End of Semester Teaching Metaphor...Serving as a Lifejacket

After my 488 classroom experience I still see myself serving as a lifejacket while teaching, however, my understanding of this position has changed and grown. The amount of support and assistance I provided my students with kept them afloat during many lessons. At points some students required more assistance and thus relied upon this device more. It was often necessary for me to take someone aside and assess what they were not understanding and how I could offer them extra support.

However, I was not the only person that served as a lifejacket. I quickly learned that my students would serve as lifejackets for one another. Because I could not be in multiple places at the same time it was often necessary for students to lend their support to their classmates or serve as lifejackets to them. Not only did this help me, but it also aided both of them. One gained a greater understanding through taking the time to explain something to another and the other was provided with a new explanation or way of thinking about the piece of information. Thus, I was not the only lifejacket in the classroom.

In addition, I found that the students were not the only people that needed the extra support that a lifejacket may provide. At times I felt like I needed this same lifejacket. During some lessons I looked towards my teaching partner for extra support because I knew I could not do it all on my own. It was also necessary for me to be “saved” by my supervising teacher when learning how to tackle disciple problems throughout the classroom and what the best teaching approaches were. At the beginning of the semester I went into teaching thinking that I would be the one holding everyone afloat, however, I ended the semester with a greater understanding of a lifejacket and the number and range of people it serves. Even as a teacher I am going to need extra support, without this I will not be able to do everything on my own. This support will not only come from my co-workers but also my students. I will be serving my students, but at points they will also need to serve me.

Teaching Response: Lesson Five (March 21, 2007)

The jeopardy game was easily the highlight of our Geometry unit for most of the students. The game was a fun way to review key concepts. I think if we had just presented students with a review sheet they would not have learned or remembered the same amount of information.

In regards to giving the test, I was surprised by a number of things. Considering the class levels I would have expected the first class (lower level) to take longer to complete their work. However, the opposite was true. The class that has stronger math skills took longer and some even needed to be given extra time. The second class asked significantly more questions and took time to carefully complete and check their test, resulting in them needing extra time. The only explanation I have for this is that these students do better and are in the higher level class because of their work etiquette. Maybe if the first class took the same amount of time and put in an equal amount of effort they would be at the same level. However, this was not the case because test scores were basically even between the two classes. I am still questioning and trying to explain these differences.

Teaching Response: Lesson Four (March 19, 2007)

As evident from the pre-assessment and through class discussions it was clear that most of the students had a solid understanding of symmetry and congruency. As a result, we wanted to find a way to challenge the students and expose them to aspects of the concept that they did not have knowledge of. Having students think about lines of symmetry in relation to letters was something they had never done. This forced them to apply their knowledge of lines of symmetry in shapes to different images. For many students this was hard and something once viewed as easy became a challenge to them. In regards to congruency, many students struggled with the same thing. Presenting them with two objects that were the same shape and size but not right next to each other was a challenge. Students were quick to say that the shapes were either non-congruent or similar. Again, I think the students were so used to seeing things presented in only one way and thus, altering one thing forced them to take a step back and gain understanding of the material. I went into this lesson nervous that we were just going to be re-teaching them information that they already knew. However, I quickly learned that altering a few things and presenting the information in a new way can challenge students and in turn strengthen their understanding of the concept. Too often teachers get stuck in a pattern and forget to expose students to material in new and exciting ways.

Teaching Response: Lesson Three (March 14, 2007)

Today we focused on measuring angles. The thing that struck me the most about this lesson was the range of abilities among the students. A few students were able to finish the practice worksheet before we had even completed passing them out to the rest of the class. However, there were a number of students who needed to be walked through most of the problems and did not seem to have a strong grasp on the material at the end of the period. As a result, I found it difficult to juggle between the students and meet all of their needs. Everyone in the class seemed to be at a different point and it was hard for me to keep track of everything that was going on. I wanted to challenge the students who understood the concepts, but I always needed to provide others with constant one on one attention. One thing I found helpful was having students who had already finished their work assist someone who needed extra help. Not only did this force them to verbalize what they were doing, but it also allowed me to attend to the needs of more students. I was also glad that while we shortened the lesson to assure that we got through everything, we had a back-up plan in case we had extra time. We brought two extra practice worksheets for students and also had a planned activity that they could do if time allowed. Ms. A had mentioned that she thought we could spend a number of days exploring protractors and I had just assumed this was an exaggeration. After teaching two periods I know the majority of students would benefit from extra instruction. As a result, I think we are going to have to spend a large portion of time reviewing and practicing protractor use next class. I already know that if I were to teach this lesson again I would drastically cut-down on the amount of material. As soon as students start to grasp a concept we have to move onto the next thing. As a result, I do not think the students are developing a strong and in-depth understanding of the material.

