This post is covering my last visit to Lindsay Thurber on December 5th.
December 5th was my very first full day at the school, it also happened to be my very last formal visit through the field experience course. Geoff and I decided it was a perfect day for me to attempt my very first lesson to the classes. I was to plan a warm up activity that would work for all the classes of the day. We concluded that I would present to both morning classes of the grade 9 honors, and the very last class of the day the grade 10 honors class. The remaining class of the 30-1's Geoff would teach my lesson plan, so I could observe my own plans from the other perspective. Being all classes of high school ELA I decided to read exerts from "The Book Of Awesome". The book is a collection of short stories describing moments full of "awesome". The writings are often very descriptive, full of emotion and sometimes hilarious; so I decided reading some of them to the class would be perfect. I planned ahead picking stories I thought would present well to the class, incorporating length, relate-ability, and humor.
When I arrived that morning Geoff looked over some of the stories I had chosen and agreed that the book was great for a warm up activity. He also prompted me to introduce the readings differently, including questions to the class prompting them to guess at what the topics might be, ect. This aspect of planning the lesson was one I had not considered. Getting the students interacting is the entire point of a warm up. But this was a great learning experience, it pointed me in the right direction in a way I will never forget. The presentations went without a hitch, I enjoyed sharing with the class, and I could see they enjoyed hearing from me in a more formal way. After I had read the stories to the class, I asked them to share any of the "awesome" moments they could think of with the class. The responses were wonderful, I truly loved having this kind of interaction with them before my time was over. I believe that I gained a great deal from my experiences at Lindsay Thurber, this was a great way to end it all.
The only thing I would change about my presentation for next time would be to present the same stories to each class, rather than changing for each class. This would help to add flow to verbal presentation, and make me more comfortable in front of the class.
I learned many priceless lessons through the few months with Geoff. But the most important to me at this time is that I learned just how much I truly want to be a teacher. Spending time with the students, and seeing the drawbacks and positives of the profession shed light on my passion. This experience is invaluable, and I'm so thankful that RDC made it available to me in my first year towards my goal of becoming a teacher. This will help motivate me when times get tough, this passion will drive me through the courses I don't exactly like. Knowing the goal, makes the road towards it not so tough. I can't wait to be a teacher.
Thank you.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Winding Down.
Winding down my time at Lindsay Thurber I’ve realized how
amazing my journey has been. I have truly come to look forward to my afternoons
at the high school. Not only am I learning valuable lessons, but I’m also
making very valuable connections. After having such a positive experience at
the school I plan on continuing some field experience, and volunteering after
the semester is over. This extra experience will benefit me in many ways. Having
a variety of experiences throughout the school therefore gaining valuable lessons,
the volunteer time is a good for my resume. Plus having relationships in the
school past the expectations of the course shows the school that I’m passionate
about becoming a teacher. But mostly I want to continue returning to Lindsay
Thurber because I truly love interacting with the students, and staff at the
school.
This week I visited Nov 25th, and 27th,
and 29th, in the 30-1 classroom the focus this week was completing
their final assignments on the novel study “Night”. Many of the students had a
jump start on the projects as they were assigned last Friday. During the work
period I was able to interact with the student’s one on one. I circulated around
the room talking to students about what project they had chosen, and seeing all
of the works in progress. Because each project had a written response portion,
I was often questioning students about how they planned to respond the choices
they had made artistically. Many of the students surprised me with their ability
to creatively respond to many different aspects of the project. One student
creating a playlist for the book decided to take to assignment even further
than requested. His playlist illustrated the story’s main characters emotional
changes, sequentially from the first chapter to the end of the book. The kid’s
drawings, diorama’s and various other kinds of projects were all very
impressive. I was mostly impressed by the final project itself, I think Geoff
created a great project that allowed all learning types to succeed. Not only
would many of the students receive great marks, but also encounter a powerful
learning experience with the novel.
In the grade 10-honors class this week Geoff had the class
do a quick poetry assignment. The students were individually given an anthology
of poetry and asked to search for some poetry to share in the class. When asked
to read them aloud to the class hands shot up all around the room. The kids
were reading poems of all kids, funny to serious and all types in between.
Everyone was excited to share the readings they had found, this type of
interest in poetry isn’t average, even in an honors class. The nonchalant
nature of having everyone search for a poem they liked, held a much greater
impact with reading poetry. Having some student choice still allows for
teachable moments, while giving the class the excitement that drives a
successful class. The class later continued the readings of Romeo and Juliet,
reading, and acting the parts to the class. As the kids read each scene we are
following along in the movie to further ensure understanding through the class.
