Thursday, November 29, 2012
Best Teaching Skills
I think one thing I am good at is planning lessons. I try to think through my lessons in-depth and identify a purpose for the different parts. I also like to plan lessons with a variety of parts so I am not just doing direct instruction the entire time or just group work the entire time. I look to the standards and plan lessons according to the material that students need to know. I also try to be very organized. I prepare my materials a head of time and make sure I have everything needed for the day. I have gotten better about being flexible during lessons and reading my students as well. In middle school I get to teach the same lesson most of the day so if something didn't work well in one hour I change it and do something different the next time. If I learn something new during one hour, I add it in to the next lesson if it will be valuable for the students to know. I have gotten a lot better about giving directions as well and making things clear to students when explaining information.
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Another skill I'd add to your list, with respect to planning, is making sure you provide time to model a skill/strategy you want students to understand, followed by guided practice to check for understanding before students move on to independent practice. You're also committed to keeping students part of the conversation when you teach--there's a lot of back-and-forth between you and your class as you ask questions to check understanding and prompt kids to explain their thinking. One way you could take a step forward in your support of classroom conversation is to invite kids to ask each other questions, or to direct the review of work (in math class) during the last part of the class period. In this way, you'd be free to move around the room while a student conducted the review at the front of the room.
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