This week was the true test. My cooperating teacher was scheduled to go to a conference for professional development on Thursday and Friday. There were two options: the school could hire a substitute, or the school could hire... ME. Well, neither my life nor my blog would be very interesting if the school had hired a substitute. So there I was, on my own. I have been in front of many classes during my time at Westminster, but never really on my own. Even if I was "teacher" for the class, there was always someone supervising me. This was the first time I was in charge of a full day of classes without a supervising teacher.
Although the experience had a rocky start, as the day went on things really smoothed over. I think this was a combination of my teaching decisions and the students' behavior. I had the opportunity to change some of my sequencing and lesson plans as a response to previous classes' achievements. It was a relief to do the same lesson 3 times in a row. Although it was a challenging instrument focused lesson, I had the opportunity to mold it as I went for each individual class. Revising my lesson plan prepares me for the next time I might have to teach it.
With one of my more difficult classes in these two days, I learned a valuable lesson. As a teacher, you don't need to get through everything! It is completely fine if a class doesn't get through all of the planned activities. It is more important that the students are able to be successful at one activity than for the students to rush through several activities without high levels of achievement. The objective in any lesson is ultimately to learn something. If teachers are more concerned with getting all the lessons packed into one class period, many students will leave without much understanding at all. It is important to write down where each class has left off. Since not every class works at the same pace, some classes might be ahead of the rest. It is important to keep track of all classes and prepare the next lesson according to their progress and skill level.
Even with rough patches, and a lot of learning along the way, the most important realization I have had, is that I will be ready for this. Teaching is what I love and I can be a successful teacher. I have always found comfort in having another teacher or supervisor around while I teach, but sometimes it takes a little push off the diving board to realize you're a pretty good swimmer.
Although the experience had a rocky start, as the day went on things really smoothed over. I think this was a combination of my teaching decisions and the students' behavior. I had the opportunity to change some of my sequencing and lesson plans as a response to previous classes' achievements. It was a relief to do the same lesson 3 times in a row. Although it was a challenging instrument focused lesson, I had the opportunity to mold it as I went for each individual class. Revising my lesson plan prepares me for the next time I might have to teach it.
With one of my more difficult classes in these two days, I learned a valuable lesson. As a teacher, you don't need to get through everything! It is completely fine if a class doesn't get through all of the planned activities. It is more important that the students are able to be successful at one activity than for the students to rush through several activities without high levels of achievement. The objective in any lesson is ultimately to learn something. If teachers are more concerned with getting all the lessons packed into one class period, many students will leave without much understanding at all. It is important to write down where each class has left off. Since not every class works at the same pace, some classes might be ahead of the rest. It is important to keep track of all classes and prepare the next lesson according to their progress and skill level.
Even with rough patches, and a lot of learning along the way, the most important realization I have had, is that I will be ready for this. Teaching is what I love and I can be a successful teacher. I have always found comfort in having another teacher or supervisor around while I teach, but sometimes it takes a little push off the diving board to realize you're a pretty good swimmer.