activity with the class as a warmup. Not only did it give everyone a learning experience, it removed the need to have to explain the activity to one of the groups. Another thing he had the children at the IWB do was to sit on chairs, in a row, facing the board. I've tried both those strategies and it did help alleviate some of the silliness that goes on during my guided group lessons.
The teacher also had a small group going on and did some pretty interesting things. The children didn't know what to with a problem, so he had them film him solve it. He verbalised his thought process along the way and the children were able to watch the video again to see what happened. This was an incredible tool that could be used for posting on blogs, etc. so children can review their work at home. I spoke briefly with the teacher afterwards and he also told me it was possible to film the IWB screen and record sound so that a demonstration could be played back on that for students. Wonderful!
This is where I need to mention the thing I saw both of these first two teachers doing: making mistakes on purpose. I used to do this a lot (it helps cover up for the times when you actually do make a mistake) and haven't been doing it lately. It really worked for both of them (and I've had it work for me as well) by getting the children involved (who doesn't love proving their teacher wrong?) and making them feel pretty smart in the process. I tried it the next day and it did get the children's attention. I will need to make an effort to continue using that strategy.
Y5/6 Discovery Lesson
Due to the strange schedule of the day, I didn't have much time after the math lesson to see many discovery lessons going on, but I did have time to visit one classroom and speak with the teacher about it. That short discussion proved valuable in helping me figure out just exactly what discovery time is. I honestly had very little idea beforehand. Basically I need to pick a habit of mind and design 5-6 activities around that habit. They can (and should) be creative so that children get to experience things they wouldn't normally do in school. I really like the idea and have been able to come up with a few ideas that (I think) are different but still relevant to what we've been learning about. Not much else to really say on this one, except that it is mostly sorted at the moment. I'm looking forward to actually having a proper discovery time this coming week.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Lots of Little Modifications
It feels like every day I'm trying to make little adjustments to make everything go a lot smoother. This is who I am and it is a huge strength for me in anything I do. It can be a bit crazy though, and I'm always rushing off to try and fix a little thing, while missing the big picture. That being said, I've made at least two changes in the last few days that seem to be paying off and I've set a few others in motion.
1) I was getting super frustrated with the end-of-day procedures. The students weren't all doing what they were supposed to be doing and it ended up turning into a case of a few students working really hard to tidy up while others just walked around, talked and did nothing useful. I had a talk with my flatmate (source of seemingly unlimited wisdom) and she suggested I put on a song for cleanup. Surprisingly I had seen this before in action and had been quite impressed with it at the time (forgetting things like this is also part of who I am, and definitely not a strength), so I definitely was willing to give it a go after a particularly trying end of day mid-week. We did it on Thursday and Friday and the students were much more enthusiastic (it was a song they learned as a school to sing) and the jobs got done and there was little or no stress on my part. I'll need to get a proper CD or CD player and keep this going.
2) During an afterschool chat with a colleague, I was asked how I was using my success-o-meter. That was something that I occasionally referred to in the first couple of weeks of school, but have been trying to encorporate it into my teaching a bit more. Last week for the flipcharts I had used the pictures and labels to talk about our work and to help the children make value-judgements on work. I had also cut out their names and had them beside the success-o-meter when he came in, not really thinking exactly how I would use it. He asked me if I used it after every lesson. That had not been my intention, but a good idea is a good idea. I've used several ways of self-evaluation, so I gave this one a try when we wrote similes on Friday. The children were pretty good with them and it was integrated into the lesson since I did give examples and reinforce what level each type of simile would go on. Some students put themselves on the top level when they should have been on the second, but still, they were pretty bang on with their self assessments. It's definitely something worth getting into the habit of.
3) I'm also trying to get children into the habit of bringing and changing their bookbags every day. I've made up a laminated sheet to keep track of which days in a week they bring them in and I'm offering housepoints for bringing them in. Hopefully that adds a bit of incentive, though I guess I can't force them to read at home.
