Teachers continually reflect on evidence from assessments, professional development, colleague observations and implement positive strategies into their own classrooms.
Goal:
I will observe the math teachers at Tooele High School, looking for strategies I can implement in my own classroom.
Goal Reflection:
Although this is a wonderful practice for new (and even veteran) teachers, I probably would never have done it if I hadn't committed to it in our February PD. You can learn a lot by observing other teachers during your planning period, but you can also get a lot of necessary planning done during this time. As a new teacher, its very difficult to give up the much needed planning period, even if it is for a good cause.
When I did finally make it out to observe these other teachers, I made it a point to find one thing I would implement in my classroom within the week. One of the most significant changes I have made as a result of these observations, is that I now go over quiz answers as soon as the students finish taking the quiz. Using the TI Nspire calculators, I am able to instantly grade, and offer feedback to students. This allows students to identify mistakes and correct their thinking before it's ingrained too deep. Another nice result of these observations is that other teachers are observing me and offering feedback which I am so grateful to hear. I can become a better teacher by implementing strategies I observe in other classrooms and reflecting on feedback they give after observing me teach.
When I did finally make it out to observe these other teachers, I made it a point to find one thing I would implement in my classroom within the week. One of the most significant changes I have made as a result of these observations, is that I now go over quiz answers as soon as the students finish taking the quiz. Using the TI Nspire calculators, I am able to instantly grade, and offer feedback to students. This allows students to identify mistakes and correct their thinking before it's ingrained too deep. Another nice result of these observations is that other teachers are observing me and offering feedback which I am so grateful to hear. I can become a better teacher by implementing strategies I observe in other classrooms and reflecting on feedback they give after observing me teach.
Evidence:
These are notes and my reflections for three different observations.
Reflection:
As you'll see in the next standard, the math department developed a plan for implementing Reciprocal Teaching in the math department. Part of the implementation included observing other math teachers in the classroom. It was a huge sacrifice to give up my prep time to go and observe these other teachers, but I learned so much from each observation. My goal was to go in to each classroom and observe their implementation of the Reciprocal Teaching strategies, but also to find at least one thing they did well that I wanted to model. It was hard to limit it to just one thing because these veteran teachers all had so many great things going on in their classrooms. Although it is difficult to give up my prep hour, I find it is a very valuable investment of my time as I can learn so much from these other teachers. I was amazed at Nic Lems' patience and the wait time he gave his students. I left Leah Lorton's classroom anxious to model her strategy of student-led thinking. And I loved Shalon Jones-Miller's strategy of immediate feedback on quizzes. Every teacher has his or her own style, but I can adopt a little of each and make it my own to become a better teacher.