The first week of my final year of university is in the bag. As excited as I am to be graduating in 7 months, 22 days and 17 hours, I am even more excited about the way that I get to lead my own growth and learning this final year.
Two of my professors, Paige and Allyson, have gone above and beyond to allow me to have a self directed study and field experience in Langley, BC. I'm teaching at H.D. Stafford Middle, with the amazing Jake Main as my sponsor. I met him briefly last June, and was excited (and nervous) to be in his classroom first thing Wednesday morning for the students first week of school. As it turns out, I had nothing to be nervous about. Jake is not only a phenomenal teacher, but I can already tell he is going to be a life-long mentor as I go through my career. We have very similar styles and ideas about the relationships between student and teacher, the classroom rules, we both love using technology in the class, and we have a very similar sense of humor, which was a bit dry for nervous 7th graders on the first day of class. My top three things I noticed (and adopted) from Jake this week: 1) He never says "that's good" or "awesome!" he always uses formative comments to help students grow. "I like how that picture you drew has balance and symmetry." "Good effort team, what can we do next time to confuse the blocker?" I definitely need to make this a priority in my communication with my students. 2) He is always assessing and watching students for ways that he can help, and times that he needs to back off. We only had 3 days of class, but already have a handle on ELL, LD's, reading and writing levels, grit and perseverance, leaders, followers, and a couple of special kids who just operate at a higher decibel than we would prefer in a small classroom. 3) He always has a plan, and ditches it when the students need something different. He knew what he wanted to accomplish, but was never so over planned that he had trouble letting go. Because his plans were written, he knew what he needed to come back to, and because his classroom is first and foremost about the students, he never hesitated to give them what they needed rather than what box he needed to check. Activities I managed and my reflections: Save Sammy- A perennial classic. I learned it from Dan Meyer, and I have used it in the last two classes I've been in. First, it's candy. Automatic win. Second, it's not overly challenging, but does require you and your partner to really communicate. For assessment purposes this right away tells me who likes to work with whom (I let kids choose their own partners), and also tells me who is A-type perfectionist (those who don't let their partner participate), and who is not assertive (students who only do as their partner instructs). It also shows me what kind of communication skills my students are coming equipped with, who can handle stress, who sticks to it and tries different things, and, perhaps most hilariously, who (usually boys?) wants to know a loophole or way they can meet the requirement without doing the actual work. Marshmallow Challenge From a Ted Talk, again, a great teamwork challenge, where teachers can observe the students and see how they work through a challenge, be creative, and communicate. This one also has a time component. It shows which students use their time wisely, and which self regulation strategies they have to deal with stress and anxiety.
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AuthorI respond to Sarah, Mrs. Moore, Mrs. Smoore, Miss Sarah, (and sometimes Mom!). I have been an DL (homeschool!) teacher for 2 years and am now a proud member of the SD35 team! Archives
September 2018
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