4) One thing I've done once but not again (and it was successful) was build sentence (thank you Read, Write, Inc.). It is just super hard to find the time to fit it all in. I've got to find a slot for that during the day. Perhaps I could do that one afternoon between Reading to the Students and Project (Tuesday or Friday would be good, I think). It's hugely helpful in building their vocabulary, memory and their ability to write interesting sentences.
I'm sure I've forgotten a few things, but there's no way I could write about every little change I'm trying to make just to make things go a bit more smoothly. It's all about the process and not so much the details at this point.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Karen Boyes Sample Lesson Observation (and Staff Meetings)
Yesterday I had the privilege of watching Karen Boyes, a Habits of Mind guru, teach a class at our school. I also had two staff meetings run by her, devoted to teaching the habits of mind.
It was an interesting experience to see a lot of new strategies at work. A few things I saw from her that I'd really like to use (coming from both the staff meetings and the observations):
1) Saying thank you instead of good, great, fantastic, etc. This I'm still a bit torn on (it's one of those things you don't want to be true, after all those years of people telling you to heap on the praise to children) but I completely agree with the theory behind it so I think it's definitely worthwhile to have a go at it. I still will find a way to use a variety of praise (I think behaviour is one area, though I do like the "thank you for doing the right thing" that I use quite a bit).
2) Lots of talk time, giving children the chance to be prepared to answer so that speaking is less of a risk. I've actually made some adjustments over the years so that participating is less of a risk and children are prepared, but she did give some good suggestions as to how to bring that aspect to a whole new level. She was very insistent on getting the children "knee to knee." I've already tried this, and though they did at first confuse it with "elbow to elbow, knee to knee," I did find that it has worked fairly well. I've also increased the amount of time I've having them talk to their partners. Not only does that get them more confident with speaking, but it also forces them to participate. I also use popsicle sticks so that all the children know they could be called upon for any question so they need to have some sort of an answer (usually after talking to partner so they're not put on the spot).
3) It's a small thing, but I really liked her use of "Hold your words in, put your hand up." I liked how she showed us a picture of this with a younger student, but I wasn't sure it would work with my class. I talked to them about it and when I saw one student doing it, I commented on it and picked her to speak. Funnily enough, the about 5 or 6 of them were doing it the next time I asked. Though, the student who did it first, didn't really need to do it (she waits her turn all the time normally) but maybe it will catch on.
4) Her description of the Line of Life with Blame, Excuse and Deny below and Ownership, Accountable, Responsible on top was something I immediately started using today. I actually saw many children who were doing the things below the line. In fact, I had a wonderful inadvertent example of excuse, when I was asking the children to explain what it meant. One child gave his answer and it must have been the same answer another boy wanted to give so the other boy put his hand down and said "d@33it" (imagine the two 3s are 2 ms). So I said "excuse me, do you think that language is appropriate at school?" and he said "But I didn't know." Absolutely brilliant. I of course pointed out the irony of the whole situation to him by saying that was making an excuse. He was tearful for a bit, but within a few minutes he was back. The children really did seem to understand that and now I have a diagram to put in the classroom to remind me and them. It should also help me remember to refer to it in those situations.
5) In her lesson, it was interesting also, to see what she did when things didn't go as planned. She tried an activity with the children that they obviously didn't get. Instead of getting frustrated or ending the lesson then and there, she kept going. First she let the kids keep trying and offered small reminders of what was needed. When it was clear there were some problems, she stopped the whole class and asked them a question to focus their thinking. Eventually they were able to be successful. No voices needed to be raised
6) Over the last week with Karen and with our certification, I've learned a great deal about the Habits of Mind and have tried to incorporate them more into my teaching. I'd never heard of them before coming to Rowandale, but they are things I've done throughout my life and I definitely see them as the habits that have made me successful. So helping children learn these habits is obviously a good idea. Karen was able to give me a lot of good ideas as to how to start embedding these into the children's lives. I hope I'm up to the task (if not, I'll persist).