The students are still being very enthusiastic reading the parts, often coming
to class early to volunteer to read. Geoff has effectively gotten the kids
really excited about Shakespeare!
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Checking for understanding.
For the days of November 18th 20th and
22nd
One very interesting method Geoff used this week, while
helping the Grade nines write essays was that “arrow test”. This test was a
simple way for students to check the context of their work, making sure that the
ideas they are using stay in line with the thesis of their essays. This test
simply asks students to take the _ line down in the second paragraph and read
it aloud, while they read it Geoff asked them to be thinking about their thesis
statements and making sure they were congruent. This simple exercise got
students to focus on how important a thesis statement is throughout and entire
essay. I’m truly enjoying my time at Thurber, though it does take up virtually
all of my extra time with work, school, and homework. It has been a great kick
start into my career, I’ve already been asking for any volunteer work I can
participate in next semester when I’m done my field experience. I love being in
the school.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
New Perspectives
On Thursday November 15th I observed Geoff’s
morning classes again, two classes of grade nine honors classes. This week they
were reading the play “Dracula” aloud while acting out the parts at the front
of the room. The kids were so involved and excited to be doing such an
interactive reading of the play, hamming it up and goofing around in the skin
of their new characters. It was wonderful to watch them get excited about
reading a play. One student H was speaking her lines in an English accent, and
doing a stellar job of both entertaining the class and reading her lines.
Missing a few words a few of her lines another classmate acting with her began
to interrupt and correct H when missing a word. After a few times of the interruption
Geoff showed his concern and asked the student to please stop correcting H and told
her that she was doing a wonderful job. The play continued forward without
another interruption to H about her lines. The next classroom had the same
itinerary, while I didn’t observe all of the play in this class, as I was
helping another student in the hall, I noticed immediately the difference in comfort
level within the class. This class was shyer with each other, not giving half
the enthusiasm while reading lines as the first class had. The student reading
the part of Dracula was stiff and quiet even though she happened to be an actress
very involved in theater throughout Red Deer. Both classes of English 9 honors,
both reading the same play, but the environment and feelings if trust between
the students in the second class was very different. I find it interesting how
the dynamics of the class affect the success of an activity just as much as the
planning of executing the activity can be.
I asked
Geoff this week about his policy on late assignments, doing a project about the
rules of a classroom myself I though getting his opinion about specific rules
would give me some perspective on my own. I had implemented a rule stating:
Late assignments have an automatic 10% dock and lose 2% for everyday late
afterwards. Geoff explained that his rules used to be something similar, but as
a department (English at LT) they decided that late marks on assignment don’t properly
reflect the intellect of the student, rather, a behaviour. After thinking about
this perspective, I decided to change my rule and thought process reflecting late
assignments. I don’t believe that a student should have a grade reflecting his
behaviour rather than his actual accomplishments in the class.
Today
was a great observation day, I had many great opportunities to reflect on my
philosophies about teaching, and change some of my perspectives about students
themselves. I think Geoff is a wonderful teacher and a great figure to look up
to, I have already learned so much by analysing his assignments and hearing his
opinions about issues we discuss in school. I still hold many concerns, like
how to change some dynamics of a class like the second period of the 9 honors
class to make them feel more comfortable, and therefore have a better environment
to learn in. But I feel better prepared to someday handle concerns like this, I
think all teachers have concerns about all types of classes, but pushing your
perspectives out of the normal box, and confiding in other teachers to find
different perspectives is a career long battle.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Uncomfortable subjects
This week at Lindsay Thurber November 6th, I had the goal of really connecting with the students I’m observing. After discussing experiences with other students taking the EDFX class, I realized I haven’t established the connections with students the way many of the other students have. I think much of this is connected to the fact that I’m observing in high school classes, and not always with the same class. This motivated me to step out of my shell and take more initiative in Geoff’s classes. Now that we finally have a schedule established, I observe only the 10 honors class and the 30-2 class.
With more confidence because of familiarity I was able to
answer more questions in class, and interact with more students. It was really
rewarding to be more active in the classroom, and took away some of my fears
about answering questions in class. During class today, the kids had to
complete a short test about the new book they have begun to study, “Night”, by
Elie Wiesel. The first page was 5 multiple choice questions and the back asked
the kids to find three situations reflecting three different emotions experience
by Elie shown in a rough sketch of a roller coaster. The responses of the kids
differed tremendously, reflecting on the different learning styles represented
in the 30 kids. Geoff later explained that he was challenging himself to make a
different exercise for each chapter in regards to the learning styles. This way
each child experiences an opportunity to show his/her best work and excel.
