Monthly Archives: October 2014

10/18/14

The Third Day: My First Actual Teaching Experience

The day began early, at 06:30.  Snoozing exactly 3 times to 3 separate alarms, I will myself out of bed and into my car by 07:00, as I aimed to arrive at school by 07:30.  I have a luxury, you see — my SA is an early riser, which means if I were able to show up somewhere near when she arrives at school, I would have quite a bit of time to get comfortable, help out, and discuss our tasks and goals for the day.  I am by no means a morning person; our pre-school discussions, however, give me wonderful opportunities not only to ask many questions as to my SA’s established routine, her rationale, and her teaching philosophy, it’s also the perfect time for her to share potential challenges to be aware of in the classroom.

I realize that challenging behaviours (I hesitate to use the label challenging children) are the bane of many educators’ existence and source of many frustrations.  It is my hope that in sharing some of these challenges that I can provide some sort of emotional outlet — or simply a chance to vent — as well as a chance for me to be proactive and prepare, ahead of time, coping mechanisms and classroom management strategies to help alleviate and redirect challenging behaviour during the course of the lesson.  I feel that an awareness of these factors contributing to the classroom dynamic helps prevent feelings of surprise and being overwhelmed — planning “for failure” (and by that, I mean planning that includes and accounts for the possibility of failure) removes spontaneity and keeps me “in control” of the situation.

Moreover, my awareness of the challenges that students within my classroom face informs my delivery method.  And it should — if I were aware that there are English-Language Learners in my classroom (there are two such students), then I should endeavour to communicate concepts using clear language and take care to elaborate and define key vocabulary.  And in doing so, the other students in the class also benefit from the additional scaffolding such that they are given a chance to engage the topic in more forms than would otherwise be available.

This is necessary due to the fact that our reactions to our students’ behaviours inform their behaviour that is to follow.  By being proactive and planning around intended outcome, teachers can harness behavioural challenges (when they occur) as teachable moments, guiding students towards desired outcomes through non-confrontational, holistic, and mindful means.  For example, chastisement, even from the best intentions, involves communicating that whatever was said or done was wrong; the notion of making a mistake triggers negative emotions for most, which would then require the engagement of some sort of coping mechanism to diminish and dispel those emotions.  Thus, while certain behaviours are likely to elicit chastisement, educators must try their utmost to refrain from using that tool and if it is absolutely necessary, must be mindful of the additional follow-up task of guiding the affected student back towards a “rich and receptive” learning state of mind.  Through the process of typing this paragraph, for example, I am rather calm (to be honest, I am feeling somewhat bubbly); and because I am calm and receptive, I am capable to seeing that the easiest way to achieve my goal (to not have any negative/distracting behaviours during the course of my lesson) without triggering resentment may be acknowledgement and redirection:  acknowledge that the student is engaging in behaviours that are not contributing to the task at hand, and either brainstorming with the student to discover a process for refocusing their behaviours that works for her, or providing a choice of acceptable alternative behaviours.  In other words, focusing less on the problem (mainly, mymental burden) and more on the solution.

After speaking with my SA of her intended direction of the class, as well as her perspective on the classroom dynamics (with respect to individual students as well), I formed a working understanding of the class and devised a lesson on discerning between “good” and “bad” research questions.  The presence of ELL students within the classroom means that any resources I aimed to introduce as extensions of the lesson — reference document, in-class instructions — should use simple words where possible, with an increased focus on oral delivery and practice.  To account for the student diagnosed with ASD, I am prepared to allow him space to express his ideas if he so desires, to be clear, concise, and firm of communicating my expectations and being firm with my follow-through; also, to ensure that his EA understands the group activity and is thus able to help guide the student’s behaviour towards group participation.  Those students with a “challenging behaviour” designation will require engagement — they need to be distracted from engaging in self-stimulating disruptive behaviour; in other words, they needed to be intrigued by the subject matter and feel compelled to contribute to the classroom discussion.  And the students, in general, have stated that they preferred a more “fun” approach to learning.

