Observations

This week I've been observing other classes and other schools. It's part of an assignment for UVEI, but also just a really interesting activity. When it was first mentioned last month I had no interest whatsoever. There was still so much to learn in my own classroom that the idea of going somewhere else just seemed silly. Now, however, two full months into my placement, I'm finding it fascinating to observe other classes.

So far I've seen three classrooms: a 5th and a 3rd at another school in our district, and a 4th at my school. Later in the week I'll be observing a 5th and a 6th at another school in another district. I love seeing the different ways the classrooms are arranged, what's on the walls, what projects the students are working on, what cues the teacher uses to get the students' attention, and so much more. Each teacher I've visited has been so kind and generous in sharing their room and their knowledge. I really love that about my teaching experience so far. I've heard of less than generous teachers, but I have yet to meet any!

Another thing I'm enjoying about this process is meeting and observing teachers who have come highly regarded. I asked teachers I know and respect for advice on who I should observe, so the teachers I'm visiting now are those who are highly respected by those I respect. I like to see if I can find similar teaching styles or other similarities. Some I've found and some I haven't.

So far I have been taking notes along the way and for my UVEI assignment this week I have to make a written reflection on this experience. I haven't even begun that process yet. The writing part, I suppose, the reflecting part is always going on in my head.

So much to learn. What an fascinating experience this has been so far.

In-service

The kids had the day off today, but the teachers had a district in-service day.  The elementary teachers spent the morning learning about Standard 3 in the new math curriculum.  It's all about how students need to be able to verbalize their responses, justify their answers, and defend the process.  They also need to be able to assess their classmates' thinking and recognize validity or faults.  That sounds very challenging to me, though also quite necessary.  I had a student this week turn in a math challenge with nothing but "36" written on the paper.  When I asked how he got that answer he said a classmate told him.  Try again, my friend!  He was not pleased when I told him to go back and show his work.

I'm currently student teaching in one of three elementary schools in our district.  It's the school where my kids attend and therefore the school I was the most familiar with before I started teaching.  Looking around the room this morning at the elementary teacher from around the district, it occurred to me that in January when I switch placements I will be so lost!  I'll be in the same district, but at a different school.  One where I know nobody and have very little experience with.  That will be quite a change from my fall placement!  I'm sure it will be good for me, of course.

After the math presentation we broke up into grade-level groups and built mini-lessons that we could teach across the schools.  Although everyone is working from the same curriculum, it was interesting to hear the differences between the schools.  Some teachers were further ahead, other had gone in a different direction.  I can see how it's valuable to spend time with grade-level teachers and share ideas. 

We also watched this TEDx talk about fixed mindset and growth mindset.  I think this idea is fascinating and makes so much sense.  It's also not intuitive from a parent or teacher standpoint. 

Going forward I'm going to pay closer attention to my interactions with my own children and my students at school, listening for what words I use and how they impact the children's motivation.

Lesson planning

Much to my surprise, lesson planning has been the hardest part of this new endeavour.  My district does not have a clear ELA curriculum so I feel like we are largely guessing at what to do.  My mentor teacher, of course, has years of experience and therefore has a good grasp of what 5th graders are capable of, what they need to learn, and how to build the lessons and their knowledge (scaffolding?).  I, however, have none of that and am trying hard to create relevant, interesting, appropriate lessons for the students.

So far I've done two solo days, and several individual reading and science lessons.  While that doesn't seem like a lot, especially when you consider that real teachers have to plan for every lesson, every day, it still has taken me hours. Hours for each lesson!

I start with a general idea of what we are working on. Then try to choose a concept that will be relevant and related.  Sometimes I feel like it fits in smoothly, but other times I feel like it ends up being a one-off thing.

Both solo days have left me feeling defeated in the lesson planning department.  I've gone into the days with what I thought were strong lessons, but the students quickly prove me wrong.  The first writing lesson I did, on chronological storytelling, ended up being confusing to the class.  I used the mentor text Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and we discussed both chronological storytelling and catch-phrases.  There was my mistake.  I based my lesson on one I found online, but I should have dropped the catch-phrase part.  My class was just confused.  By the third class I was seriously downplaying the catch-phrase part and focusing my efforts on the chronological aspect only. 

