Being clear with communication is an integral part of being a teacher. With 25-35 students in any given classroom, being able to get a procedure or concept across to so many different individuals is definitely a challenge. Finding a middle ground and a method of delivering these procedures and concepts is essential in keeping a healthy classroom and a positive learning environment. Each morning, when students come up to the classroom, I greet each one at the door. I might remind them of something that we are doing today so they can be prepared even before they see it on the schedule, or I might ask them how a football game or dance recital went the night before. Creating a rapport with my students helps them see that I care and want the best for them, which I think carries over to the academic side of school, in that the students know that I strive to see them understand anything we are learning.
Another way I communicate is having our daily schedule on the board, in the same place each day. Directly next to the schedule (see Domain II, Artifact 6) I put the Learning Target next to the corresponding subject. Many times, I will include a bit more than the learning target to further explain what I mean. That could be a little blurb about what field trip we're going on, it could be a brief description of what the subject will be like. In addition to the brief descriptions next to the schedule, I'm also careful to explain each subject carefully during our morning meeting, and again when we reach that subject during the day.
In the future I hope to continue to search for new and exciting ways I can communicate with students, and continue to adjust my practice as technology and other resources become more readily available, not just to myself, but to my students as well.
3b: Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques
Questioning is an essential part of our classroom routines. Often in 5th grade, students have developed enough socially to be embarrassed when they don't answer a question correctly in front of the class, and so, even if they are fairly confident they have the right answer, they will not raise their hands. This is especially true in my classroom.
In order to avoid this situation as much as possible, and to get as many possible responses as I can, I have taken to having students share with a small group near by, or with a partner what they believe is the correct response. Often times, that is followed up by an explanation with that group or partner on how they reached that answer. Then, we come back together as a whole group, and with their confidence intact after realizing that someone else had the same answer, or after hearing an explanation from a neighbor, they have come to the right answer, I get a much bigger return on students willing to offer their response to share whole-group.
In the future I plan on attending more workshops in regards to questioning and discussion techniques. I have recognized, especially this year, that questioning is an essential part of teaching and needs to be done so that students can maximize their learning. I also hope to collect resources on the subject of teaching and search for new techniques as I grow as a teacher.
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| Artifact 1: Students conferencing with each other. March 2014 |
3c: Engaging Students in Learning
Engaging students in learning is an integral in keeping a classroom motivated and working. Whenever possible, I engage my students in "side-bar" discussions and conversations which relate material back to experiences they have experienced before in real-life, and to situations they can identify with. In doing so, they are able to contribute much more to the discussion and it also provides an avenue for students to tie the new material to something more concrete, and therefore gain better retention of the new material.
One example of this type of discussion would be during our math lessons on volume of 3-dimensional objects. My students were having a hard time grasping the difference between volume and area. I then began a discussion about "early" Disney movies and more recent Pixar, Dreamworks, etc. "Computer-Generated" cartoon movies. I then asked students what kinds of differences they noted about the two types. Most of them, eventually came to the conclusion that the CG movies had a "depth" to them, whereas the older Disney movies were more "flat." This was a great segway into the idea that volume necessitates three parts (length, width, and height, whereas area only concerns length and width.
In the future, I hope to plan these types of discussions into the lesson itself, and to have pictures and models as a physical representation of the discussion.
3d: Providing Feedback to Students
Providing feedback to students is key to student success. By getting regular feedback, a student is able to see where they are able to excel, and where they might need to pick up the slack a bit more.
One way I provide feedback to students is through the use of rough drafts. These come in many times on bigger writing projects. Students will complete a rough draft halfway through a project. When I provide feedback, I am careful not to have all the feedback be negative. When students see that they are not getting anything positive for the work they put into a rough draft, they will shut down and not try very hard for the final copy. When providing feedback, I use the "compliment sandwich" model of providing feedback on something the student did well, then feedback on something to work on, followed by another aspect they did well in. This way, for every piece of feedback that states something they need to try harder in, they are also hearing two pieces of feedback of areas they did well. With positive reinforcement being much more effective than negative, this often motivates them to try much harder on the final draft.
In the future, I hope to have more time to do this much more often. With my many other responsibilities this year with my masters program, I often feel rushed and don't leave as much or as detailed feedback as I would like. I definitely hope to get better at giving very thorough feedback and more often as well.
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| Artifact 2: Feedback on a rough draft. Feb. 2014 |
3e: Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness
Demonstrating flexibility and responsiveness is another critical piece to any classroom. Being able to meet student needs through being flexible with lessons, assignments, and content is extremely important for student success. In fifth grade, students are bombarded with a slew of standards, all important, and essential to moving on successfully to middle school. A lot of fifth grade is also reviewing concepts they have learned the past several years of school. However, there is a lot of new material that really throws a curve ball at students.
When the new material is introduced, I am careful to go very slow with it. I do periodic quantitative assessments with my students to see if it is being understood. When it is an issue that the whole class is having, I have no problem adjusting the lesson to be delivered over two days, or even three in some cases. I want to ensure each student is grasping the ideas before trying to move on. When it is a small group or one or two students who are struggling, I will often pull them aside during an independent work time or during recess when necessary and work with them in a smaller setting. I also make full use of our paraprofessional and have her work with students who need a bit more help to understand something.
In the future, I hope to observe more teachers and teammates to get a better sense how seasoned teachers practice this technique and pick up on new ways I can improve my own practice.
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