Improved Teaching Practice

I think I most improved on planning group activities for the class.  At first, I didn't really monitor the groups well, expecting them to just "do the right thing" and trouble shoot on their own.  I soon realized, through trial and error, that I needed to constantly walk around and monitor each group.   They seemed to realize more that I was available for questions and to help them stay on task.  When they see me circulating, they stay on task more often and seem to accomplish more.  I will work on my timing for class activities for the next semester.  I still run out of time - not planning enough time or too much time for certain activities.  Cindy suggesed that I write actual times out in the lesson plan. I'll try that for sure because when we go to blocks in the fall, I realize that timing will be even more critical.

Fall Semester Reflection

The aspect of my teaching practice that has improved the most is my preparedness, which is attributed to my learning experience at NTI this past summer. I am able to begin each week with a prepared lesson plan, that includes bell ringers as well as the learning activity for the day. And because I teach one class in particular three times, by the third class it becomes a breeze. Last year on many mornings, I would have this mad dash into the classroom to try to come up with an objective, bell ringer and lesson plan that made since. This semester is so much better that I am really looking forward to next year.
I need to keeping working on and mastering my lab managment skills. I was strong in the beginning of the semester but have struggled a bit in the last month. A part of that has to do with being more mindful of the clock and where we are in the learning activity. Sometimes I lose track of the time, the bell catches me and I find myself trying to clean and prepare for the next class coming in by myself. I also would like to continue to grow in the area of student assessments. I will work on simplifying my rubrics so that the students better understand how they are being graded. I am looking forward to the spring semester and the what it has to offer mysrlf anf my students.

Reflections 1st Semester

REFECTIONS

Gaining an understanding over the summer of the events of instruction has helped me to have more structure in my classes and develop lesson plans that are more comprehensive. I have clearer targets for my lessons which have resulted in achieving my objectives more than last year. An area that I need to continue to work on is classroom management. I have one class in particular that is better however it does continue to be challenging at times. I have several strategies that I am going to try at the beginning of the year and hope that they will be effective. I found the onsite visits to my classroom to be very helpful and I am looking forward to next semester with additional visits and also learning about assessment tools.

Reflections: Westbrook (PapaJoe)

I have reflected many times this Fall about how the NTI course has helped so much this fall. The main thing that I enjoyed was having a good start. The classroom management plan from day 1 was perfection. Having a plan for every day is heaven. I have had to use a sub three times this fall when I am pulled for instruction and the emergency lesson plans worked! The instructional plans and types of learning have helped. My students enjoy the change. The use of the video camera has helped me a lot. You hate to see yourself though. I need to go on a serious diet. The camera does point out many flaws and a lot of behavior problems that you are not aware of. You have to always be on alert, even with your stars. I had my best student get in serious trouble in class last week. He decided to create a huge fireball with a lighter and brake cleaner in the small tool room. He and I were lucky. Me for catching him in the act, and him for not creating a disaster.
I need to be better at monitoring all behaviors, especially during lab. Eyeballs in the back of my head are needed, but I have gotten new cameras in my room. I need to be able to challange my better students with additional special projects. I need more hands on material. Being better prepared for the additional outside responsibilities that are not taught at NTI. More training on LD and counseling techniques would be helpful.
The encouragement from all the NTI instructors has been amazing and very much appreciated.
Thank You!

Penny: Reflections

Most improved...
I have improved in my classroom managment skills. My room is more efficient and I have had less problems because of how I have approached my management. Involving the kids in running the classroom has been one of the best strategies I have learned from NTI. I have also improved in effective lessons. I realized how important time is in the classroom and how to plan proper lessons to not have dead time...and that an active student is much better than a bored student!

To work on...
I still need to work on my organization. I want to get my semester all planned out from start to finish...every day complete....but after 2 1/2 years I'm still not there. Maybe this summer...I remember hearing that teachers never really feel like they have a tight grip on everything until after their third year. Its true!!! Next thing to do would be to think of bigger and better projects for my kids to do!

