Consider the learning you have done during your first semester as an M.Ed. learner.
1. Think back (or revisit) the “Principles of Children’s Learning” or “Belief Statements” that you wrote at the beginning of this journey.
a. What specific principle or belief do you most rely on as you interact with students each day?
b. In what ways has this helped you reframe anxiety-producing problems into productive, solvable problems (maybe even opportunities)?
b. In what ways has this helped you reframe anxiety-producing problems into productive, solvable problems (maybe even opportunities)?
Of the five beliefs that I wrote about at the beginning of the semester, the one that I feel I rely on most heavily on a day-to-day basis is the following:
I believe that this action has helped to turn anxiety into productivity in the following three ways. First, and foremost, it states, in simple terms, what the students should expect out of the day. They know right away what it is we will be doing for the next 68 minutes. By introducing the day's topic at the start of the lesson I have already instilled in the mind some sense of what is to come. Second, it helps me to be more prepared in my daily planning. The lesson targets for the day allow me to know not just what's going on that day, but what is coming in the future. I have always felt that the weeks when I have my lesson plans for all my classes for the entire week organized from the beginning tend to go the smoothest. Lastly, it helps me to make changes and adjust for the future. By knowing what the lesson objects are for each day, I can easily look back and determine if anything needs to be adjusted. Were there too many targets for that day? Should I change the order in which I teach certain lessons so that the lesson targets flow more seamlessly? Having my learning targets ready allows me for a greater amount of meaningful reflection.
I believe that the objectives for each lesson should be clearly addressed each day.At the start of each day's lesson I address what we hope to accomplish by the end of the period. It is typically to complete an objective for the day's lesson, such as "Graph and transform quadratic equations" or "Algebraically analyze rational functions." I had always done this as a way to introduce the day's topic, but recently our school's administration has asked that all teachers beging their lessons in such a manner.
I believe that this action has helped to turn anxiety into productivity in the following three ways. First, and foremost, it states, in simple terms, what the students should expect out of the day. They know right away what it is we will be doing for the next 68 minutes. By introducing the day's topic at the start of the lesson I have already instilled in the mind some sense of what is to come. Second, it helps me to be more prepared in my daily planning. The lesson targets for the day allow me to know not just what's going on that day, but what is coming in the future. I have always felt that the weeks when I have my lesson plans for all my classes for the entire week organized from the beginning tend to go the smoothest. Lastly, it helps me to make changes and adjust for the future. By knowing what the lesson objects are for each day, I can easily look back and determine if anything needs to be adjusted. Were there too many targets for that day? Should I change the order in which I teach certain lessons so that the lesson targets flow more seamlessly? Having my learning targets ready allows me for a greater amount of meaningful reflection.
2. In what ways has your Semester 1 learning impacted your interactions with colleagues?
The most prominent way in which my Semester 1 learning has impacted my interactions with my colleagues is my ability to share ideas and insights that I have gained throughout the experience. After the Spring Conferences presentations, I was excited to go back to the members of my department and share some of the ideas involving technology that some of the presenters shared. Their insight into what worked (and in some cases didn't work) was great to hear, especially the presentation I attended related to a flipped classroom. It is an idea that I have toyed with for a while, but have yet to really jump into. It was great to be able to hear the presenter's experiences, triumphs, and challenges so that I could better gauge if it was something I wanted to pursue.
3. What new nugget of learning (or insight) has impacted your practice most? What are you doing differently as a result of this learning?
The insight that has probably impacted my practice the most is the newfound necessity to manage my time in a different way. I had been a busy person before I enrolled in the Saint Mary's University M.Ed program, what with a full-time job, a coaching position, and two kids under three years old. The demands of the job alone can be stressful enough what with the time required to plan lessons, create the necessary materials, and grade any homework or assessments. The demands of the family are just as severe. Adding the coursework requirements of the M.Ed program have required me to budget my time a little differently as I have an additional amount of work that was previously not there.
The insight that has probably impacted my practice the most is the newfound necessity to manage my time in a different way. I had been a busy person before I enrolled in the Saint Mary's University M.Ed program, what with a full-time job, a coaching position, and two kids under three years old. The demands of the job alone can be stressful enough what with the time required to plan lessons, create the necessary materials, and grade any homework or assessments. The demands of the family are just as severe. Adding the coursework requirements of the M.Ed program have required me to budget my time a little differently as I have an additional amount of work that was previously not there.
4. What are you still wondering about?
I am excited about what is to come! The Review of Literature has me a bit nervous, but I am looking forward to the challenge!
I am excited about what is to come! The Review of Literature has me a bit nervous, but I am looking forward to the challenge!
Drew, I have also found that my students respond better when the objective/purpose of the day is presented to them at the beginning of the class. Have you found that when you plan a week in advanced that you sometimes have to spend more time on certain areas that you might not have planned for?
ReplyDeleteJenna
A few years ago, my administration wanted us to state objectives at the start of each class and we even had a bit of SIOP training. I agree how helpful it is not only for the students, but also for us to plan and reflect. The flipped classroom is an interesting idea. What aspects of the flipped classroom do you find the most interesting? How would it change your teaching?
ReplyDeleteObjectives are something that I have been much more deliberate with this year as well. I have found that making connections from the notes back to the objective has been helpful for myself and for students to see the purpose of the notes and hear the objective repeated multiple times. Do you have your objective written on the board or posted somewhere? Do you have your students write it down as well? It's amazing how something that's so easy to do can have such a great impact!
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