Connecting with Students and Understanding Their Backgrounds (or Desiring to Understand Them)
When students get started on talking about something that happened in their day, in their lives, or even in the moment, it can be a wonderful experience. I make a personal effort in trying to facilitate these conversations and recognizing that my classroom is not the students' world. It is only a small part of their day and their overall life. That being said, I'd like to think I have a way with getting my students to open up to me as much as they are comfortable with. I am always very curious to know what is going on in their thoughts and what is present in their world. I am often refreshed by their way of thinking and their resilience as students, academically and also in their lives. Even if I may not initially understand some of their thoughts, I try my best to work through them and keep important dates or ideas in mind; not only to facilitate a relationship but for their learning as well. I find that being a good listener gets students to engage more—something I love hearing about.
Recognizing my own Biases and What Impact They Have on Students
At the end of the day, I am only human. I know I will make mistakes in my classroom, I know I have my own biases that I have developed prior to the classroom. That being said, I do as much as I can in order to make a point about recognizing my biases and changing my thinking and my actions. I want to make a positive impact to my students and I want to make sure that I create a classroom that will serve them in the best way, even if I may have to restructure my thinking.
Areas of Growth
Assessing in the Moment
When I am teaching, time, standards, and making sure students are understanding material are different variables that I am constantly aware of—I am banking rather than collaborating (as Paolo Freire would say). Due to these multiple variables, I often feel like I am so distracted with them that I have a difficult time in assessing in the moment. I want to be able to push student thinking in the moment when I recognize that they are beyond the lesson or alternatively, know what kind of questions I should ask in order to guide students in the right direction. While I have baseline questions I can often refer to, such as phrasing the query of the assignment in another way or asking them what they notice and go from there, I often feel like it's not enough. I want to be able to assess what a student is saying or doing with the material quickly and be able to respond in kind with an appropriate query or restructuring. I think with time and comfort with the material I will teach that I will be more proficient with this, but it will take some time.
More Personal Engagement with Content
I notice that my cooperating teacher will notice his students talk about something and be able to pull up something about the material without much prompting, allowing students to see real world applications about the material present. I know students love being able to see a personal connection with content, as it allows students to branch out of the lesson itself and be able to engage further. I feel limited in my impact to do so as I am a new teacher and structure has been my best friend throughout this adventure. I am hoping that with time, I will be able to do something similar to what my cooperating teacher does once structure is no longer a crutch but a resource.