Reflections by Captain Kitchens

My most improved area has been my ability to manage several different tasks at once. Before, I was much more focused on doing one thing at a time; however, this semester with extended day and no planning has forced me to cherish those 6-8 minute class changes and the morning without a homeroom. I was forced into a situtation that I didn't feel I was ready for but somehow realized that I don't always have to be a perfectionist and that settling for meets expectations is just fine.

What I need to work on.... believing the last statement I just wrote. Somehow I can say that to myself over and over again, but I always seem to strive for perfection.... my students taught me some excellent quotes (Fall Back and Chillalax). That's what I will be working on while I am enjoying my PLANNING PERIOD!!

Reflections.

I think the most thing that has improved for me would be my lesson plans and how I appraoch them in the classroom. The Lesson plan formmat we have at Morrow High school can be very generic in nature, but the lesson plans we accomplished this summer semester have really be the advocate for my teaching process. I try not deviate from them because it set the foundation for a structured classroom. So the students know my aspectations.

The one thing I would need to improve on would be making sure my kids really understand the information taught in class some days they can give the needed information for mastery in a subject and some days they come in class with the lights off. I think I can approve this process with more verbal reviewing and discussion in a interesting way in class. Man the semester will be over in a few weeks. It seems like yesterday we were in Summer Semester at NTI with the high FUEL prices to get there for class everyday.

Reflections on the Fall Semester

I am in my third year at my high school or with high school students for that matter. I enjoy teaching video broadcasting to these kids. I can see a great improvement with my classroom management since I have attended NTI. I still see room for improvement because I am too nice. However, by developing detailed lesson plans and by having management tips, I see my classroom management improving. The variety with the teaching styles and methods have really helped to keep my lessons interesting and on target. I incorporate technology and shorten my lectures to keep the students motivated.
Now that I have improved with classroom management, I need to improve with my time management. I need to be able to schedule my time better, because I am a giving person and am in a classroom setting that meets needs (dvd duplication). I am often approached by faculty, students and other teachers to help them out with technology. This is not my job description, but I naturally and automatically help. This has sometimes dominated my entire planning period. I have recently delegated the work to upper level students or said no. I find this to be difficult, but necessary to protect my development of being a good teacher. I thank Dr. Burns for giving the class this summer a "heads up" on protecting our time. My thought now is to say as Dr. Burns did "can I get back to you ? ". In the future, I will try to come up with a plan to help but protect my valuable and stretched time frame. Thanks NTI and Dr. Burns.

REFLECTION

This year has improved from last year (1st year). This summers NTI classes prepared me for the semester. Even though I put a lot of stress on myself, because this is one of the hardest things I have ever done. Teaching is a lot like running your own business, if you don't have a plan or sight of where you will be in the future you will be lost. I felt that way and of course have ups & downs. But NTI has helped tremendously, don't know if I could have made it through this semester without the support of the instructors and classmates. 

I am more organized than ever. Now I am not perfect but at least I have started to keep things in order. Teachers days don't end when the last bell rings, so not only should your lesson plans, classroom be orderly your home and life should be as well. I have found that having time for yourself can only help you have better days in the classroom. 

I need to keep working on myself, I have learned more about myself over these last months. By working on myself it will allow me to except the challenging that teachers have. I have fun days teaching and I'll say I get paid to have fun. Then one of those days happens and I'll say I don't get paid enough to do this. But at the end of the day if I am happy the school day goes smoothly even if I hit a bump or two. Thanks NTI!!!  

We couldn't see a rainbow if there wasn't some rain occasionally.

