Wow, what a blur!

This first week went by quickly.

All of my anxiousness was over-exaggerated. I am extremely impressed with how well I have been able to get to know and establish a positive relationship with my students.

I started all of my classes off with inviting the to participate in a rubric creation activity, where they collaborated with their peers and myself to come up with a marking rubric, criteria and a set of expectations that are expected of them, as well as myself. This activity promoted autonomy and student choice in the classroom. I was able to observe that students were positively engaged in this activity, as well as I believe it set a positive tone and environment to the class from which positively contributed to the rest of the week. I am excited to see this engagement increase as my practicum continues.

In my Spanish class, I had the students do a 3-2-1 exit slip that highlighted what they did/did not like about Spanish as well as what they were interested in learning. From this I have learned, generally, what the students interests are and how I can provide choice in the classroom based on their interests. Also, I gave me students the opportunity to create a cell-phone rule. Before, they were not aloud cell-phones AT ALL. now they are able to use them successfully; when I am not talking/other people are presenting. Students are held responsible for completing their in-class work, with or without their phones. In addition, students are held accountable for their cell-phone use and respect in the class-room because they are the ones that created the cell-phone rule. I believe that the students really respect me for this.