All of these observations informed the method in which I chose to deliver the lesson.  As a lesson hook, I intended to generate interest by bringing in a personal narrative and deconstructing the role of questions within the story.  Then, I will guide students in an analysis of the function of questions, and how different kinds of questions achieve different goals.  I aimed to achieve this through questioning students, and have them share their feelings, with particular emphasis on the idea of creating a working definition from shared opinions, thereby communicating to students that their contributions will be of significant value.  I intended to respond to their contributions in a way that incorporates what I was trying to teach:  if their contribution included the concept, I would offer praise, restate the concept, and demonstrate how the student’s contribution illustrated the concept; if their contribution missed the mark, I would acknowledge the student’s contribution, restate the concept and ask a guiding question designed to redirect thoughts back on the right track, thereby ensuring that students will be comfortable with “being wrong”.  After the concept was briefly introduced, the class was to be separated into groups where they would follow instructions (cut out sentences into squares) and separate into categories, offer justification for their choices, and practice turning “bad questions” into “good questions”.  After this activity, we would reconvene as a class, share our findings, and debrief.

That was the plan…

– – – – –

My lesson was to begin after Silent Reading.  Despite this, however, students were somewhat preoccupied and rowdy as a few of them were still in the process of returning from the library (my SA told a few students, who had borrowed graphic novels and/or books far below their reading level, to exchange their inappropriate book for an appropriate one).  Foreseeing the possibility for frustration, instead of attempting to fight for attention and obedience, I instead chose to put my hand up as a “Statue of Liberty” while looking around the room.  Before long, students who noticed followed suit, and when they looked around the room and noticed others otherwise preoccupied, they told their friends to pay attention and get ready.  It was magical to watch this happen — some students maintained their focus on me, while others, noticing my wandering gaze about the classroom, followed my gaze to other children, who were quietly reminded.  Once I had everybody’s attention, I commended the entire class for being able to self-organize in a respectful way, and made it into a game by challenging them to “beat their record”.

Realizing that the aforementioned focusing activity as sufficient as a lesson hook, I used my personal narrative instead to segue into an introduction of the lesson itself.  To encourage sustained attention, I decided to try pacing about as I spoke; it worked wonderfully, so I kept it up.  I would periodically ask questions, and at first, students were nervous to share their thoughts (I felt that this topic may have been new to them), so I took extra care to acknowledge the first contributors and demonstrate acceptance of all answers; shortly thereafter, class participation was increased.  To my amazement, the child with ASD also put up his hand and offered an answer!  He was correct, and after praising him for sharing with the class, his hand immediately shot up and he wanted to share more; I had to redirect, as I hadn’t finished my thought, at which he began to express frustration.  My preparation allowed me to redirect his behaviour in a firm way:  “I will take your comment as soon as I am done explaining this idea.  You will be the first person I call on.”  His hand went down, I finished my explanation, and I immediately called upon him to share his idea (as follow-through).  All in all, this portion of the lesson went extremely well.

The second part of the lesson (small group work) presented several challenges.  First of all, I had not foreseen that the students may require time to cut up and separate the questions, and that this task may cause a distraction if two or more students all want to cut.  Moreover, I had requested a written component, which led to several students feeling overwhelmed.  Finally, the freedom afforded by small group-work led some students to become disengaged from the activity and exhibit distractive behaviour.

The cutting part was unfortunate, so I had to go from group to group to refocus individuals who were showing signs of disengagement.  The concern with the written component, when it was brought to my attention, caused me to make an on-the-spot decision to modify the activity to value what I wanted to do as a follow-up activity (sharing of group findings with the class); I briefly interrupted the class to inform them of some changes:  I decided to simplify the expectations by not requiring written full sentences, but for students to write down whatever notes they deem necessary because the main expectations was to share their findings with the class.  Circulating about the room, I observed that some students opted to write down full sentences, some wrote down several key words on the back of questions, and some not at all.

