Reflections and notes about my time in Practicum, and links to Invite! Excite! Ignite!
Guiding Questions:
Another element was seeing how some students responded to different situations/stimuli and what their strengths and weaknesses were. Even without having access to direct IEP’s, I could see Mr. Welch assessing students levels and trying to see how differentiation could work in the classroom. Strong students, weaker ones, but more importantly, how they worked together, who could collaborate, what group work looked like, how fights devolved and escalated. Who hated who, who liked who, who was good in the mornings, restless after lunch. All the nuances that can make or break a lesson or unit if not carefully accounted for and planned for. I was fortunate enough to also spend a little time asking advice from Laura Eagles, who is a wealth of knowledge on many of the students and how to help accommodate and reach some of the more demanding students. I will admit though, I am worried that some of my observations will influence or maybe jade me before practicum. I don’t want to discount some students because I’ve seen them misbehave, struggle or cause issues in the class. I want to approach each lesson with the same enthusiasm and passion as if they were a fresh class of 25 eager young minds, and not discount anyone before trying. That is a risk in working with the students so closely, and yet, I believe it is also realistic. Mr. Welch has been very candid with me about the challenges and issues of this cohort, of which students have a history of violence, acting out, anxiety, etc. I am glad though that already, I feel I could help some of them, that by supporting Mr. Welch’s teaching style and trying to work in tandem, have been to fill in some of the gaps when he can’t be everywhere at once. Similarly, I have found out some of the interests of the class, especially the individual students who needed more help, and I hope to bring that into my lessons so that student engagement and enthusiasm stays strong leading towards the Christmas break. As for the readings, I believe that ties in directly to many of the things I saw in Mr. Welch’s class. He began with a real focus on student success, and identifying student success as a classroom goal for everyone to participate in. He had the students engage with the learning skills portion of the report cards, outlying why they appear before metrics of learning and understanding and how that was by design, stressing that those 6 components are the real reason they are here and that is what learning should focus on at all times. This of course ties into deep learning and lifelong learning. The class, as I mentioned, is quite challenging. But those challenges just mean we have to focus and provide even more support for learning skills. Many of the students are very capable, wonderfully bright and unique, but lack the skills to develop on their own. They lack independence, organization, interpersonal skills, meta-cognition, self direction, stress management, goal setting, and tons of other small lessons and skills that we should be focusing on. I found it refreshing that throughout all the different subjects, from art, math, language and everything in between, Mr. Welch kept bringing up those learning skills as points to reinforce, as items to focus on. I hope that my own teaching style will focus on those elements as well. In my art lesson on 1 point perspective, I naively thought the students would eat up the first activity and run with it. I knew they were all capable, but I didn’t take into account the differences in those learning skills. Normally strong students broke down and cried, tore up pictures in frustration and completely shut down. I was mortified and embarrassed. I had set up these students to fail in a way they couldn’t handle. I didn’t give the scaffolding and gradual release to make sure they could all succeed in that activity. Talking with Mr. Welch afterwards and reflecting on it, I knew I took their enthusiasm and eagerness to learn from me for granted, and Mr. Welch and I both decided I needed to rectify that mistake. Going back in, I focused on modeling the lesson so that everyone, despite their level, could succeed and feel more confident. Some students still struggled, but Mr. Welch and I were then able to give them one on one support and ease the transition. I definitely felt that the second time, I was more focused on the learning goals and the life skills the students really needed, and it was a much better learning experience for everyone involved, the students and myself. That is a lesson and a focus I will definitely keep at the forefront of all future planning.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
October 2016
Categories |