Today’s reflection is about art and class management. My SA and I talked about potential art projects that I can do for my long-term practicum. We discussed were we can look for resources such as Pinterest. I had no idea that Pinterest will be my best friend when exploring for new ideas especially in the classroom. Thus, we talked about doing 3-D art, which is really cool and I can do a cross-curricular activity like Math. Since I will be teaching 2-3D geometry it will work perfectly with my art projects. I do, however, have a concern with two particular students. One of them does not like to do his homework at all, which can be frustrating, because you want all students to succeed. The other student is not able to self- control himself. He likes to talk over people and talk no matter what. Therefore, I don’t know how I will manage to take control over this situation since it will be the biggest challenge that I can think of so far. However, I know it will be rewarding at the end, once I get the hang of it.

During art period, I read to the class. How this works is that my SA will first demonstrate and explain to the class the art project. Once she is done, I will go around the classroom for at least good 10 minutes to clarify and help my students if they need any reassurance. After that, I will read a novel called, The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. The kids absolutely love this and they don’t want me to put the book down. I think doing a read aloud during art period helps students calm down and concentrate on their work. More importantly, they’re really engaged and almost all the time, they stop what they’re doing and just listen to the story. Thus, projecting my voice and allowing my students to actually imagine what is going on in the story is amazing. I feel like they connect to the story and have an exceptional understanding of what is going on. This also helps the students to increase their language development and individual growth. I enjoy reading to them and it helps me to connect with them.

My practicum visit this Thursday was pleasant and delightful. The students were really excited to see me and I felt like this was where I am suppose to be. When I observed my SA teach her class, she was calm and used great transitions to help her function the class efficiently. My classroom is a split of grade 5’s and 6’s; therefore, for certain subjects must be taught separately. During math, my SA will start with the grade 5s while the grade 6’s are getting ready for math. It was really simple, because she told them to work in their textbook for reviewing the mid-point of patterns. This allows the students to work independently without having her attention. She then switches her focus to the grade 6s teaching them a new lesson on variables and expressions. Students are actively listening and engaged when she goes over the lesson thoroughly. She will also ask students to raise their hands if they need more assistance. When the lesson is over, she will tell the whole class to quietly put their stuff away and get ready for lunch or whatever she is teaching next. If the students are getting too talkative, she will do a countdown or make them start all over again.

In my classroom, I observed that my school advisor manages her class by using a shaker. She shakes it softly to get student’s attention and it works well for her. At times, she will start shaking it harder if they’re too noisy; however, she barely gets to that point. Also, she will give them the “teacher look,” calling out names, count down, turning off the lights, or a soft pat in the back. All of these work efficiently in her class. These are some of the class managements I have observed from her during my short practicum. For me personally, I tried using the shaker and it doesn’t go hand to hand when I teach. The students do acknowledge the shaker when I shake it, however it takes them a bit longer to settle down. I tried doing the count down and acknowledging the students who respectfully stopped what they’re doing and paid attention to me. I found this effective because the students do stop what they’re doing and I give them that count down, so they know that I am being serious and ready to teach or point something out to the class. As of right now, I think I will do the count down when I am teaching. My SA already has set boundaries for class expectation and students do respect that. I think I will have another class expectation meeting  when I start my long term practicum. Therefore, it will be easier for me and my students will know what I am expecting from them and what they can expect from me.

Afterschool, I helped my school advisor coach volleyball. It was a fun experience and the kids all worked so well together. We talked about good sportsmanship and overall, just to have fun. It was fun to help mentor kids playing, since It’s been a long time for me. I got a chance to talk to other teachers and get familiar with extracurricular activities.

My second part of my lesson plan was finishing reading Mr. Lincoln’s Way, and have a discussion regarding racism and bullying. The students were still actively engaged in the lesson and they were excited about the activity. The activity was having a cardinal bird with each of the students’ unique characteristics on it. Once they completed it, we put it on the back wall and we had a gallery walk. I wasn’t that nervous compared to my last lesson, I felt more confident. The only thing I felt that I needed to reassure myself was to come up with strategies for classroom management, and have a clarification on my activity.

Today in class, I taught my first lesson on social and emotional learning. I must say I was extremely nervous and excited at the same time. I taught my students about bullying and racism. I was surprised to see how many were keen listeners and actively engaged in my lesson. We talked about the different kinds of bullying behaviour and how it hurts other people’s feelings. Thus, we expanded our brainstorming by reading a book called, Mr. Lincoln’s Way by Patricia Polacco. This book is the perfect example of unfair treatment to all people and the kids really enjoyed it as well. After reading, it was time for a brain break, which prepared them to reflect on the readings and how it might make a connection to their life. Overall, my lesson was not bad at all, and there were areas that I would like to improve such as:

• Allowing time for students to think and respond.
• Allowing students to work with their neighbours about the questions.
• Explaining my activity clear, so students’ would have a better understanding of the criteria.
• Being firm with students that are not participating in the class activity.

I am going to work on these and hope to be better on my next lesson! Today was a good day 🙂

In the article, “Bumpy Moments” by Romano, really emphasized the reality of teaching. Teaching can be fun and enjoyable; especially when a teacher sees their student understanding the criteria and that they’re in a happy environment. However, at times, classroom management and the behavior of students can tend to be frustrating. Romano expressed how at times she was reaching her tolerance level when things were getting out of control. Romano expressed, “I was frustrated with the behavior of my students, a situation, or perhaps frustrated that there didn’t seem to be a solution in sight to resolve my problem” (Romano, 2004). I don’t think there is nothing wrong to express how a person feels, even if it is the job you love. I feel like there’re going to be times for myself to feel overwhelmed and that the situation isn’t going my way. Such as, getting the students attention or disagreements with the parents could be another issue. I would hope that my first year of teaching is a smooth transition, although having those “bumpy moments” can make me stronger and prevent situations from re-occurring.

Self-Reflection is really important when managing a classroom. Reading the article on, “Bumpy Moments” by Romano, really opened my eyes of how to make quick decisions for any problems that may arise. My biggest fear is lacking confidents in classroom management. How will I have my students engage and respect me as their teacher? Romano addressed these in her article, and I felt that I wasn’t the only one that had these initial thoughts. I appreciated her telling her readers that classroom management and parents were her biggest ‘bumpy moments’ in her teaching career. She clarified by keeping journals or anything  that will make her teaching more comprehensible will limit any awkward moments in the classroom. Learning is always looking back at experiences and reflecting on how to make things better if a situation occurs again. Teaching does require a lot of patience, but critically thinking of everything around the classroom and outside the classroom is also important.

September 30, 2014

Generating a mini-inquiry always begins small and continues to develop as your research grows. The questions I thought of as a teacher candidate is:

• How will my students understand my lessons I have planned for them?
• How will I find my teacher voice that will allow students to respect me as their teacher?
• How will I find a balance in the classroom?
• What are some effective techniques to make sure all students feel engaged?

All of these questions will continue to develop as I go through my practicum. I hope I will become a effective learner and an educator.