This week was eventful and provided me with many learning opportunities. As I have been taking on more teaching, I have come to realize that instruction should be focused on quality, rather than the quantity of information. I learned through one of my lessons that perhaps trying to cover too much information in one lesson was not beneficial to the students. After reflection on the lesson, it made more sense that slowing down and opening up the discussion to more insightful questioning might lead to some interesting conversations. This week I will be focusing on slowing down my lesson pace and using more open-ended questions, rather than rapid fire. I have learned that there are definitely times that require rapid-fire questioning, but also lessons that should work on more thoughtful and engaging questions and answers. I will be working on this type of questioning, particularly in our Socials unit on Canada. There is so much to teach about each province, but I will work towards focusing on one or two main points for discussion.

This week also challenged me in terms of management, and encouraged me to look at different strategies for focusing a broadly diverse class. I am going to utilize my resources for students that require extra assistance, while engaging the rest of the class in a positive learning atmosphere. Although some students in the classroom have proved to make for a more challenging environment, I feel it has been a great learning opportunity and has allowed me to play with different techniques. Some of these strategies have not worked, but some of them have. It’s definitely a good experience testing to see which strategies I can keep as I continue in my practicum and when I have my own classroom.

Another aspect that I would like to try to improve on going forward is ensuring that I am providing more options for students who are more advanced in certain areas (i.e. mathematics), and also making sure that those who are needing extra help do not get left behind. This week I took some time to revisit “regrouping” in math, and realized that some students are finding it very difficult to make the connection with base ten blocks, while others are beginning to get bored. Mrs. S and I have devised a plan to split students up into groups so we can have a more focused learning environment with students who need the extra help, while the others can work on numeracy sheets that will be more challenging for them. I think that this is one of the most difficult tasks- ensuring that everyone’s individual learning is being accounted for, and that no one gets left behind. In the last few weeks of my practicum, this is going to be one of my major goals- to ensure that students are reaching their individual potential and making personal growth.