This past week I taught two lessons; one with my partner on 'taxes' and the only independently on 'scarcity.' I feel like the lessons went well, but I am always a little concerned with how I performed. I get a lot of good feedback from my cooperating teacher, my partner, and my school supervisor, but now I want to hear your opinons on how I can improve my lessons.
Now I know you can't see me give a lesson but can anyone tell me how to realize when you are presented with those 'teachable moments?' I have a hard time identifing those times when I can take a students question or idea and run with it. When I get my feedback after the lesson I see where I could have done better, but how do you get your mind to seek out those moments and take advantage of them?
Also can anyone give me any good ideas of what to do when you have those students who just don't seem to get engaged. When you try using cooperative groups, interactive use of the SMART board, and whole-group instruction and you still can't get those two student engaged, what other aspects can I use to get everyone excited about learning?
Another area I struggle in is with assessment. When you give students an assessment and you have one or two students who just don't get it, what else can you do besides taking the student recess time away from them. You have to cover so much in one day, but yet your students need that time to release their energy. So what can you do so they get the information they need to understand the concepts from the lesson the day before?
One last thing I would like anyones suggestions on is what types of adaptations can you make for a classroom that has students who are very well developed for their grade level but with a few students who have minimal issues with ADD and autism? Both students seem to do well in the regular classroom without adaptations but I still need to find some way to show how I could or am making exceptions for them.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Tara, your blog is great. I love seeing pictures of your family. Do they know how great their mom/wife is!!!! You have lots of questions about teaching and that is wonderful. It sounds like your practicum classroom is really really full of diverse learners with a range of abilities and needs. It is okay to 'help' those students with their assessments if they are struggling. They need to feel some level of success and not be so frustrated with 'testing' at such a young age. Even though you 'help' them, you can still communicate to the parents and even a para in the building some things to practice with and not always take away the fun recess time!! I'm sure you are doing a great job. Your blog is great. 50/50 pts.
Post a Comment