Today's writing lesson, for my second solo day, was on proper comma usage.  Again I based the lesson on something I found online and again it left my class confused.  Actually, this time they were more bored than confused.  I used a presentation to show the six main rules of comma usage, but as much as I tried to make it engaging it really was just boring.  I was worried about that before I even got to class.  It felt boring on one hand, yet it also felt like we moved through the lesson too quickly.  Once we got the end and the students broke up into pairs and punctuated sample sentences I had given them, their interest picked up.

My reading lessons and science lessons have been equally eye-opening.  No devastating failures, fortunately, but each lesson has left me with so much more to think about.  

I think I have to re-evaluate how I go about my lesson planning.  I wish my district had an overall outline though, a road map per se, so I could better place my lessons within the overall context of 5th grade learning.  However, since that is not the case, I will continue to work hard and practice.  It's wonderful that UVEI, my awesome placement school, and my amazing mentor teacher provide so much opportunity for me to practice these skills and learn from the pros!

So much to learn!

NECAPs

We have been doing NECAPS testing these past few weeks.  Some schools bunch the tests all up into a few days, but at our school we spread them out over a few weeks, taking just one or two a day a couple of days a week.  I like it this way because it's less intense for the students, however it is much more disruptive to the overall schedule.  We end up with nearly three weeks of unusual schedules.  NECAPs are pretty low-key at our schools. I've heard of other districts that make a really big deal of them, holding big assemblies and giving treats and prizes, at our school it's just a morning announcement to encourage those taking the tests and remind those who aren't to be extra quiet in the halls.  

We've been taking the 5th grade out for an extra recess at break and not doing our usual subject rotation, but otherwise no real big deal.  I've been administering the test to a 1-on-1 student who needs a scribe.  It's given me lots of time to study for my upcoming Praxis II exam!  My student feels pretty special about getting his own room and his own space.  He's so chatty and does a lot of pacing, so I'm glad he gets his own space as well. I think it would be very challenging for him to sit still and quiet in the main classroom.  

I like the low-key aspect of testing in our school.  This is the first year my son is taking the standardized tests as well and he is totally calm about it.  No pressure, no stress.  I wish I felt as calm about my Praxis!

Time

Wow, I really thought I'd have more time and energy to maintain a teaching blog.  I love blogging.  Writing is such a great way to process, document, and archive.  Yet, it also takes time.  I find I rarely have my computer on these days (relying instead on my phone and iPad) and when I do I have lesson plans to plan or UVEI homework to write.  I guess that about takes care of my writing time, none left for the blog. Sigh.

Here's a quick update on what's been going on:

• We did a cool project with iMotion in which the kids made little videos using paper characters to teach writing rules.  
• We started NECAP testing this week.  I remember it well (standardized testing anyway, not sure if it was the same one) when I was child.  Now I get to do it as a teacher.  Equally boring.  The kids handled it well though.  
• We are now a month into school and I'm starting to lose track of everything going on.  I need to get myself organized, physically and mentally.  It's amazing how much teachers have to know!  In terms of their subject matter, of course, but also in terms of keeping track of schedules and who has 504/IEPs, who is where, who is doing what at grade level and what needs to be done about it, etc.  There are meetings and observations and just so much to know.  Teachers work hard!
• I've done one solo day of teaching.  I've also taught a few lessons with my mentor teacher around and I've done some subbing for him.  All are excellent opportunities.  It has been interesting to see how the students respond to him teaching his lessons, versus me teaching his lessons, versus me teaching my lessons.  I clearly have some work to do on my lesson planning skills.  :)  

Overall it's going very well.  I would like to post more, and more often, if only for my own reference in the future.  For now I'll leave you with this interesting article: How Adults are Stealing Ambition from Kids.