Tag Archives: adapt

A Brave New World (Part 2): TOCing

Practicum Reflections, , , One Comment

In the past, I have used the phrase “A Brave New World” in reference to some element of my teaching experience, but if I could go back, retract that statement, and reapply it to this most recent experience, I would. Alas, it shall remain in the past and a must regurgitate the sentiment that after spending almost 8 months in a Grade 7 classroom, moving to a K-1 for the day was certainly “a brave new world”.

However, this world was certainly not a negative one, it was challenging yes, but a fun, exciting, and educational experience. It took me a little but at the beginning of the day to get my brain to switch over into “primary teacher mode” but once there, it was “relatively” smooth sailing.

To be blunt, Grade 7 to Kindergarten is a big jump. However, regardless of the grade level, good practice is still good practice. As we scaffold for our students of differing abilities, so can we with our methods for students of differing grades. Some specific skills that transferred well for me is my focus on building relationships with the students quickly. Engaging them in their interests and asking questions allows me to connect with them at the beginning of the day and then user the information to motivate and personalize their learning throughout the day based on their interests. Additionally, being able to outline expectation, even at such a young grade, was something that carried well with me into this new experience. Students need to know what is expected of them over the course of the next activity. The need to know what they should be doing, how they should be acting, what to do if they need help, and what to do when they are finished. This wasn’t new for the students and my colleague’s classroom was well set up for this. The students knew that once the expectations were down, they followed them well throughout each activity. This I feel is a testament to my colleague structure she has put in place throughout the year and that the students comprehend/respect the concept of expectations.

Overall, wonderful day, wonderful experience, and I am so thankful to have had the privilege to get to see teaching through a new lens. A brave new world? Yes. But an exciting one? You betcha!

Teachable Moments

Inquiry Reflections, Practicum Reflections, , Leave a comment

As I have moved throughout this journey that is my practicum, something has become increasingly clear for me: the ability to adapt is critical. Much like in the process of evolution where those with the capability to change to fit into their surroundings, teachers that can adjust on the fly to fit the needs of the present situation, to “make it work”, are the ones who will survive (I know this is a dramatic analogy but I am one for theatricality, so I believe it still applies). Something that I have been mindful about throughout this process is finding ways to weave my inquiry topic into my daily routine. Setting up lessons that will bring my class together collaboratively but keep them engaged in a competitive sense. Therefore, when I reflect back upon my process (as I am doing now), I will have ample fodder for my ever-hungry blog. Was it a good plan? Yes. Are these careful sculpted lessons where I have witnessed some of the most insightful interaction to connection to my inquiry topic? No.

 

The reality is that “stuff” happens. And it is in those moments where a teacher is forced to adapt to a situation that you find connections to things like, in my case collaborative competition, where you didn’t see it before. An example of this was over the past weeks, my SA (who has been organizing the majority of the badminton games between our school and others) was given the task of picking 9 students to send to an upcoming badminton tournament from the over 60 who had originally signed up to play the sport. He elected to create a bracket-style tournament to pick who would go and during the course of the 3 days when the games occurred, you could see the students participate in the classic style of competition, which engaged the students with the extrinsic motivator of representing out school in this tournament. As the students were playing doubles, they did, in one way, engage in my concept of collaborative competition when the connected with their partners, supporting each other to achieve the task. This is noteworthy but something I could have predicted before the games began as it also is the classic style of teamwork and collaboration. However, it was after the games were all played out that the true, and unintended form of collaborative competition came out.

 

The gym was packed with teams that had finished playing, and other students who were there just to support their friends and spectate. After congratulating the winning team and noting there was time remaining at lunchtime, we proposed to have a friendly game of the winning team vs. us (the teachers). They said they would love to and the frantic excitement among the rest of the students was palpable. As the game began, something very interesting happened, the entire gym rallied behind these two players, supporting them, cheering them on, and bonding together as one. It wasn’t them vs. just another team, it was them vs. an external force (in this case us). As I have referred to in the past, this environment where the students, and not only those participating but spectating as well, can act as one against an external force (ex. a timer, another school, and yes in this scenario, the two of us). The long and short of it is that the students won a very close and exciting game, and everyone went away smiling. In conversation with the two students after, the noted as the game went on they played better and better, and they referred to the support of their peers as a driving factor behind this. They were unified and through this they felt they could achieve the goal better than if they didn’t have the collaborative force behind them.

