Having a shadow provides avenues for reflection about the whole process and this can be valuable for “mentors”.
I realized that I love having a shadow – it actually got me to constantly think about every step of the way and I think this last ISW has done more to get me to reflect on my practices than the last few combined. I actually never knew how helpful it would be to set aside 5-10 minutes after/during every activity of an ISW and talk about what is happening, how that went compared to the plan, what was the ideal outcome, what were the alternative lesson plans/activities we considered before deciding on this, why this was picked over others, and even how we decide on the small group compositions. It was like having a one-on-one feedback after each part of the ISW.
I’m excited for my experiences with a shadow, and I will try my best to share my thoughts and rationale for everything I will do besides additional reflection and feedback time 🙂
Why? … to enrich the shadow experience for both of us; we hardly get to share why we do things a certain way and how often we are actually creative on the spot