Learning Log Reflection

At the beginning of the school year, I was taking copious minute to minute notes on the happenings of the classroom. It was difficult for me to write down everything that was occurring as I was taking notes about the teacher, the students verbal and physical reactions to the teacher, and everything in between. After about two weeks, I began to take less detailed notes and as of last week, I found myself writing only a line or two about general situations during the class period because I was circulating or interacting with the students while they worked in groups. Using Wednesdays to observe classrooms through different lenses has helped me figure out how to focus on separate aspects of the classroom instead of being overwhelmed while trying to write down every single thing that happens for fear of missing something important.

On the first day of class, we talked about our fears and hopes for the year and becoming teachers in general. A major fear I had was simply getting in front of the students because I was worried about whether or not they would pay attention or be disruptive. I now realize I was more focused on myself than on the students. I taught a short mini-lesson on our classroom library at the beginning of this week and I think that was my first realization that when I’m up in front of the classroom, it does not matter so much what the students are thinking about me (although I want students to respect me, I don’t care as much as I thought I would about whether they ‘like’ me), but rather that they are understanding the lesson and concepts. As I spoke about genres and how to borrow books, I did not feel self conscious in the way I have in the past when giving class presentations. Instead, I was focused on watching the students and checking that they were paying attention and were able to answer my questions. Before and after the lesson, I thought about what I would do, how I would look (where to stand, whether to move from one side of the classroom to the other), and whether the students would be responsive and respectful. I am not saying that I am not self conscious or worried about being in front of the classroom at all now, but the experience alleviated a lot of my fears. Although I posted on the class blog in the past that I believe the students should be the focus of the classroom, I was not able to experience and apply this belief until this week. I feel as though once I start teaching in the classroom, I will find myself learning in the moment and possibly not even realizing what I have learned until I am done and am reflecting on my day.

I believe I have learned so much in the past month. If I were reading the same exact texts and only going to the class on Monday nights, I would learn a lot of techniques and information about how classrooms and teachers work, but that can not compare to actually being in a classroom. I love being in the classroom because I am able to see the techniques in real time and see student and teacher interactions. I get so excited when I am observing a classroom and can recognize a technique from Lemov’s book. It is also interesting to actually see the techniques being used rather than just reading the words on the page. When I first got the book, I began reading random techniques and found myself wondering if they actually worked with real students. I have now realized they can work as long as the teacher executes them properly. I remember learning about positive reenforcement in my Educational Psychology class and thinking that it would have worked for a teacher to do that to me when I was in high school, but was unsure of whether it would have worked with some of my classmates. It is interesting to see this put in action in the classroom and working more often than not. Another major thing I have learned and still have more to learn about is assessment. I had wondered how a teacher knows what the students know and where to begin when they first start the school year. After our Monday night classes on assessments and also seeing Rebekah use exit slips and a Literary Terms Diagnostic sheet as forms of pre-assessment, I have a much better understanding of how all of that works.

I still want to learn more about differentiated instruction. I just did an assignment about this for the Structured Learning assignment on blackboard and now I have a basic understanding of it. I would like to know how to use pre-assessments in order to form the learning flow for the students. I am also struggling with figuring out how to help students who are struggling with their writing and grammar skills. As far as where I would like to be, I am working towards feeling more comfortable getting in front of the classroom. I am also trying to figure out which techniques I have seen the teachers at SDC use that I would feel comfortable using and which ones may be useful, but I don’t think I would feel comfortable using. If the latter techniques are those that will lead to a better learning atmosphere for the students, I will need to work on going outside my comfort zone.