I was not sure if I was supposed to write about Monday's prompt or Tuesday's prompt so I decide to combine them. My classroom experience thus far has been going well. I am learning a lot from my cooperating teacher about questions to ask, ways to get feedback from students and how to transition. I started a list on my workspace table of things that I have heard her say or do that I want to remember. I have also enjoyed starting to get to know students. I am starting to feel more comfortable with the students now. It has been a little hard for me to know my place in the room at certain times. I have gotten to teach two small lessons on bus safety and one morning meeting. I have not pick-up one specific responsibility yet that I do each day. So for many lessons I observe my cooperating teacher and walk around and assist students. Sometimes I can feel like I am not sure what I should be doing. We mainly have used the co-teaching strategies one teach, one observe. We tried to co-teach a lesson and switch off leading, but that did not go very well. Today I was able to collect some data on students about how far they were on their writing projects and what they still need to work on. We may try station teaching this week for science as well. Things may be easier when I pick-up more specific responsibilities. Today was the first real day of curriculum so it is nice to observe my teacher teaching the curriculum first before I have to teach it. Today was another hot day, so I was happy to go home, looking forward to cooler weather tomorrow :)!!
I'm heartened to read that you wish you were doing more in class already, although I understand the wish to be involved because observing gets old quickly! I know from working with Jane in the past that she is a deliberate person, and an effective mentor (2 qualities you've already noted in your posts), so I'm confident she'll pace your leadership in the classroom in an intentional way.
ReplyDeleteIn an email to me (I wrote to all cooperating teachers last week to check in about how things were going), she had nothing but positive things to report about your first week. She said you were taking initiative, picking up on routines and procedures quickly, and bonding well with students. She was very enthusiastic. In fact, she said she doesn't know what she's going to do without you at the end of the semester. You're a big contributor already.
Some of what you're experiencing in terms of your role may be due to a couple of factors: 1. It's the beginning of the year and all teachers have a crazy, innate NEED to get the room running according to a well-developed plan. Speaking of which, have you started micro-communities? 2. The co-teaching expectation is brand-new, so Jane may be wrapping her head around that (as are you), and taking her time to do so. Do these theories make sense to you?
I know you'll be fully-integrated before you know it, but if you want to chat more, let me know. It's great to read that you're finding productive, authentic ways to stay engaged with the students, with Jane, and with your professional development.
Hooray for cooler weather today!
Dr. K
Hi Nichole!
ReplyDeleteI know just what you mean by not knowing where you should be! The best solution that my cooperating teacher have found is taking a few minutes at the beginning of the day for me to ask if there is anywhere she wants me specifically for a portion of the day. Beyond that we have a bin that my cooperating teacher puts things in for me to correct/ assessments to give. There is a second bin that has things that need to be photocopied or taken to the office. Throughout the day my cooperating teacher throws things in that have post its with instructions.
I use the contents of the bins to fill the time when I'm not sure where I should be. I find that I can assess pretty easily if I'm needed to walk around the room or if I should focus my attention on getting the things in the baskets covered. This way, I don't have to ask each time I want a task and I feel like I'm always being utilized.
Have a great Friday!