It was an interesting experience to see a lot of new strategies at work. A few things I saw from her that I'd really like to use (coming from both the staff meetings and the observations):
1) Saying thank you instead of good, great, fantastic, etc. This I'm still a bit torn on (it's one of those things you don't want to be true, after all those years of people telling you to heap on the praise to children) but I completely agree with the theory behind it so I think it's definitely worthwhile to have a go at it. I still will find a way to use a variety of praise (I think behaviour is one area, though I do like the "thank you for doing the right thing" that I use quite a bit).
2) Lots of talk time, giving children the chance to be prepared to answer so that speaking is less of a risk. I've actually made some adjustments over the years so that participating is less of a risk and children are prepared, but she did give some good suggestions as to how to bring that aspect to a whole new level. She was very insistent on getting the children "knee to knee." I've already tried this, and though they did at first confuse it with "elbow to elbow, knee to knee," I did find that it has worked fairly well. I've also increased the amount of time I've having them talk to their partners. Not only does that get them more confident with speaking, but it also forces them to participate. I also use popsicle sticks so that all the children know they could be called upon for any question so they need to have some sort of an answer (usually after talking to partner so they're not put on the spot).
3) It's a small thing, but I really liked her use of "Hold your words in, put your hand up." I liked how she showed us a picture of this with a younger student, but I wasn't sure it would work with my class. I talked to them about it and when I saw one student doing it, I commented on it and picked her to speak. Funnily enough, the about 5 or 6 of them were doing it the next time I asked. Though, the student who did it first, didn't really need to do it (she waits her turn all the time normally) but maybe it will catch on.
4) Her description of the Line of Life with Blame, Excuse and Deny below and Ownership, Accountable, Responsible on top was something I immediately started using today. I actually saw many children who were doing the things below the line. In fact, I had a wonderful inadvertent example of excuse, when I was asking the children to explain what it meant. One child gave his answer and it must have been the same answer another boy wanted to give so the other boy put his hand down and said "d@33it" (imagine the two 3s are 2 ms). So I said "excuse me, do you think that language is appropriate at school?" and he said "But I didn't know." Absolutely brilliant. I of course pointed out the irony of the whole situation to him by saying that was making an excuse. He was tearful for a bit, but within a few minutes he was back. The children really did seem to understand that and now I have a diagram to put in the classroom to remind me and them. It should also help me remember to refer to it in those situations.
5) In her lesson, it was interesting also, to see what she did when things didn't go as planned. She tried an activity with the children that they obviously didn't get. Instead of getting frustrated or ending the lesson then and there, she kept going. First she let the kids keep trying and offered small reminders of what was needed. When it was clear there were some problems, she stopped the whole class and asked them a question to focus their thinking. Eventually they were able to be successful. No voices needed to be raised
6) Over the last week with Karen and with our certification, I've learned a great deal about the Habits of Mind and have tried to incorporate them more into my teaching. I'd never heard of them before coming to Rowandale, but they are things I've done throughout my life and I definitely see them as the habits that have made me successful. So helping children learn these habits is obviously a good idea. Karen was able to give me a lot of good ideas as to how to start embedding these into the children's lives. I hope I'm up to the task (if not, I'll persist).
Monday, August 13, 2012
Assessments and Other Recent Things
I've probably mentioned on here my recent foray into reading testing. That has been going well, if not slowly. I've been pleasantly surprised by several students who read extremely well and answered most, if not all, of the comprehension questions right (and thus get to move up a level). Other students have me at a bit of a loss. They are definitely struggling with the reading - it's super slow, and they're making a lot of mistakes - and it's tough to know whether to keep them where they are or move them down. I feel a bit bad moving children down as they have been given a big confidence boost by being moved up. I have a feeling this will be a constant inner battle for my whole career though, so I'm not going to let myself lose too much sleep over it for the time being. I've also had some students read really well but have no clue what they just read. So I'll be trying to sort that all out in the next little bit.
