Looking back on my practicum, it’s interesting to consider how my confidence changed over the course of the three weeks. I was incredibly nervous to teach my first lesson. Although I have prior experience working in schools, I had never had the attention of an entire class on me or instructed students. On the first day, when my coaching teacher and I sat down to plan when I would be teaching, I asked if I could teach the following day, rather than waiting until day 3 of the practicum, like ripping off a band aid. So, I taught my first two lessons the next day.
In elementary education, assessment should be used as a tool to understand where to go next with what is being taught. When teaching a group of students, it’s important to understand what is being absorbed and understood. If only a handful of students are contributing to a discussion, or no collaborative discussion occurs at all, and it is assumed that what is being taught is understood by all, students that don’t understand the material end up being left behind in the learning process. When the primary assessment method being used is summative and content is not returned to after, the result is major gaps in comprehension. Alternatively, if formative assessments are used throughout the process and encompass all students, the teacher can navigate the current and subsequent lessons based on the understanding of the group. This reduces or eliminates gaps in learning and contributes to mastery of what is being taught. Although it is important to use summative assessments in order to report the overall learning of students, the most important role of assessments in elementary classrooms is to provide feedback to the teacher on whether the students are ready to move forward with new content or if more time is needed to focus on the current concept or material.
By Charles Duhigg
I started listening to The Power of Habit based on personal interest. However, there are several concepts related to organizational culture that could easily be applied to a classroom setting.
In considering what teaching is like, many abstract comparisons come to mind, such as how teachers need to be like sponges that need to absorb and learn from everything around them. However, there are also more literal comparisons that can be made, such as how teaching is like project management.
While considering my teaching philosophy, I have been reflecting upon my own learning and how different teachers either worked or didn’t work for how I learned. When I look back on my time in elementary and high school, it was a time that I was simply meeting expectations of teachers. Although I did not dread going to school, I was not the type of student that enjoyed learning or that understood why we had to do certain things. As a very logical thinker, I simply did things that I knew I had to in order to move forward, not because I enjoyed doing them.
A common theme that appeared throughout the weeks of observations was adaptability. I lost track of how many teachers said their day was unusual for one reason or another. Sometimes they said it because their class was quieter than normal or because there was a special event happening that day. This was especially true on Hallowe’en. There were times that it was related to staffing, whether it was not enough substitutes or just substitutes that weren’t familiar with the school or students. Other times it was due to students being away. Regardless of the reason, teachers adapted accordingly and moved forward with their day.
As I look towards the start of my teaching career, there are certain elements that I envision incorporating into my classroom. With a focus on an elementary or primary classroom, it can be fun to think about how I will decorate the room, what types of plants I will have in the window, or what kinds of fieldtrips I’ll be able to organize depending on the competency of the class. However, what I intent to prioritize in order to meet students’ needs goes beyond surface level visuals. As important as a welcoming but not distracting room is, it is exceedingly important to consider the values that will be portrayed through my teaching and other actions. The vision I have for my future classroom includes meeting the physiological needs of my students, encouraging socialization of classmates, and teaching for the margins to improve the learning outcomes of all students while maintaining high expectations for all learners.
During observations, with a consideration to technology used in classrooms, there were some applications that seemed to be a positive and effective addition to lessons and other situations that seemed to be an overuse or reliance on technology.