Learning Goals BLOG #2

My performance as a teacher this summer has been good. I have used more hands on activities and better questioning strategies. The hands on activities and questioning strategies can be used in my classroom during the year. This summer I have used more inductive instructional strategies. All of these strategies can be used in the classroom during the year.
My student was most successful with the learning goal that includes measurement and unit conversions. The student was successful in this goal because I did a good job of breaking down the information. I also used his prior knowledge to make new connects to the new learning goal. The student was given plenty of practice problems. He was also given a chance to demonstrate the skills he learned in unit conversion by completing a hands-on activity.
My student was least successful with the learning goal of periodic trends. I did a bad job of assessing his previous knowledge. I assumed he knew more than he did. I did not do a good job of providing the student with information. I did not emphasize the important trends of the periodic table. I also did a bad job of planning. I had the student taking notes and color coding the periodic table all at the same time. This would not work in a real classroom setting.
Since I only have one student for summer school, I have not used differentiated instruction in summer school. To improve my student’s performance in the future, I could teach study skills and note taking at the beginning of the year. This is an important skill that, I think, many students lack. I would also teach the students how to listen and follow instructions. My instructional procedures vary from lesson to lesson. I think, this is a good strategy to keep the students engaged. In my class during the year, I used very few instructional strategies. I think this caused many of my students to lose interest in my class.

Learning Objectives

My objective strategy for summer school has been similar to those that I used during the school year. I try to use a level one or two objective at the beginning of the class. Then, I try to build on the knowledge of the students by having them apply their knowledge with the use of a level four or five bloom’s verb. I like to use analyze, demonstrate, design, and summarize to allow the students to apply what they have learned. I expect students to be able to explain the lesson and the objectives learned to another person. I expect the student to learn the material not memorize or regurgitate the lesson.
When first teaching a student, it is often unknown how far you can push a student. I have found that my summer school class can be pushed farther than the eighth grade classes I taught this past year. My student is very bright and already has a lot of prior knowledge of eighth grade science. It is very important to activate prior knowledge and build on what knowledge the student has. I used the inductive strategy, in which, I provide the students with a discrepant event and they ask yes/no questions to find an answer. I used the question to activate prior knowledge. The discrepant event was the occurrence of night and day and the seasons. I found that the student could tell me why night and day occurred, but not the reason for the seasons. This helped me to realize that the majority of the lesson needed to be spent on the seasons and the explanation of why they occur. My student is very bright and my objectives need to be on a higher bloom’s level He also needs to have objectives that have more activities and demonstrations. This will allow him to use the knowledge that he learned through the lessons taught.

Final Decision and Advice For First Years

As I was saying in the last blog, family is very important to me. Moving to Desoto would only puts me about three and a half hours from home. This would be great because I can go home on the weekends. Also I will get a chance to be around my family and get to know them better. In the past five years, I have never been home longer than a week at a time. I am also considering moving back to my home town after I complete the program. The only available jobs there would be teaching. I would love to teach at my high school. Desoto is very similar to my high school. Working at Desoto would make it an easier transition to teach my third year at my high school. So needless to say, I am moving to Desoto County. I am really going to miss Greenwood Middle and my students.


Advice For the Newcomers

1. Do not smile until Christmas break!! You will have to be mean. You need to let the students know that you are the head person in charge and that you run your classroom. You need to say “No” as much as possible.

2. Show no weakness because the students will take advantage of it.

3. Be consistent. Treat all the students the same. You must punish all students who break rules.

4. Always use your consequences, no exceptions.

5. Do what the administration ask you to do. You will probably need their back up on discipline issues. If you do as they ask you to, they will be more inclined to assist you.

6. You will write-up a lot of students in the first two months.

7. Try to do something outside of school. It is important to have a life outside of school. Always take time for yourself.

8. If possible get involved in a school activity such as a club or a sport. It is much easier to get to know the students and their parents if you see the students outside of the classroom.

9. Take care of yourself mentally and physically. Eat right and try to have someone to talk to about problems at school.

10. Have fun and always remember that you are making a difference!

Do I Stay or Do I Go

This past month, I was faced with a big decision. The decision was whether to stay at my present school or go to an even better school. This was a very hard decision to make. The school I was at this past year was a middle school in the delta. Greenwood Middle School had many dreams of becoming a level five school. These dreams where shared by the faculty, staff, and the students. As I wrote about in my previous blogs the school tried extreme measures to achieve this goal. The students also worked very hard. After all the work ,I doubt Greenwood Middle will be a level five school. But I am proud to say that I was part of the efforts to better the school and education in Greenwood. Needless to say, I was satisfied with my first year of teaching. It wasn’t as bad as others, strangely I enjoyed teaching at Greenwood Middle School, and I somewhat miss my students already.
About two weeks ago, one of my college basketball coaches gave me a call to ask if I would work basketball camp. While I was telling her that I couldn’t work camp because I had summer school in June, she mentioned that a coach from Desoto County called her and asked about potential assistant basketball coaches. She told me that she mentioned my name and I said that was fine. Well, the next day the coach and principal of the school called me. They seemed to be very interested in me teaching at their school. I never really thought that I would leave Greenwood, but I was thinking this might be a better opportunity. I knew that if I stayed in Greenwood for another year that next year would be my second and last year of teaching. When Desoto asked if I would like to come visit the school, I said thought to my self why not. The visit went great. A few of the teachers went to Ole Miss while I was there and were acquaintances of mine. The faculty and staff seemed like great people. They also seemed to be dedicated teachers. At Greenwood Middle, I believe, that the primary problem was a lack of dedication and pride on behalf many of the teachers. While at Desoto, they took me on a tour of the school. While on our tour, I observed a class in which all the students were quiet and on task , and it was at the end of the school year. I did not know that was possible. My kids have been so crazy the last couple of days. Then I found out the class had a substitute teacher. This made their behavior even more shocking. I knew that if I came to Desoto that I would be teaching well behaved kids. Even though Desoto had a great many things to offer, the decision was still really hard. Greenwood was also a great place, and I am needed more there. Desoto wants me to teach high school biology and science skills. I really want to experience teaching high school before my two years are up so I know which I like best. Desoto is also closer to my home town. I also a nephew who is growing more and more every time I see him. I really want to be a part of his life. I have been away from home for about five years and every time I go home I feel as if I don’t really know my family. Also my small cousins seem to not recognize me when I go home. That makes me feel really awful; family is very important to me.