On the topic of clinicals, this was my first week actually being in the classroom with the students. I have scheduled it with my CE to come on Tuesdays and Fridays each week and stay all day. This week, on Tuesday, I mostly observed what was going on to get a feel of the classroom. Tomorrow, though, my CE has asked that I help her with some activities she has planned for her classes. One of the first things I picked up about my CE is that she is not a "textbook teacher." The only time she even cracks open a textbook is if she is sending work for a student to do in ISS. This may seem hard for a math teacher to do, but she tries her very best to keep the students engaged and entertained while learning. She is GREAT at facilitating learning for all of her students (NCTCS 4).
To give you an idea of what a typical day may look like in her classroom, I'm going to quickly describe how one of her classes went on Tuesday...Before students can even enter her room they must greet her at the door. Sometimes she simply requires a hi-five or a hello, but other days she may ask them a quick mental math question that reviews something from the day before. As students come in they grab their printed, guided notes and any other sheets and take a seat. My CE is very creative in the way she designs her guided notes. They are specifically set up in a way that helps the students memorize whatever notes they are taking, therefore the setup changes day-to-day. From there, my CE goes over announcements and then jumps into the lesson. She has everything she needs already pulled up so she can walk around while she teaches. After taking a few notes, she has everyone stand up and they play a quick game to help further their understanding of what they just learned. Then, she continues teaching and the students continue taking notes. To end, they play a matching game, this time working in groups.
I really liked how my CE organized her lesson in the order of "notes, game/activity, notes, game/activity. I think it really helped keep the students engaged and focused. It also helped her teach towards a diverse population of students (NCTCS 2). Those who learn from taking notes and listening were reached, as well as those who prefer to be hands on or active.
With there being so much to absorb during my time in my clinical, I got to thinking about how I can organize my thoughts and ideas. So, I ended up purchasing a simple daily planner with plenty of space for me to write in. Each day I spend in my clinical, I can jot my observations down on that specific day. This also allows me to keep track of any methods, teaching strategies, games, classroom management strategies, etc...that I observe and don't want to forget. I also glued sticky notes to the inside of the front cover in case I need more writing space. Since it's already a calendar, its also great for keeping track of the school system's important dates, events, early release... This planner is separate from my usually planner. This one has sort of become my "all inclusive clinical notebook."
I think that about catches me up on the events of my week so far. As I've been settling in, I've become more and more excited to see what all this semester holds and how much I learn.
I'm praying you all stay safe in the event Irma makes her way to us this weekend/next week. We may get a crash course in how to keep our classrooms and students on track with chaos going on around us.
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI love how your CE greets every student as they walk into the door way. She is clever to do a variety of different motions to keep them guessing. Engaging students to learn is the key to good teaching. Yesterday, before the bell rang for the students to go home, my teacher had the students down on the floor. She was explaining to them the importance of listening. She then told the students to do exactly what she did: clap hands, touch ears, and so on. The students loved it. I am glad you are settling into a routine.
I hope next week goes great for you.