I've also had a second go at marking writing. I think I definitely changed my approach this time (it helped to come home on a Friday evening and have so much energy that I was able to read through a good two thirds of them) and the experience of having done this already for these children made it easier. I found that several children had actually gone and done what I'd been teaching them (fancy that) and they really made an effort to work on the things I identified as their targets. I was able to move a few of them up a level (though that might not completely compensate for the few I moved down levels last time - yes, I know what I wrote above, but writing is not the same as reading) which was nice, but others actually wrote a bit worse than their first one and completely ignored both what I was teaching and their targets. Is this a normal thing to only get a bit of success. I guess the question is now, how do I get to those other children who weren't listening, or to put it a better way, using their habits of mind (specifically: make it right, prior knowledge and taking responsible risks). There has been some success, so I'll start with what I've got and build on it. I'm not going down without a fight (metaphorically of course!).
I feel like I've turned a corner with my class in recent days as well. There is a greater closeness I have with many of them and they're starting to figure out my rhythms and idiosyncrasies. We've bonded on some level which has been nice. Yes, they can still take an foot when I give them an inch (and this from a Canadian), but they are responding much better to things and even today I saw some amazing focus and effort from some students who had previously not tried so hard. Even in things like the basic facts practice (test) I've noticed some phenomenal improvement from most of the class. I've not had to send any sheets home (yet, but I will) yet they are taking huge strides every time we do it.
Planning is still a bit of a time killer and I'm having a bit of difficulty getting it done before the weekend. In fact, I'd say it's near impossible at this point. I want all of my lessons - at least on paper at this point - to be great lessons. I'm definitely picking up lots of helpful hints lately, though it does have the effect of making me feel a bit (only a bit, I'm not nearly as stressed as I was two or three weeks ago) overwhelmed with how to structure things. But the key, at least I think it's the key, is to try and get some things embedded, not just in my practice, but in the children as well, so they can help keep our (yes, our) classroom running like a well oiled machine (teaching similes this week, it helps to try to use them in my writing). I'd say the quality of my planning is probably the best I've done, though I know it will get even better over time. I'm able to think very analytically and methodically about things and now that I've had time to do some of my own assessments, I've got a much, much clearer impression as to where the children are, where they need to be and how to get there.
I've also had a second go at marking writing. I think I definitely changed my approach this time (it helped to come home on a Friday evening and have so much energy that I was able to read through a good two thirds of them) and the experience of having done this already for these children made it easier. I found that several children had actually gone and done what I'd been teaching them (fancy that) and they really made an effort to work on the things I identified as their targets. I was able to move a few of them up a level (though that might not completely compensate for the few I moved down levels last time - yes, I know what I wrote above, but writing is not the same as reading) which was nice, but others actually wrote a bit worse than their first one and completely ignored both what I was teaching and their targets. Is this a normal thing to only get a bit of success. I guess the question is now, how do I get to those other children who weren't listening, or to put it a better way, using their habits of mind (specifically: make it right, prior knowledge and taking responsible risks). There has been some success, so I'll start with what I've got and build on it. I'm not going down without a fight (metaphorically of course!).
I feel like I've turned a corner with my class in recent days as well. There is a greater closeness I have with many of them and they're starting to figure out my rhythms and idiosyncrasies. We've bonded on some level which has been nice. Yes, they can still take an foot when I give them an inch (and this from a Canadian), but they are responding much better to things and even today I saw some amazing focus and effort from some students who had previously not tried so hard. Even in things like the basic facts practice (test) I've noticed some phenomenal improvement from most of the class. I've not had to send any sheets home (yet, but I will) yet they are taking huge strides every time we do it.
