This week marked the Parent Teach Conferences. Admittedly, I was nervous, as it was my first time on the other side of the desk. Thankfully, I encountered no problems. Many of the parents were supportive of me and actually thanked me for being in the classroom with their student. I was surprised, though, that most of the parents were from students who were doing well in the class. From what my host teacher said, this normally happens. I guess this corroborates with the idea that parent involvement can, at least indirectly, be a positive factor in student achievement.
Also this week was a Faculty Senate Day. The morning was spent going over topics that really had nothing to do with me, as I'm gone in a few months. However, the faculty agreed to look into getting a Student Resource Officer for the school, which I support greatly. We had one in my high school and she was a great addition. There were seldom any problems because the officer was there, so I think that having one at Fairmont can only help. The afternoon was spent in the classroom working individually with departments meeting up briefly. It gave me plenty of time to catch up on lesson plans and grading
Friday, October 12, 2012
Saturday, October 6, 2012
10/1 - 10/5
This week, Mrs. Munza was out, so there was a substitute for her. Since I am not completely in charge of all of the classes yet, it gave me some time to observe and take notes of a different teaching style. Unfortunately, the notes were not that great. The teacher, I feel, did not effective teach the students and was more concerned with getting through the material than presenting it. There were many times that students had to ask me to repeat what the sub had said or what the answer to a question was that they missed. The teacher knew what she was talking about, there was just a disconnect between her and the students. That is a trap that teachers always have to be wary of, because as soon as we start to lose them, students tend to just shut down.
Friday, September 28, 2012
9/24-9/28
I think that this week was my "coming out" party as a teacher. It was something simple, yet according to my host teacher, it marked the beginning of me being a more complete teacher.
When teaching my Math 1 class about absolute value functions, I was reminded of something that my host teacher did last year. I told the students that, when there is a negative value equal to just an absolute value, there should be an alarm going off, as that is not possible. What made this lesson truly my own was the fact that I gave the alarm a specific sound. My teacher has a train whistle in her desk, so I decided to surprise the students and blew it as the alarm. The students loved it! I hope that from now on, whenever they see a situation like that, they will think of Mr. Butler and the train whistle.
According to my host teacher, that was good as it let my personality show in my instruction, which is a necessity. What also helped was the fact that I was being observed that day, so I think that varying the instruction a bit reflected well on me.
When teaching my Math 1 class about absolute value functions, I was reminded of something that my host teacher did last year. I told the students that, when there is a negative value equal to just an absolute value, there should be an alarm going off, as that is not possible. What made this lesson truly my own was the fact that I gave the alarm a specific sound. My teacher has a train whistle in her desk, so I decided to surprise the students and blew it as the alarm. The students loved it! I hope that from now on, whenever they see a situation like that, they will think of Mr. Butler and the train whistle.
According to my host teacher, that was good as it let my personality show in my instruction, which is a necessity. What also helped was the fact that I was being observed that day, so I think that varying the instruction a bit reflected well on me.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Week 4: Sept. 17- Sept. 21
This week was Homecoming Week, so it was fun to see the students relax a little and have fun with the festivities. I even chaperoned part of the dance. It was amusing to see my students' excitement to me being there, as apparently I do not exist outside of the classroom. It was very interesting talking to the other teachers as to their disagreement with dancing styles and how it surprised them that the administration was doing nothing to stop the behavior.
The most interesting part of the week occurred on Wednesday, as the contractors at the school hit a gas line which caused a small leak to occur. Since my host teacher was not at the school and had a substitute, a large amount of responsibility came upon my shoulders to take charge of the classes. Overall, I think that both the faculty and students handled the situation admirably. There was not panic as the students evacuated the building. Even when in the parking lots across the street, students remained relatively calm and did not cause any problems while we waited for the proper authorities to arrive. There was a minor problem though in that they canceled school for the rest of the day, yet students were not allowed back in to receive personal belongings unless absolutely necessary. This posed a problems for classes, as we only had 3 period of the day when this occurred. Thus, some students who had homework were unable to retrieve it and teachers' lessons plans were thrown off track. Yet another exercise in flexibility!
The most interesting part of the week occurred on Wednesday, as the contractors at the school hit a gas line which caused a small leak to occur. Since my host teacher was not at the school and had a substitute, a large amount of responsibility came upon my shoulders to take charge of the classes. Overall, I think that both the faculty and students handled the situation admirably. There was not panic as the students evacuated the building. Even when in the parking lots across the street, students remained relatively calm and did not cause any problems while we waited for the proper authorities to arrive. There was a minor problem though in that they canceled school for the rest of the day, yet students were not allowed back in to receive personal belongings unless absolutely necessary. This posed a problems for classes, as we only had 3 period of the day when this occurred. Thus, some students who had homework were unable to retrieve it and teachers' lessons plans were thrown off track. Yet another exercise in flexibility!
Friday, September 14, 2012
Week 3: 9/10-9/14
Today was a good week. I gave a test in my Senior Algebra II class on Wednesday. The overall scores were astounding for these guys. The mean scores for both classes were in the 70s, but apparently, for students of their skill level, a C average is amazing. I personally disagree and think that they can do better, but I will take what I can get for now. There were some very good scores and to see the students' delight when they got thier tests back was heartwarming. I had one student who was almost bouncing in her seat to get her test back because she knew that she had a 98. It was amusing to see how excited she was to get hers back.
