This article is a must read for all teachers (veterans and rookies). - Tara
Article: Granted, and… ~ A veteran teacher turned coach shadows 2 students for 2 days – a sobering lesson learned
This story is about a veteran high school teacher that transitioned from being a teacher to being a coach for other teachers. Once she took on this new role, the principal asked her to shadow a couple of students for an entire day. That experience would forever change that teacher's outlook on education. After completing the assignment she reflected a lot about her own practices and very honestly wished she could go back a change a lot about her lessons. I think as an educator being reflective is one of the most important aspects of being a life-long learner. One aspect of this article that stuck out to me was how much teachers ask students to stop talking (I am definitely guilty of doing this myself). My understanding was that collaboration and communication one of the important skills that is required for any job and to really be successful in life. Why are students not given more opportunities to communicate with their peers? I try to give my students opportunities to work together, to collaborate and problem-solve in groups. After reading this article I think I should be giving my students more opportunities to communicate with their peers. I also need to work on checking more students for their ideas/understandings and implement different strategies to get more students to contribute to the discussions. I do believe that this can and will help to increase all students understandings in my class.
Another main aspect of this story talked about how much of the day for every student is spent sitting down and listening to the teacher talk (or lecture). The teacher wished she would have implemented a timer and once that timer goes off, stop talking and give the students time to process/explore/work on the information that was just given prior. She also wished she would have had daily activities where students can get up and move around, use their hands. I believe again, this is another important aspect in any class, especially in a science classroom. With that said, when given opportunities to move about the classroom students need clear and concise expectations, so that time is not "wasted" on side conversations that have little to no meaning within the task. Setting these expectations falls directly on the teacher and I am definitely working on communicating clear expectations through the lesson, at every transition point. At my current site, I have learned a lot from my co-teacher and other teachers that I have observed. They do give students many opportunities to communicate and move about the classroom which the students love. As I plan my lessons, I will continue to offer students mental breaks and time to learn kinetically. For me this article really opened my eyes to pay attention more to what I am saying and expecting of my students because at the end of the day, they all want to feel important and valued in my classroom and I hope that I am creating a classroom where every student feels that way.
Article: Granted, and… ~ A veteran teacher turned coach shadows 2 students for 2 days – a sobering lesson learned
This story is about a veteran high school teacher that transitioned from being a teacher to being a coach for other teachers. Once she took on this new role, the principal asked her to shadow a couple of students for an entire day. That experience would forever change that teacher's outlook on education. After completing the assignment she reflected a lot about her own practices and very honestly wished she could go back a change a lot about her lessons. I think as an educator being reflective is one of the most important aspects of being a life-long learner. One aspect of this article that stuck out to me was how much teachers ask students to stop talking (I am definitely guilty of doing this myself). My understanding was that collaboration and communication one of the important skills that is required for any job and to really be successful in life. Why are students not given more opportunities to communicate with their peers? I try to give my students opportunities to work together, to collaborate and problem-solve in groups. After reading this article I think I should be giving my students more opportunities to communicate with their peers. I also need to work on checking more students for their ideas/understandings and implement different strategies to get more students to contribute to the discussions. I do believe that this can and will help to increase all students understandings in my class.
Another main aspect of this story talked about how much of the day for every student is spent sitting down and listening to the teacher talk (or lecture). The teacher wished she would have implemented a timer and once that timer goes off, stop talking and give the students time to process/explore/work on the information that was just given prior. She also wished she would have had daily activities where students can get up and move around, use their hands. I believe again, this is another important aspect in any class, especially in a science classroom. With that said, when given opportunities to move about the classroom students need clear and concise expectations, so that time is not "wasted" on side conversations that have little to no meaning within the task. Setting these expectations falls directly on the teacher and I am definitely working on communicating clear expectations through the lesson, at every transition point. At my current site, I have learned a lot from my co-teacher and other teachers that I have observed. They do give students many opportunities to communicate and move about the classroom which the students love. As I plan my lessons, I will continue to offer students mental breaks and time to learn kinetically. For me this article really opened my eyes to pay attention more to what I am saying and expecting of my students because at the end of the day, they all want to feel important and valued in my classroom and I hope that I am creating a classroom where every student feels that way.