Welcome back to another exciting edition of the voice from the teacher in the inside. So my first week is done! Yippie! I am so excited and could definitely use the break. Friday we had an all-school field trip to the park in an event called "The Get Acquainted Picnic" or GAP. It was definitely a fun time as usual, and it allowed me to get to know a lot more of the Liberty students outside of the classroom. It's weird because I participated in some of the activities before when I was in high school and now I'm the supervisor. The only game that remained since I last went is the giant tug-of-war. It was definitely fun and I think the students got really into it.
So this week I made some adjustments in my teaching style in order to better reach out to the students and help them to learn. First, I started doing some of the homework problems on the board to get them started. I might do some from a section and a few from another. It's just a great way to get the ball rolling and help them out as best as I can. Now they don't seem to be as afraid of math as before. Secondly, I made my warm-up assignments easier and allowed them to use notes from the previous days. Before, I made the bellwork assignment vague and open-ended, but that made more people confused. Now it's mostly multiple choice, or one word answers. Third, I make copies of the notes that I use to teach and pass them out to the class so they can follow along. I think this is the biggest improvement so far. Now the students don't seem confused as much and I can plug my own ideas along with the book's ideas. I think it works fine. I'm trying it out for a week and see how the students respond and see if their homework grades continue to improve. (side note: I think I assigned to most homework so far in upper division)
I'm also trying to learn from other teachers. I've been talking with other faculty members and getting their takes on situations. On Thursday, I sat in on a fellow teacher's class and took some notes about how to address my own class. It was definitely an awesome experience and I derived some ideas about how I can better improve my teaching style. Today, the Vice Principal (or assistant principal/academic dean; APAD) visited my room in the morning. He went to take notes and listen in on my teaching style. To tell you the truth, I was a bit nervous; especially when some of the students started asking questions and weren't understanding some of the concepts! Eeekk! Anyways, I hope it was a good experience and that he will give me some positive advice on my teaching technique.
On Wednesday I will be giving my first quiz and on Friday my first exam, and I'm really nervous about creating one. How do you make one? How long should it be? What should be on it? Should it be multiple choice? How should it be formatted? Are all questions worth the same amount of points? You know, I might make some mistakes the first time I write the quiz and test. Or maybe it will be perfect the first time through. I don't know. I'm going to see how the students respond and make any adjustments necessary. That's the kind of phase that I'm in right now. I'm continueing to learn alongside with my students.
Learning is definitely an ongoing process...
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3 comments:
Haha! I remember seeing the principal visit my class from time to time when I was in high school and never realized how nerve-wrecking it could be on the teacher, especially if things seem to not be going very well!
Stand strong and confident! I know you are a great teacher, and it sounds like you are already making a lot of progress in developing your teaching style.
Mark, I'm so impressed with your wisdom, for such a newbie. Lots of new teachers wouldn't even realize yet that they needed to make changes.
Sounds like you've done a lot of analyzing and made lots of adjustments. You've done much in a very short time! We're praying for you. Keep up the good teaching! I'm sure your principal was impressed! We'll send Marius to you in a few years!
Thanks for your encouragement Mrs A. It's much obliged. I would be happy to accept Marius as my student. I'm sure he would be interested in a Physics course and seeing how the world works.
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