Weekly Logs

Week 2: In my second week of my math placement, I really began to grasp the curriculum, reconnect with the material, and develop a good sense of how both of my mentor teachers approach delivering new material. I assisted in grading the advanced algebra quizzes as well as daily homework checks for my geometry students. I appreciate being able to look at and analyze student work because it helps me to see where common misconceptions are and what material the students need some additional support in arriving at an understanding in. I also taught my first lesson on Friday in my Algebra I class. I felt as though it went okay, and I am grateful for their cooperation as I grow accustomed to using the technology provided in the classroom. I began working individually with a student this week as a form of remediation to get him back up to speed and prepare him for his test on Friday. It is difficult to know how to ask the right questions and how many practice problems is sufficient enough for the student to understand how to apply the processes learned in the chapter. However, I really enjoyed the 1-on-1 setting because I was able to see what specific errors the student was making and address them. The most challenging part of this week is realizing how much I need to do to prepare for my students. Math classes give homework everyday and I feel like in addition to the next lesson plan, I need to keep up with the homework to address students’ questions. As I develop a system, I am sure that this will become more streamlined for me. This week I will be phasing into all three of my preps. By Friday, I will be bell-to-bell for all of my classes which means I have about 3 weeks of full time teaching before I begin to phase out. This will be good experience for me to see more of the long-term effects of my teaching because I will be teaching over two chapters for all of my classes. I find myself shocked at how quickly time is passing and realizing that in addition to planning instruction, I have a lot of other things I am balancing that I really need to tackle to be in a good place upon graduation.

Weekly Logs

Week 3: Wow! What a week. With a controversial issue surrounding the school, I found myself struggling to remain focused and not get caught up in the drama. It was certainly a learning experience to determine how schools approach damage control after things are said in the media, as well as what lengths a school will to go to uphold the integrity of their teachings and principles. With all of that said, this week began my transition into teaching. As I phased in class by class, I am becoming more accustomed to the students’ needs. Friday was my first full day of teaching and I was exhausted as the final bell rang! My teacher has really passed the reigns to me. I am doing everything from taking attendance, taking and recording grades, answering questions, grading, and developing lessons. It seems a bit daunting because there is more homework in math than in business, but I am also realizing that I have just four short weeks of student teaching remaining left! My student that I worked with last week got an 80% on his exam! I was so excited for this student and shared my excitement with him as I was monitoring the class. I think that students need more positive reinforcement, and I hope that this student continues to push himself because I know that he can pass this class. Often times it is difficult for teachers to see the progress of students because they are focusing on the areas of needed improvement. I, myself, do this after teaching and think about all of the things I could have done better instead of being proud for what I did overall. Celebrate the successes, no matter how small, is going to be something that I focus on in particular this coming week because students are taking quizzes and tests.

Weekly Logs

Week 4: My first week bell-to-bell was both exciting and stressful! Being transitioned slowly the previous week was nice, and this was a lighter week, but I am still seeing that it is really difficult to pick up toward the end of a math class. As I continue to teach, I realize that I do not feel like I am connecting with these students like I did in my previous placement. I don’t know if it is because they are younger or if it is because I have been more focused on knowing my content inside and out, but my goal for this week it to develop a better rapport with these students. Other than literally falling on my face, I would say that math lends itself to several challenges. My students are still pretty shy and don’t seem to want to come in for help even though I know they need it, but I don’t know when to push and when to pull. I really enjoyed teaching some of my lessons and making things my own. With the classes being set my a lead teacher with common assessments and pacing calendars, it is difficult to find room for your own teaching style, but now that I am used to the packets, handouts, quizzes, and files, I am beginning to make them my own and sprinkle in the real-world connections as I can. I think my students think I’m nuts at times, but I am enjoying it! This week, my algebra classes both have quizzes and there will be some new content taught – dividing polynomials (hello long division!). In addition to this I will be teaching new material in geometry. I got some great resources from my professors on campus to help me for my lessons. I am really enjoying geometry more than I anticipated. I don’t know if it is because I like the reasoning behind it and that there are several approaches, or because I can ask more questions about why we are doing particular things, or maybe even that I have students that are a year older and developmentally more with it. Regardless, I am looking forward to finishing up!

Weekly Logs

Week 5:

Another week of bell to bell under my belt and I am beginning to have a handle on things! I am realizing that there is a lot more to keep track of in a math classroom (paperwork, homework problems, handouts, etc.). My teachers made the move to remove themselves from the classroom so that I am the only adult in the room. I found to have really liked this because there wasn’t a balance of power and I felt like I could really manage the class how I envision myself doing so. My student that I have been watching out for in terms of grades earned another 80% on his test Friday! I was so excited, that I emailed his father congratulating him! My students are also starting to get more comfortable with me in the class, and asking me questions. I am also becoming more fluent when speaking about the content when makes my lessons more fluid. Now that I feel like a have a routine down I am focusing on my instructional strategies. There is a wide spectrum of learners in my Algebra I class. Several of them reach a level of understanding almost instantaneously, while others have trouble closing the gaps in their knowledge. I have noticed that several students struggle in their note taking skills. To help them write in a more linear way, I am providing optional guided notes sheets for students to use at their discretion. This is a way for them to quickly refer back to the concepts that were taught during that lesson while doing homework or reviewing for a quiz or test. In addition to this, I have tried to think of more engaging and novel ways for students to practice problems from the textbook. I am going to try an activity next week where students work at stations to complete a problem set and then move on. My hope is that is chunks the lesson and keeps students engaged. My goal is to really try to enhance the content my making the classes more engaging. I am continuing my ‘motivational Monday’ trend by playing a pretty neat video about jellybeans and perspectives on life. It is fitting because my students always ask me when I am going to bring jellybeans – students are so quirky!