I observed several students at a table group that remained off-task and were distracting their fellow group members, who were trying to accomplish the assigned task.  I initially intervened gently, simply stating that I noticed from their behaviour that they were not helping their classmates and was thus not constructive; after sharing my observation, I informed them that I would like to see them engaged with the activity.  Later on I had to return to the table due to disruptive behaviour, and this time, I gave the students a choice of acceptable alternatives.  After they made a choice, I acknowledged that and allowed them the freedom to try their choice; after noticing that their choice was a suitable compromise (the students were enjoying themselves, and were working towards task completion), I accepted it as a solution to the issue.

Another issue of note:  the group with the child diagnosed with ASD was able to work seamlessly (it was one of two groups who had not generated disagreements over whose job it was to cut out the question strips).  That group also included one of the ELLs — she was not contributing much to the group discussion, but I was able to confirm that she understood the task.  While she had not spoken much, she demonstrated her understanding by helping with the classification of questions (into “good” and “bad” questions).  I then went to the group where the other ELL student was sitting, and noticed that he was sitting with his hands crossed while his fellow group-mates were looking at him.

One of the students, M, shared with me the state of affairs:  they were in disagreement over the classification of a particular question, “How would we work together to gain more table points?”  4 of the students thought this should be categorized as a “good question”, while the ELL student, T, insisted that was a “bad question”.  I invited T to share his opinion; he began, but began to look down and expressed some embarrassment and insecurity when sharing his response — my intuition, from what he said, was that he based his decision on “good” as the answer is valuable as opposed to “good” as the answer required is complex and open.  I asked him, “so when you say this is a ‘bad question’, do you mean you don’t really care about the answer to that question?” to which he smiled, nodded his head, and replied in the affirmative.  I then asked the same question to the rest of the group — some expressed interest in the answer (yes, they wanted to know ways to get more table points), while some agreed with T (they didn’t particularly care for table points).  Finally, I properly reframed the question for T, “what we’re trying to decide is:  does this question require some thinking for you to give an answer?  If you don’t have to think, then it’s a ‘bad question’; if you have to think a bit, then it’s a ‘good question.’”  T thought for a moment, nodded his head, and replied, “in that case, I think it is a ‘good question.'”

I gave the students a transition warning (2 minutes), and then put my hand up.  This time, the students were much faster, with the additional challenge (self-imposed?) that many students attempted to use non-verbal/silent methods of communicating to distracted classmates.  End result was a 1 second improvement, which was celebrated by a round of applause.  I called upon groups to contribute their findings, and after collaborating, repackaged and summarized the criteria for determining good/bad questions.  After that, I ended the session and moved to distribute the handout — I left this for the end because I didn’t want students to be distracted and reading from the resource.  In the end, I focused so much on classroom management tactics that I had neglected to hole-punch the handouts!  The students chuckled nervously as I quickly retrieved the handouts, punched holes, and passed them back out while my SA took over and gave instructions.

– – – – –

To summarize, contingency planning helps keep me grounded and acts as an effective tool for managing negative emotions that impede productive assessment and facilitation.  I personally find focusing on “how can I facilitate my best case scenario?” helps keep me grounded enough to respond in positive, encouraging ways to situations that would otherwise cause teachers to pull out their hair in frustration.

10/9/14

October 7th, 2014 (happy birthday to me!)

Since PE has never been my area of expertise, I must admit that the idea of leading a room full of children in physical activity gave me a mild case of the jitters. As I sit here in anticipation of tomorrow’s workshop, a few questions dance through my mind:

–          How might I communicate the importance of physical activity to children beyond designated physical education blocks?

–          How could we make physical activity a relevant and interesting choice for children?

–          Would it be possible to incorporate any elements of the SEL approach to teaching and encouraging physical activity?

– – – – –

The workshop was a real eye-opener! I’m glad to report that I’ve developed some tentative answers to those questions above after an engaging lesson in physical theatrics:

–          Tying physical activity to proficiency with schoolyard playground equipment: by incorporating core-building exercises and introducing them to a wide range of physical exercises, some of which may include use of the playground equipment itself, children become empowered through DPAs to interact with and explore the playground, providing them with the ability and confidence to create and join games and further enrich their social experience outside of the classroom

–          Building fundamental core strength and abilities allows facilitators to introduce more targeted techniques, such as throwing a baseball or kicking a soccer ball; raising students’ overall athletic ability will enable them to feel more comfortable and confident with trying new sports and participating in new games

o    Moreover, the creative dance and yoga activities offer children a novel experience that will stretch their physical abilities and show them how to use their bodies in never-before imagined ways!

