Summation "Success of the Day"

This weeks posts make me feel a lot better about what success I am having in the classroom. I'm really glad that there are a few things that I know I am being successful at. I'm glad in particular that I am succeeding in my "Teacher Voice" and having a good wait time because both of these foster a positive learning environment and establishes good flow of activities. I hope to continue to grow in both of these areas as I finish Student Teaching and into my career. Student Teaching has definitely been a great learning experience thus far.

One thing that I think I need to grow in as time passes is spinning wrong answers. What I mean is taking a wrong answer and making it positive (and even correct) so students aren't afraid of being wrong. This is a problem I have experienced with students even at the high school level. I don't want my students to be afraid to speak up in class. If I succeed better at doing this then my students well grow in knowledge and confidence.

"Success of the Day" Oct. 25

The last day of "Success of the Day". One last thing that I think I am doing well is my "Teacher Voice". My coops have complemented me on this characteristic I have. My students listen when I talk and know I'm not messing around. I also don't have to repeat myself often because my student can't hear me. I also think this establishes good demeanor in the classroom because I am kind and respectful but my students know what is expected of them in my tone.

"Success of the Day" Oct. 24

On this fourth "Success of the Day", one thing that I think I am getting better about wait time. For example, today, when I was taking role (I'm in a new placement so I'm trying to learn students names), students talking volume increased after I had asked a few times to keep it down. I waited until they noticed I was waiting for them to quite down. I then reminded them that the longer time they take the less time they will have to review for the test tomorrow. This is a great way to establish command in the classroom and show students that every minute in the classroom is valuable. I think this is something I still need to improve on, however, I have noticed that I have improved since Student Teaching started.

"Success of the Day" Oct. 23

Another thing I think I do well is help students learn for themselves. One of the biggest problems with Freshman I have found is that they want you to give them all the answers or to grade them really easy. Even after you explain to them that high school is not like that they still test their luck. Some students get angry and offended when you don't give them answer. You have to remind them that you (the teacher) are on their side through this whole process and trying to help them learn. We would be doing them a disservice if we didn't challenge them. Another great thing to do is respond to questions with a guiding question. This leads them to answer the questions themselves.

"Success of the Day" Oct. 22

Another thing that I do really well is redirecting students when they get off task. For example, when students are doing group work and get off topic in their conversations I can redirect them by looking at their work and asking if they have any questions. Most of the time they do so I answer them and they go back on task. I also walk around the room to monitor students work directly. This shows students that I really care about their learning and success in my classroom.

"Success of the Day" Oct. 21

One thing I think I do well is keep calm when things don't go well. If technology fails or when I messed up some copies, I was able to adjust to the situation and move on with the lesson without losing face. This also helps a lot in discipline issues because students should not see that their behavior bothers the teacher. By keeping calm I am able to dispense of the situation and move on. Students also really benefit from a teacher that has a calm demeanor.

Reflection #2

Part 1- I think that a huge issue with multiple choice tests and other common assessments is that they only look for one answer. There is no higher level of thinking or deeper thought processes being conducted. Students, from my experience, also only learn for a test, not for permanent knowledge. There is also a huge possibility that the chapters are not complete with information, which the poem alludes too. Students also don't gain any other skills by answer multiple choice questions.

Part 2-
a) There are a lot of great formative assessments that I can use in the classroom. Some of the aspects I have already included in Student Teaching are classroom discussion, group activities, and quizzes. I really like classroom discussion because it's a really easy grade for the students to earn and an easy grade to grade as a teacher. Quizzes are a great way to review the TEKS being tested to make sure students understand the concepts. Group activities promote great learning and cooperative skills which are essential for students to develop.
b) Summative assessments are a little more difficult to use in the classroom. I try to stay away from plain old chapter tests if I can avoid it. A great summative assessment I have used in Student Teaching is OER's (Open Ended Response). Students are able to answer a question in their own words. I also think long essays are a good summative assignment so students develop writing skills. Projects are also a good summative grade because they incorporate creativity and fun for students.
c) There are many reasons to have both. For one, it allows for more grades in the grade book because formative assessments are daily grades a lot of times. This also allows students many chances at success and hold them accountable for their work. Students are all different, and having many forms of assessment allow students to reach their maximum abilities in an assessment that plays to their strengths.
d) In the future, I would like to do more summative assessments with presentations. Students need to learn how to speak clearly in front of people. By teaching the class, students also learn more themselves. I would also like to incorporate 3-2-1 summery activities, which are quick, easy, and effective. I will also try and incorporate more bell ringers and exit slips as formative assessments. These are great ways to begin and end class and really allows me to measure student understanding.