Monday I was able to continue guiding the students through writing the step-by-step directions for the STEM Fair experiments they will be conducting next week. It has been quite the learning experiences for me to see them through almost this entire process and it is crazy to think that the time has finally come! Through my lesson, I realized I was not as "on my game" as I needed to be with classroom management. Though it had been a goal of mine in the past that I felt accomplished with, I fell back in to the habit of not following through when asking for students' attention. Especially as pre-service teacher, I need to be sure I hold myself accountable until classroom management becomes as natural as breathing (as it seems to be for the effective teachers I've been able to see). Another area of classroom management that came up during this lesson were groups needing different types of support. For example, some groups had finished their task before time was up, others were working throughout the time, and some were getting stuck and needed to be scaffolded. Because I have been so used to monitoring and just touching base with each group, I didn't think to pull the struggling group while the other groups carried on independently. Being able to judge students' unique needs and respond immediately and appropriately is a skill necessary to be an effective practicing teacher. With practice and awareness of these opportunities, I hope to become better at it.
I was also responsible for writing the Science plans for the rest of the week. I struggled to fit what I've learned as far as content and best practice in my Science course with what I had available to work with in my classroom (causing me a fair amount of stress). Of all the lessons I learned as a Resident from this experience, it is that early, thorough, continuous communication is the key to creating a successful lesson. |
science-mass_of_solids_explore.docx |
Middle: Stacy Reyerse, Melanie Petrillo, Natasha Weber
Back: Gavin Baker, me
Final thoughts on this week, I am infinitely grateful for my UTRPP colleagues. During a 10 minute brain-break from class on Thursday, we spent some time walking around and enjoying the sunshine. Their support and positive vibe are always so inspiring. (click on their names in the caption above to check out their fantastic blogs!)