Today I noticed student X, a young girl who had two defined bruises
around her neck, immediately I was concerned thinking of all the possibilities
that may have caused them. After class I asked Geoff about the student, and
what steps he has taken to address the obvious issue. He told me that he
actually hasn’t talked to the student about it, though he had noticed the
bruises immediately. I was really concerned with his lack of initiative to help
the student, though he noticed her struggles in the class. He told me that he
had previously set her up with a counsellor in the school, and because of that,
he wasn’t as concerned about addressing the problem individually. I disagree
with Geoff’s tactics in this situation. I believe the student deserves more
attention when displaying such worrisome signs, as a teacher you have no idea
if she’s talking to her counsellor on a regular basis or getting the help she
needs. At the very least I believe that I would have gotten In contact with her
personal counsellor to ask if the issue has been addressed or not. This experience
was really crucial to me, really capturing how even a really great, caring teacher
can be distracted, and not realize the impact they might hold on a student on a
personal level.
Pep Rally
Interesting methods I learned today: reflecting on the Grade
10 honors class.
This week (October 25th) Geoff handed me a stack
of post cards mad for Lindsay Thurber to be sent home to kids, he then asked me
to read over them and deliver them to the office to be sent away. I noticed
that one post card was sent to a member of each class Geoff teaches, and that
the note were filled with positive reinforcements to the attitudes and
assessments of each child. He later asked me why I though the post cards were a
good idea? I felt that it was a good way to let students know how important
they are to a teacher, and how important it is to us that they are succeeding
and growing in our classes. It’s also a good note for the parents to see that
the school is involved in their child's education.
Today the school had a pep rally to start the school day,
because of this and also being a Friday the kids were very eager to get out of
school. The attendance of the class was much better than Geoff had anticipated
though, and we had a productive two classes. In reaction to the day being
shifted around Geoff decided to do a "dice reading" method, where a
large dice is rolled around the classroom, and the number it lands on, is the
seat number that reads next. Incorporating this interactive activity into a
stagnant exercise like popcorn reading really gets the kids involved.
Especially when they can’t sit still to begin with; Geoff's experience really
paid off in the planning of this lesson in regards to the day that was
scheduled before the kids entered his class. We also watched clips from the
film "Shawshank Redemption", the class is learning a brief lesson
about film studies. I was surprised how in depth a grade ten class got into the
analysing of the scenes, some of the responses they came up with challenged my
own answers! It's wonderful to see how engaged they all are when we can relate
the topics back to films and topics they are interested in.
I always enjoyed learning film studies in my high school
classes, after reading the book, and discussing the many angles this was yet
another way to show understanding of the main points and emotions of the
characters. I feel that the kids in Mr. Parker’s class showed this same
interest. The conclusions that they made not only reflected on the
understanding of film studies, but the story itself. And for the kids who might
not have made some of the connections, maybe some understanding was
established. I believe this was a really good way to follow up on watching the
movie in class. Because it draws attention back to a learning experience,
rather than the slack feeling of just watching a film in class and not paying
attention. I really enjoy observing many of the techniques the Geoff implements
in his variety of classes.
Saturday, November 2, 2013
My observations from PTI's
PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS (October 16-17)
I observed both nights of PTI’s last
week, and to my surprise the meetings weren’t held privately in each teachers
class room, rather, all the teachers were set up around the perimeter of the
gym. I was nervous to be listening into such personal discussion about children
I hardly have gotten to talk to yet. Because I have switched around into so
many classes I haven’t gotten the opportunity to establish any relationships
yet. As I sat listening to many of the parents come and go I noticed a parallel
between the attitudes of the parent and student. Many of the issues and
frustrations Geoff has with students is reflected in the parents’ behaviour during
the short interview. It’s not a surprise that children take after their
parents, but the attitudes toward focus, late assignments, and even expecting
great results with little effort are shown in the parents’ views as well. One
mother was even secretive about her meetings with her son’s teachers, pleading
Geoff not to mention anything to her son because he would be “embarrassed”. She
immediately raised concern, asking if her son looked very tired in class each
day because, apparently, he was waking up at five am each morning and working until
11.00am and then attending his few courses left to graduate grade twelve. All I
could think was, “what a motivated student”, Geoff apparently had no idea the
boy had been doing so much and hadn’t noticed it affecting his in class
participation, he only remarked that he was doing fine in the class and was a
hard worker. The mother was pleased to hear this, and then told Geoff that her
son would be missing a week of classes after the week break, because they had
planned a vacation, she also mentioned that her son was concerned about missing
classed due to diplomas, but “she didn’t care, the tickets were already booked.”