Most importantly, the workshop was filled with resources and program ideas to springboard our lesson ideas – after introducing basic skills, a possible extension may be for children to collaborate in smaller groups to brainstorm strategies and alterations to the basic technique to improve efficiency and effectiveness, thereby engaging students in a community learning experience

10/9/14

The Second Day (First as an official TC!)

My second day at school flew by so quickly! It was a pleasure to work with the Grade 6 class, and I am very thankful for the degree to which my SA allowed me to participate in the classroom. I shall offer a period-by-period breakdown of highlights of the day, with a particular focus on my observations on her communication style.

–          First period: French / lesson prep

o    This period was spent on lesson prep and administrative tasks (taking attendance, collecting and assessing homework) while another instructor taught French; my SA spent time guiding me through her organizational method and showed me her marking style and criteria, as well as how she communicates with students whom either forgot to complete their assigned spelling homework or had completed them incorrectly (quantitative as well as procedural errors)

  • She stresses the value of accountability and self-sufficiency within her classroom. Children are expected to fully understand instructions and expectations and to adhere to classroom expectations at all times. Students who made minor mistakes were marked to have satisfactorily completed the assignment; students who made more serious mistakes (such as using the wrong list of words to create synonyms or making several errors in alphabetizing) were instructed to stay in at recess to correct their homework
  • My SA sets very clear and strict guidelines for the manner in which students are expected to complete their assignments as an extension of the value of being able to follow instructions and perform tasks within defined parameters. Students who do not meet expectations (ie – words to be underlined were not underlined with a red pen and/or using a rule) are required to complete the task in the proper way, accompanied with a reminder of expectations, as well as the expectation that the class completes all future tasks in the appropriate fashion

–          Second period: PE

o    Students who had not brought their gym strip were noted, and the opportunity was used to remind the class of expectations – that all students must arrive with gym strip on PE days, that change rooms were for changing only (not for continuing conversations), and that students were to line up silently as they wait for entrance to the gym

o    My SA led the class in a practice of two fundamental volleyball skills – throwing the ball in a high arc, and bumping the ball in volleyball stance

  • She gave a concise verbal description of the tasks, demonstrated them, and then separated the class into partners to practice the skills
  • M (child with autism) was late in entering the gym due to a behaviour-related consequence; he entered during the instructional phase visibly upset, being verbally disruptive
    • She instructed her students to leave M be and concentrate on the lesson, which was generally obeyed (M’s behaviours have been disruptive, often causing students in the immediate vicinity to attend to his behaviours; this has been observed to be positively reinforcing for M, who occasionally engages in disruptive behaviour to elicit reactions)
  • SA and I moved about the student pairs, giving suggestions and correcting technique on a case-to-case basis

–          Third period: math

o    SA teaches by writing on an overhead while introducing the lesson to the class; the topic today was especially challenging, and the students were generally found it difficult to follow

o    At the conclusion of the lesson, students were expected to complete the assignments on their own, raising their hands for assistance if required

  • Initially there was some chatter throughout the class, as each individual student tried to figure out the new patterning concept, some turning to their neighbours to ask for their perspective
    • SA took notice of chatter in the room and reminded students that they were to work in silence and ask for assistance
  • I proceeded around the room, asking children who appeared to be struggling if they required assistance – many of them preferred to work on their own
    • After a few minutes, several children whom I had helped the week prior sought my assistance, and eventually their classmates followed suit; some questions were fielded by myself, and some by my SA

o    It seemed to me that the children had tried earnestly to understand the concept on their own, and when that failed, reached out to their neighbours for help; only when that failed did they seek our assistance

o    Once several students were able to successfully figure out the questions with our assistance, others raised their hands more readily and before long, everybody was working diligently and continued to do so until the bell rang for lunch

