2 posts from August 2009

The two things that I most want to improve on are my labs and using technology in the classroom. Last year, lab was not very useful. We rarely went back to lab and when we did, the students were not on task. Honestly, I thought that every lab last year was a wasted day. This year we've already gone back to lab once and overall things went pretty well, and I'm hoping that will be a trend that continues. I still feel that I have to work too hard on lab days constantly running from station to station to help students with the lab procedure, so I'm hoping to try and get my labs to where students are more self-sufficient.
The second thing I'd like to improve on is using technology in the classroom. I am using powerpoint for notes this year thanks to the Lcd projector the district is providing(I'm blessed) and it has made a world of difference. However, I'd like to show more videos and webclips for the visual learners in my room, but I'm not savvy enough yet to get that done. The fortunate thing is that I've got people to talk to about the issue so I'm confident that I can make the improvements I' m looking for.

Last year:
I was anxious, apprehensive and nervous. Every moment was eyeopening, and a heightened awareness made every second seem to last an hour as my senses soaked everything up from the environment.
I spent the 1st day playing a name game to remember every student's name. I spent the next 2 days on rules and procedures which I would soon learn was not nearly enough and then jumped right into teaching content. I really had no good way of keeping track of attendance, writing assignments, work to be graded, make-up work, etc. Things like writing a good syllabus, a parent contact log and a way to keep students organized were completely lost on me and my students were soon aware that I was a first year teacher. Like the first week for any teacher, it was easy; but I had laid the groundwork for a rough several months.

This year:
Everything worked like clockwork. I was calm, cool, and in command. I knew exactly what needed to be done, and more importantly, I knew exactly what should be avoided. I spent the entire 1st week(and the 2nd) reviewing rules and procedures. We practiced everything as a class, and I must have orally reviewed every rule/procedure at least 10 times. I was extremely stoic and strict, as I knew the mistakes of allowing even the slightest breaking of procedures in my room. The biggest thing is I had developed a system of organization for both my students and myself, which has allowed both them and me to know exactly what's going on at all times. This year has been great so far, and I almost feel like a pretty good teacher( although I know I have a lot of work to do and things to learn). I am happy at work, which was the polar opposite of my experience last year and I am quite positive about the year to come.