Teaching Response: Lesson Two (March 14, 2007)

I went into this lesson a lot calmer than the first one because I had a better idea of what to expect. In addition, when planning for this lesson our experience from the first lesson helped both Kristin and I tremendously. We had a better idea of what to expect from each class (both in behavior and academic ability). As a result we made certain considerations when teaching. For example, we knew that we would have to spend more time reviewing with the first class and also provide them with more support during activities. We also began to understand that we would have to constantly reinforce the reward system to keep control of the second class. Even after making these considerations we still walked out of the classroom feeling that we had a long list of things we needed to work on.

Similar to the first lesson, we ended up running out of time and not being able to complete the activities. We thought we had factored in more than enough time but we never realized how much the little things add-up. Getting the students seated, having them get their homework out, passing out name-tags, and reminding the students to quiet down all ate into the amount of instruction we had expected to give. As a result, Kristin and I are going to try to start making the lessons shorter and bring extra work for the students finish early. This way we will guarantee that we have time to go over all the material and if we have more time we will have something productive for the students to do.

After our lesson we asked Ms. A if she had any suggestions on how we could have cut down on time and gotten through the whole lesson. She mentioned that we need to consider the ability of the students’ cutting skills. Ms. A explained that today students are so used to filling in bubbles on SOL tests and therefore many of them have not mastered their cutting skills. In the lower grades they no longer have as many opportunities to work with creative assignments and as a result they suffer in other areas. Although I knew that the SOLs took away from many creative aspects of the classroom, it never occurred to me that something like scissor skills would suffer.

Teaching Response: Lesson One (March 12, 2007)

The preparation and teaching of this lesson was eye opening for Kristin and me. You would think that after having creating lesson plans all year we would be pros by now. The preparation for this lesson turned out to be the most difficult and time consuming of all the lessons we have developed in the past. We now realize that creating an individual lesson is completely different than coming up with a whole unit. There was so much more we were required to consider and focus on than we had previously had to do. For example, among other things, we now have to consider the results on the pre-assessments and possible homework assignments when coming up with a lesson. I also feel more of a responsibility and obligation to the students and their success. If they do not understand the concept I think it reflects poorly on me. I know that they rely on this information for not only SOL testing, but also this knowledge is relevant to everyday activities.

As a result of these changes, Kristin and I over planned for today’s lesson. I think we were both so overwhelmed at the though of getting through a whole Geometry unit that we tried to pack too much into one lesson. For example, not only did plan on introducing and teaching the basic characteristic of geometric shapes, but we also planned an in-depth and time-consuming group activity. I think the particular activity that we planned could have been even more effective if we had more time. Knowing that we were crunched for time we did not spend as much time as we should have going over basic characteristics of the figures. In addition, students were rushed through the activity and encouraged to complete it quickly. Because of this pressure for time Kristin and I were unable to take time out during the activity to further explain some common confusions and to develop a more in-depth understanding of the similarities and differences among these geometric figures. In addition, I felt that one of the most important aspects of the lesson was a written reflection/response at the end. However, most groups hardly had time to even look over the prompts. As a result, I do not think the students were given as much closure to the lesson as they could have been provided with.

While we were both frustrated with aspects of our lesson I think the rest of the lessons will be a lot easier for us to create. We now have a better idea of how much time to allot to instruction and activities. After observing the group work we know what the students are capable of and how they work together. Using this information we have already been able to map out our next lesson. We know that we need to be realistic when creating lesson plans and referring back to this lesson will help us to continue improving and helping the students succeed.

Classroom Observation Reflection: February 2nd, 2007, 10:10am-2:15pm

Hollymead Elementary School is composed of students from middle to upper class families. Every time I walk into the school I am guaranteed to see parents who are there to help out in the classroom or at school to have lunch with their child. It is clear that Hollymead parents do not only provide support in the classroom, but also at home. Most of the families have the means to spend time on homework with their child or get them extra help when it is needed. Discussion about weekend activities and vacations make it clear that these students are exposed to many opportunities that some children never have the chance to experience.

During Social Studies class today I was able to connect with the students’ lives beyond school even more. Ms. A’s class was going over their Daily Geography as a group. The students have been learning to use map keys and determining the scale of a map to discover distances between locations. After one student provided the class with the correct answer she asked her to explain to the class how she determined that distance. Rather than explaining the appropriate steps she said she typed it into MapQuest to get the answer. This technique further emphasizes the lives of these students. Not only do many students not have computer/internet access at home, but also many have never heard of MapQuest. This further emphasized to me the importance of being aware of students’ background and their experiences. Without knowing this information, it can be difficult to provide students with appropriate instruction.