Planning is still a bit of a time killer and I'm having a bit of difficulty getting it done before the weekend. In fact, I'd say it's near impossible at this point. I want all of my lessons - at least on paper at this point - to be great lessons. I'm definitely picking up lots of helpful hints lately, though it does have the effect of making me feel a bit (only a bit, I'm not nearly as stressed as I was two or three weeks ago) overwhelmed with how to structure things. But the key, at least I think it's the key, is to try and get some things embedded, not just in my practice, but in the children as well, so they can help keep our (yes, our) classroom running like a well oiled machine (teaching similes this week, it helps to try to use them in my writing). I'd say the quality of my planning is probably the best I've done, though I know it will get even better over time. I'm able to think very analytically and methodically about things and now that I've had time to do some of my own assessments, I've got a much, much clearer impression as to where the children are, where they need to be and how to get there.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Feedback Galore
I really could break this up into two different posts, but seeing as this is my third in a row, I'd like to leave it at this.
After not getting much feedback the first few weeks (other than the planning, which I need to work on after this) I got two pretty big - and positive - bits today.
The first came from a walkthrough done by not one but two members of the management team. I was a tad nervous when they first walked in, but the class was under control and there was nothing I had to worry about at the time (glad they didn't come in for math today!). It did go well and the feedback was really good (both told me so in person, so that was nice). I do feel they picked out the good things I've been trying to do, so that's a big plus. There are things I haven't gotten around to and those were not really brought up. That did put me at ease quite a bit because that is my biggest worry - missing things I'm supposed to have, even though I have pretty much been going non-stop since the second week of the holidays.
The second bit was a bit unexpected. We had a team meeting where we looked at writing flipcharts. I had seen some really good ones and was reluctant to go up and share, but I took a responsible risk and just did it. I was actually quite surprised at the good feedback I got from all around the table. It did make me feel a bit validated and a lot less worried about the quality of my preparations and teaching. Now the biggest trick is to find ways to do the same things in less time so that I can be fully rested every day of the week.
After not getting much feedback the first few weeks (other than the planning, which I need to work on after this) I got two pretty big - and positive - bits today.
The first came from a walkthrough done by not one but two members of the management team. I was a tad nervous when they first walked in, but the class was under control and there was nothing I had to worry about at the time (glad they didn't come in for math today!). It did go well and the feedback was really good (both told me so in person, so that was nice). I do feel they picked out the good things I've been trying to do, so that's a big plus. There are things I haven't gotten around to and those were not really brought up. That did put me at ease quite a bit because that is my biggest worry - missing things I'm supposed to have, even though I have pretty much been going non-stop since the second week of the holidays.
The second bit was a bit unexpected. We had a team meeting where we looked at writing flipcharts. I had seen some really good ones and was reluctant to go up and share, but I took a responsible risk and just did it. I was actually quite surprised at the good feedback I got from all around the table. It did make me feel a bit validated and a lot less worried about the quality of my preparations and teaching. Now the biggest trick is to find ways to do the same things in less time so that I can be fully rested every day of the week.
Running Record Demo and Practice Run
Yesterday I was given a demonstration of how to do a running record. It was informative, but a bit overwhelming. I'm not quite yet confident with what comments to write, and how to use the information, but I'm more confident with some things. At least I know where to get the books and the records - that's a start right?
I did attempt two today, at the end of the day. Not an ideal situation. Nor was it wise to take two of my lower students. They both struggled a bit and were almost at 90% accuracy - which means they weren't on the right level. Both of them will likely have to go down a level now, but I've got to get clarification as to a) is that a good idea and b) if I need to test them at that lower level.
Still a bit of a mystery to me at the moment, but I'm slowly wrapping my head around the concept. I figure if I get through this round of testing, I'll have a better idea of what to expect (from the students) next time, rather than trying to make judgements on the total of 3 running records I've seen done or done myself.
I did attempt two today, at the end of the day. Not an ideal situation. Nor was it wise to take two of my lower students. They both struggled a bit and were almost at 90% accuracy - which means they weren't on the right level. Both of them will likely have to go down a level now, but I've got to get clarification as to a) is that a good idea and b) if I need to test them at that lower level.
Still a bit of a mystery to me at the moment, but I'm slowly wrapping my head around the concept. I figure if I get through this round of testing, I'll have a better idea of what to expect (from the students) next time, rather than trying to make judgements on the total of 3 running records I've seen done or done myself.
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