It was frustrating to listen to that kind of attitude from a mother about her
son’s education. This example also gave me some hope, seeing that not all
students were to follow in the footsteps of the attitudes shown at home. Some
would even go against the grain and do even more than is expected of them to
get ahead in life. That is an admirable trait in anyone any age, and especially
so coming from a high school student. If I was in the teacher’s position I
would later pull that student aside and positively re enforce his attitude,
claiming that you heard about his work program before school, and you think it’s
wonderful that he is so motivated to graduate and begin his life in the work
force. I would also give some understanding to the fact that you’re sure he’s
often tired, but you appreciate his active participation in your classroom.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Day one at Thurber.
October 8th, 2013
8.00am-11.00am
Today I arrived at the school early, Geoff toured me around the school, taking me to the office and some of the main areas like the staff room, gym and library. We then returned to the class room to prepare the lesson plan for the day, opening up all the files and links that would be used in the class. This is a huge time saver that I had never considered. When relying on a SMART board for the majority of material in class, having the folders available creates a flow to you class later on, and keeps the focus of the students with less effort. I will be observing Geoff's grade 9 English honors class for the first few weeks, a good integrator before heading into a grade 12 classroom setting. While the kids started to filter into the classroom my heart started to race, everyone was looking at me, wondering who I was, and I had to keep total composure. Trying to look calm and inviting is an extremely hard thing to accomplish when inside your intimidation levels are running high. When Geoff introduced me to the class, they all applauded, the perks of having the younger age group, they are much quicker to accept me then I expect the grade 12's will be. Once the introduction was finished I could finally relax and observe, Geoff started the class of with "Tuesday Trivia", and broke the class up into groups of three (their choice) to complete a quick quiz on fun facts. He later explained to me how detrimental his warm up exercises are to the rest of class. He told me that before he integrated quick warm up's he had run into many issues with getting the attention of the class as a whole. On the SMART board he had a schedule of the days class, it was bright and colorful, and gave all the kids a chance to see what the day was going to look like, I think this is a wonderful idea to incorporate, this way not only do you have some order in place, but it also allows for the kids who finish the work early to get a head start on the rest of the projects. The class was in the poetry unit, and to give an example of vocabulary in poetry Geoff had made a lesson showing his own version of a poem about Alberta winters, but he toned down all the describing words. He read this version out loud, and had the kids comment freely about what they thought of the poem, many were very quick to catch the problems. And they laughed along at the word choice Geoff had decided to use, next they read the lines one by one comparing them and the kids answered out loud about what the poets version was better. All of the kids were participating in the class, and even if they weren't contributing vocally, you could see that his ideas were translating to the students. They then were told to start editing the rough drafts of their own personal poems. I was then given the opportunity to walk around the classroom answering any questions kids might have, a challenging task for me as a stranger in the class. But, was a great lesson for me, I learned how important relationship building would be at the beginning of the terms with my students. Trust is a vital part of a healthy nurturing relationship between student and teacher, not only in a group sense, but even more so for each individual to feel that the classroom is a safe place. They all trusted Geoff to read and critique their work, but some of the students didn't even want to tell me about the topic they chose. (completely understandable, I didn't pry for them to share with me if they weren't comfortable.) I also struggled with the dilemma of helping a student vs telling them what to do, it's such a fine balance between sparking a child's creativity, rather than just blurting out your idea of what would be best. I will really have to pay attention to this later in classes with Geoff and how he interacts with students when they ask him for opinions or even just help with an assignment. After the classes ended Geoff asked me for the observations I had made, and we discussed the fragile art of picking students to answer questions during class discussion. I had noticed one student who was extremely eager to answer each question Geoff had asked, it was easy to see the frustration on her face when he ignored her to ask other students. My question to Geoff was how to properly ignore certain students when its necessary to have an entire class discussion with multiple contributing parts, without deflating a keen students attitude. Or even worse, frustrate them to the point that they may feel segregated or picked on by the teacher. His answer was simple, he felt that keen students like the one I had noticed understood a teachers reasoning for picking other students, he also felt you must be sensitive to that students needs and call on them when you feel its appropriate, but not too worry too much about the situation. I understand his perspective, but also wonder if maybe pulling the student aside could be beneficial. To explain your reasoning might help both of you to be more comfortable with the situation, and completely eliminate the possibility of misunderstanding, preserving your relationship completely. I found my first day at Thurber to be entirely beneficial, I'm so excited to spend even more time in the classroom with these kids and Geoff. Everything from the staff, to the students, to the room filled with posters of encouraging people, quotes, and exceptional work was inviting.