 

This wasn’t intended. It wasn’t in the plan. It was spontaneous. Finding moments such as that, but more importantly taking advantage of them, is vital for a teacher to make connections to their students. I am not saying that teachers do not need to be planned or that lessons can just shift as if influenced by the tides. No. Anyone who has spent time with me knows that I am very organized and that isn’t my MO. However, what I am advocating is that rigidity and inflexibility is limiting. It limits your students and also limits your own potential as an educator. The ability to, in a structured and thought out way, ease off of the reins from time to time is one that I wish to possess and will work towards in the future.

 

“It is in the chaos that we find teachable moments.”

– Me

Adapt or Cry

Practicum Reflections, One Comment

Within the day-to-day flow of a classroom, it is great feeling to fall into a nice, consistent rhythm with your class. Students come in, journals, Math class, supervise recess, Social Studies, lunch, afternoon work, dismissal, home-time. Rinse and repeat.

Your class knows what the next move is and flows from one activity to the next. Seamlessly and without effort. BAM! A wrench is thrown in the mix. Assemblies, guest speakers, TOCs, students sick, Pro-D days, and a handful of other unexpecteds suddenly jam up the gears and cogs of the well-oiled machine that is your classroom. The consistency and reliability that your student have come to expect is thrown out the window and they’re plunged into chaos and anarchy. There is only one thing that is going to save this ship from sinking to the bottom of the Pacific with all hands lost: your ability to adapt.

Stuff happens. It is the nature of this profession that change is inevitable and more likely than not, it is right around the corner. This can come in many forms: schedule changes, curriculum alterations, a change in class dynamic, etc. Adaptability is a skill that combats these sudden and often unannounced shifts in your daily routine. Changes like these are frustrating but it is part of the career. Remaining adaptable and flexible is essential in maintaining a safe and comfortable classroom environment. The task lies in transfiguring this chaos into an organized chaos and making order out of the unexpected (or at least making it seem that way), so your students can feel as if the ship is headed on its intended course.

Last Friday, I had the privilege to teach a full-day of classes as my SA was out sick and the TOC was unsure of the plan in place for the day. Only 5 days into my short-practicum, a storm had hit but I had little choice but to take the class by by the helm and steer us to what I hoped was dry land. Throughout this voyage, I relied on the greatest resource I had at my disposal: the students. If I was unsure of a procedure; the students knew. If the schedule was wrong; the students knew what to do next. They were a tremendous aid to me and by 3:00 we had made it ashore. Quizzes done, handball played, projects started, agendas signed. However, without adapting, recognizing how we could achieve our objectives given the circumstances, and organizing a potentially chaotic situation, the class and myself would’ve been lost.

Something that has also become apparent to me over the past few weeks is how the ability to adapt is so vital in being able to handle the varying needs of your students. If you’re not able to perceive and then alter your practice to fit the learning styles of your students, then your doing them a great disservice. You are going to have a smorgasbord of issues, difficulties, styles, and approaches your students are bringing to the classroom Creating an interactive, engaging, and functional approach to a school year is a great feat, but adapting and re-applying it in future years is what will make such a plan stand the test of time. In my current classroom, around 50% students on adapted or modified programs and that right there shows how diverse the learning needs of your students are. Going into each year with the same mindset, same programs, or same approaches isn’t sufficient. Each student and each new class deserves the best and that best isn’t a copy and paste.

I like analogies and quotes that belong on Pinterest so I will end with the following:

“If a ship is approaching a reef and the captain refuses to change course, what do you think will happen?”