–          Fourth period (transition): silent reading/photo day

o    Students are expected to begin silent reading having attended to all bathroom and water-related issues with one or more books available for reading

  • Those whom wish to change books may do so, providing permission is granted and library passes are available (5 maximum)
    • One child had reported that she wished to change her book, as she realized halfway through that she had lost interest in it; my SA initially stressed the importance of making a determination while at the library before borrowing the book, and was in the process of doing so when several students began to leave their seats intending to also change their books

o    She immediately placed restrictions on the privilege of exchanging books, repeated classroom expectations, and addressed students’ concerns on a case-by-case basis (after they have been instructed to return to their seats)

  • Another child made a request to fill her water bottle; her request was denied as a logical consequence of her not having done so during the appropriate time (during the second half of the lunch period)

o   I had noticed that she calls students over to her desk whenever she wished to speak with them in private – this, I believe, has a normalizing effect on being called to converse in private, as children often expect “bad news” and thus experience anxiety; she alleviates this using this method to communicate good news as well

–          Fifth period: science / socials

o    I missed much of the science portion, as I was assisting with making photocopies

  • From an earlier discussion, my SA shared that she was preparing to give the students an assessment test consisting of concepts that should have been covered the previous year

o    As we lost some time to photo day, students were generally late in handing in their assessment test and retrieving a laptop from the computer room

  • The students were to address four questions, the answers to which were to be found through following step-by-step instructions to access a specific webpage, read and assess the information, and then reproduce as answers
    • Perhaps owing the previous experiences in math class, students were much more open to the idea of asking for assistance

–          General notes

o    My SA places a strong emphasis on self-sufficiency through strict enforcement of silence during individual work and through the way in which she provides assistance – she utilizes the think speak method of demonstrating the proper tools, methods, or steps required to be undertaken to arrive at the solution

  • The student is thereby given an opportunity to use those tools to discover the answer on her own, reaffirming their self-sufficiency

o    Adherence to classroom expectations are paramount, as they represent a respect for the learning environment, respect for the instructor, and respect for the student himself

  • As such, any transgressions are quickly identified and explained, and the student is immediately requested to produce the appropriate and expected behaviour
10/3/14

A brief overview of the first day…

SA 1 (Grade 1)

The children were expected to attempt and engage the activity or topic of discussion in a respectful way — she encouraged her students to experiment with different orders of carrying out activities (ie — cutting all the pictures and separating into piles before pasting vs. cutting and pasting each individual picture) by verbally announcing strategies to the class, but chastised others when their experimentation infringed upon classroom expectations (ie — an innovative cutting method results in bits of paper all over the floor).  She introduces her expectations verbally, models appropriate behaviour, and calls to attention student exemplars of meeting or exceeding classroom expectations.

SA 2 (Grade 4)

This SA’s big rule seemed to be CLASSROOM PARTICIPATION.  Her teaching style is peppered with humourous anecdotes and quips, and her students are encouraged to laugh and enjoy themselves.  Interspersed between jokes, she compels students to participate by asking them many questions — some requiring very simple responses, others requiring more processing — and instigates competition amongst the students by playfully calling to attention a lack of willing participants with raised hands, at which point she would call upon someone without a raised hand for an answer, thereby communicating that students must participate in her class.

SA 3 (Grade 6)

This SA places a strong emphasis on self-regulation and self-motivation.  She shared that initially, she imposes a “strict” style complete with regimented routines and later allows students more freedom after they have demonstrated the ability to self-regulate and express themselves within the confines of classroom expectations.  While she places much importance on individual work — students are “cheating” if they are looking at their neighbour’s work or collaborating — she encourages social participation in small groups (students gain “table points” for positive behaviours/performance and lose them for negative ones), and also provides them with the opportunity to work as a class (entering the classroom quietly and being fully prepared for the start of class in the morning, after recess, and after lunch) towards “Freedom Friday”, where students are given an hour of freedom to do anything they want.