8.00am-11.00am
Today I arrived at the school early, Geoff toured me around the school, taking me to the office and some of the main areas like the staff room, gym and library. We then returned to the class room to prepare the lesson plan for the day, opening up all the files and links that would be used in the class. This is a huge time saver that I had never considered. When relying on a SMART board for the majority of material in class, having the folders available creates a flow to you class later on, and keeps the focus of the students with less effort. I will be observing Geoff's grade 9 English honors class for the first few weeks, a good integrator before heading into a grade 12 classroom setting. While the kids started to filter into the classroom my heart started to race, everyone was looking at me, wondering who I was, and I had to keep total composure. Trying to look calm and inviting is an extremely hard thing to accomplish when inside your intimidation levels are running high. When Geoff introduced me to the class, they all applauded, the perks of having the younger age group, they are much quicker to accept me then I expect the grade 12's will be. Once the introduction was finished I could finally relax and observe, Geoff started the class of with "Tuesday Trivia", and broke the class up into groups of three (their choice) to complete a quick quiz on fun facts. He later explained to me how detrimental his warm up exercises are to the rest of class. He told me that before he integrated quick warm up's he had run into many issues with getting the attention of the class as a whole. On the SMART board he had a schedule of the days class, it was bright and colorful, and gave all the kids a chance to see what the day was going to look like, I think this is a wonderful idea to incorporate, this way not only do you have some order in place, but it also allows for the kids who finish the work early to get a head start on the rest of the projects. The class was in the poetry unit, and to give an example of vocabulary in poetry Geoff had made a lesson showing his own version of a poem about Alberta winters, but he toned down all the describing words. He read this version out loud, and had the kids comment freely about what they thought of the poem, many were very quick to catch the problems. And they laughed along at the word choice Geoff had decided to use, next they read the lines one by one comparing them and the kids answered out loud about what the poets version was better. All of the kids were participating in the class, and even if they weren't contributing vocally, you could see that his ideas were translating to the students. They then were told to start editing the rough drafts of their own personal poems. I was then given the opportunity to walk around the classroom answering any questions kids might have, a challenging task for me as a stranger in the class. But, was a great lesson for me, I learned how important relationship building would be at the beginning of the terms with my students. Trust is a vital part of a healthy nurturing relationship between student and teacher, not only in a group sense, but even more so for each individual to feel that the classroom is a safe place. They all trusted Geoff to read and critique their work, but some of the students didn't even want to tell me about the topic they chose. (completely understandable, I didn't pry for them to share with me if they weren't comfortable.) I also struggled with the dilemma of helping a student vs telling them what to do, it's such a fine balance between sparking a child's creativity, rather than just blurting out your idea of what would be best. I will really have to pay attention to this later in classes with Geoff and how he interacts with students when they ask him for opinions or even just help with an assignment. After the classes ended Geoff asked me for the observations I had made, and we discussed the fragile art of picking students to answer questions during class discussion. I had noticed one student who was extremely eager to answer each question Geoff had asked, it was easy to see the frustration on her face when he ignored her to ask other students. My question to Geoff was how to properly ignore certain students when its necessary to have an entire class discussion with multiple contributing parts, without deflating a keen students attitude. Or even worse, frustrate them to the point that they may feel segregated or picked on by the teacher. His answer was simple, he felt that keen students like the one I had noticed understood a teachers reasoning for picking other students, he also felt you must be sensitive to that students needs and call on them when you feel its appropriate, but not too worry too much about the situation. I understand his perspective, but also wonder if maybe pulling the student aside could be beneficial. To explain your reasoning might help both of you to be more comfortable with the situation, and completely eliminate the possibility of misunderstanding, preserving your relationship completely. I found my first day at Thurber to be entirely beneficial, I'm so excited to spend even more time in the classroom with these kids and Geoff. Everything from the staff, to the students, to the room filled with posters of encouraging people, quotes, and exceptional work was inviting.
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