I came across a minor wondering during my grading of the tests and my host teacher's reactions towards the scores. How much does a teacher's expectations affect their teaching of the students? Often, educators hear through the grapevine how students act in class, their skill level, etc. As a student teacher though, I do not have that past experience to judge the students by. Does that mean that I automatically hold the students to a higher standard than a regular teacher who has had the student beforehand? Does that lack of previous experience influnce how I teach the students and what I expect of them? I'd be interested in hearing some other opinions from some of my cohorts.
I came across a minor wondering during my grading of the tests and my host teacher's reactions towards the scores. How much does a teacher's expectations affect their teaching of the students? Often, educators hear through the grapevine how students act in class, their skill level, etc. As a student teacher though, I do not have that past experience to judge the students by. Does that mean that I automatically hold the students to a higher standard than a regular teacher who has had the student beforehand? Does that lack of previous experience influnce how I teach the students and what I expect of them? I'd be interested in hearing some other opinions from some of my cohorts.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Intern Week 2
Think week went well, overall, but not according to plan. Right now, in my Senior Algebra II classes, I am going at the pace of about one section per week. This is really slow, in my opinion, since most of the material is reviewing things they should already know. When talking with some other teachers, they are already quizzing on the first couple sections of Chapter 2. I'm still not through Chapter 1! I'm giving them a test on what they've learned up to now, but I am definitely going to have to step up the pace a little. The disturbing thing, though, is that some students say that the pace we are at is already too much for them. I'm not sure what to do. I can't cater to the few that are lagging behind the even slower pace but I don't want to leave them in the dust either. My host teacher agrees, though, that we will probably have to up the pace a bit, especially in our regular-level Algebra II class.
Friday, August 31, 2012
8/27-8/31
This was the first full week of me being n charge of some classes for my Intern year. My host teacher has a total of 5 classes: 2 Senior-level Algebra II classes, 1 regular Algebra II, and 2 Math I-Honors courses. I am fully in charge of the Senior Algebra (SA2) classes while Mrs. Munza and I co-teach the remaining classes. I will slowly be transitioned to the front of the other classes eventually. It is difficult, however, to create lesson plans for the Math I course, as there is no Curriculum Map or even a solid textbook at this point. Hopefully the book problem will be solved by the time I take over.
Overall, I think my Internship is going well. However, there was a small incident this past week. My SA2 students took a quiz on Wednesday on information that they should have learned in Algebra 1, in addition to the examples we did on Monday/Tuesday. However, when I graded the quizzes, the mean for both periods was a failing grade. Both my host teacher and I thought this was unacceptable and decided to let them have another chance. Thus, I decided to have a "chat" with my students on Thursday. Essentially, I let the students know that both Mrs. Munza and myself were disappointed in their grades and that we knew they could do better. We announced a re-quiz for Friday and spent the rest of the day going over their initial quizzes. I think this was a good thing to do because it had a small shock factor for the students and, after grading the re-quizzes, both classes brought the mean up to at least a D level.
My host teacher told me to not expect extremely high grades from the students, as the SA2 class usually averages grades in the D to B range, if that high. I recognize this but I feel that, given the proper time and instruction, the majority of these students can make grades in the C to A range. Most of the students improved their scores on the re-quiz, so hopefully this will let them know that they can actually do math and succeed. I do have to remember to take the grades with a grain of salt though. Obviously, most students will do better on a quiz that is similar to one they already had, but I'm hoping the high grade trend continues. I'll probably be quizzing again next week on the next section, so we shall see. As my EDUC 200 instructor said, students only learn when they are tested on the material (or something similar to that.)
Overall, I think my Internship is going well. However, there was a small incident this past week. My SA2 students took a quiz on Wednesday on information that they should have learned in Algebra 1, in addition to the examples we did on Monday/Tuesday. However, when I graded the quizzes, the mean for both periods was a failing grade. Both my host teacher and I thought this was unacceptable and decided to let them have another chance. Thus, I decided to have a "chat" with my students on Thursday. Essentially, I let the students know that both Mrs. Munza and myself were disappointed in their grades and that we knew they could do better. We announced a re-quiz for Friday and spent the rest of the day going over their initial quizzes. I think this was a good thing to do because it had a small shock factor for the students and, after grading the re-quizzes, both classes brought the mean up to at least a D level.
My host teacher told me to not expect extremely high grades from the students, as the SA2 class usually averages grades in the D to B range, if that high. I recognize this but I feel that, given the proper time and instruction, the majority of these students can make grades in the C to A range. Most of the students improved their scores on the re-quiz, so hopefully this will let them know that they can actually do math and succeed. I do have to remember to take the grades with a grain of salt though. Obviously, most students will do better on a quiz that is similar to one they already had, but I'm hoping the high grade trend continues. I'll probably be quizzing again next week on the next section, so we shall see. As my EDUC 200 instructor said, students only learn when they are tested on the material (or something similar to that.)
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