Week Eleven there were parent teacher conferences on Wednesday, so we didn't have the students in the classroom that day. It was really interesting to experience that side of the teaching profession! Once again, my CT really gave me a great learning opportunity and I feel like I have a much better idea of how to best interact with the parents, and on occasion with the students and their parents together, as some parents brought their children with them. At first I was worried that the parents wouldn't be happy that I was "sitting in" on their conferences, but to my surprise quite a few parents said that their children had told them about me and really liked me! Needless to say, I was quite flattered. In contrast to my last school, it seems like on average almost 100% of the parents at this school are very involved in the schooling of their children.
Other than conferences, the week mostly went smoothly. There were some behavioral issues that we encountered, and (again) my wonderful CT really have good ideas and feedback with how best to deal with these situations and I feel like while in the moment the situations may have been difficult, it was overall a great learning experience.
I also had my first (and second to the last! 😮) observation. It was really nice for me to show how different this school and classroom is from my last placement, and I felt more relaxed being observed here. It is always nerve wracking to be observed, but it felt better this time. Even though I am not as familiar with the content of this grade or with the curriculum for this age range, it has really been such a positive experience at this school and with this CT that I am feeling more confident and better prepared.
Week Twelve was a very short week, due to the Thanksgiving holiday. We are wrapping up several projects, such as the cornucopia I designed for the students, and are doing kind of a "soft opening" for science and social studies to get students thinking about some of the projects they'll be working on in the next week or so. Tuesday especially after lunch was hard to keep the kids on task, as they knew they soon would be having three days off, and I was really grateful when my CT stepped in the help bring the students back on task. Before I would have felt very defeated, but she explained her strategy to me later, and offered suggestions in a neutral and helpful way that I really appreciated and helped me learn. As it was Thanksgiving, I am reflecting on all of the many things that I have to be grateful for, and being placed with this CT and in this school is definitely on my Thankful List this year!
In the last two weeks I am in this schoo (!!!) I am lead teaching a few more days before phasing out. I feel like my CT is excited to get back to teaching her kiddos, and I'm looking forward to learning more about her best practices and her learning style. I am going to make it a goal to keep learning different techniques for discipline, as well as how best to motivate students.
I'm so glad you had the opportunity to be involved with parent conferences. I'm sure you have tons of strategies to use in your 'teaching toolbox' after this experience. And, kudos to you for all the positive compliments from your students' parents! Well deserved! I'm also glad that you felt much better after my last observation - much more relaxed and in your comfort zone!
ReplyDeleteI'm anxious to hear some of the strategies your CT used on the Tuesday before the holiday break to get students back on task. I'm sure you've added these ideas to your toolbox! When you transition back to observation role and have a chance to visit other classrooms, take note on different classroom management strategies teachers use. Your CT may have some other "mentor" type checklists to observe while you watch her teach and/or you visit other teachers. You might want to ask her to do some "thinking aloud" while she teaches to pause periodically and explain what/why she is doing something. She'll have to prepare the students that she'll be doing this. I think I have a handout that I can send both of you that explains how to do this. I'll also look through my coaching books to see if I can find an easy checklist of things to observe while visiting a classroom and I'll bring them on Friday.
Enjoy your last few days of teaching! I'll see you Friday afternoon!
I'm so glad you had the opportunity to be involved with parent conferences. I'm sure you have tons of strategies to use in your 'teaching toolbox' after this experience. And, kudos to you for all the positive compliments from your students' parents! Well deserved! I'm also glad that you felt much better after my last observation - much more relaxed and in your comfort zone!
ReplyDeleteI'm anxious to hear some of the strategies your CT used on the Tuesday before the holiday break to get students back on task. I'm sure you've added these ideas to your toolbox! When you transition back to observation role and have a chance to visit other classrooms, take note on different classroom management strategies teachers use. Your CT may have some other "mentor" type checklists to observe while you watch her teach and/or you visit other teachers. You might want to ask her to do some "thinking aloud" while she teaches to pause periodically and explain what/why she is doing something. She'll have to prepare the students that she'll be doing this. I think I have a handout that I can send both of you that explains how to do this. I'll also look through my coaching books to see if I can find an easy checklist of things to observe while visiting a classroom and I'll bring them on Friday.
Enjoy your last few days of teaching! I'll see you Friday afternoon!