Reflections First Semester

The aspect of my teaching practice that has improved most is probably my ability to implement and transition to various teaching strategies in one daily lesson plan. My students do not have very long attention spans. With an hour and thirty minutes of class time, I tend to loose my students if I only plan one or two actvities. I have learned how to split my actvitiy time into no more than 20 minute slots using several of the strategies learned in NTI. My students are still a bit chaty at times but the constant activity keeps them busy and thinking. I still need to improve on assessment activites to ensure that my students are accountable for the activities and do not use it as social time. I need to develop more rubrics, and better guidelines for completing the tasks. I still struggle with giving clear directions. Even when I take extra time to plan out and do an activity before giving it to the students, I leave out some bit of information necessary to complete the task correctly. It reminds me of the directions for makin a peanut butter sandwich activity we did in this summer! It's still difficult to gauge how much the students already know about completing the task without being too elementary.

Most Improved Teaching Practice

I would like you to reflect on Fall semester this week by writing about the following:What aspect of your teaching practice has improved the most this past semester, and how? What aspect do you need to keep working on to move forward during the Spring semester, and why?

Overall, all of my teaching practices and performances has improved thanks to the Georgia NTI staff and classmates. The most improved aspect of my teaching practice has been classroom discipline and management. I received a trophy from the administrative team during a recent recognition program. The trophy was awarded for having the most discipline classroom.
I truly had to smile upon that one myself because in my mind I have not achieved the level of discipline I really would like to see. It is improved but I must continue to use the NTI strategies and research other methods to achieve the classroom I visualize in my head - mature students, task oriented, students talking but talking for a purpose with each other, no profanity or harsh words directed to each other nor the teacher and goal oriented. I believe that vision is achievable in our high schools and I will continue to strive toward it.

Reflections on First Semester

I have to say this has been my best year in education. NTI really prepared me for teaching. I am most proud of myself when it comes to classroom management and organization. The strategies and techniques that I acquired has helped me become a better educator. I'm always learning new things but having the basics has helped me so much. I still have room for growth when it comes to time management, I find myself overloaded with so many projects. That's something that I want to really work on..............I always let things load up on me then I get overwhelmed. Along with that you have the added stress of trying to complete all task by the deadline.So my goal is to have better time management for next semester and my future years in education. Also I am going to continue to be organized, have well planned lessons and enforce my classroom procedures. I have truly enjoyed this semester, of course I've had a few rough days but they don't out weigh all the good days.

Reflection 1st Semester

I never thought I would say this but the area with the most improvement has been classroom management. Posting the rules the first day and repeating them over and over and over has really taken care of some issues. Also, for the most part, I have managed incidences much differently than in the past. Now, every once in a while I forget and try to regress but not often. Lab Management has also improved somewhat but is still challenging in some instances. Space restraints require close proximity in some instances which lends itself to excessive talking and noise and sometimes control. However, I am working with rearranging for next semester to avoid this situation as much as possible.
The biggest culprit for me this semester has been time management. I have used many of the strategies that were taught in NTI which have often taken more time than allotted. Perhaps as I become more adjusted to the group activities and so forth, I will obtain more insight into the amount of time required. Overall it has been a great 1st Semester.

Reflection

THis is an easy one for me. The area that I have improved on the most this semester is definately my classroom management. This time last year I had written up more students than I can remember. I have not written up one single student this year. I have been given the tools I needed to handle situations before they get out of control (proactive discipline!) I feel that because of these new tools, my whole teaching style has become so much more effective. I really feel that my students are enjoying my class more and getting so much more out of it. I am enjoying it more also!

Now as for what I need to work on...Number one, my set inductions need some serious work. Yesterdays class really helped in this area. Also, I feel that I am really in that slump of I need some time off. I am hoping that my creative juices start flowing again after the holidays. One area that I need serious help in is remembering my students names. I am terrible at this. I still don't know half of their names. This really embarasses me. I always appologize and remind them that this is an area that I am weak in. But, I feel really bad about not knowing their names. Believe me I have read books and tried different strategies as this has been a life long problem. NOt the best problem to have when you are a teacher/hairstylist! :(

1st semester reflection

Wow! I can't believe the first semester is over already! As I look back on it, I think that the thing that I did a really good job of is building a good repor with my students. For the most part, I feel that I have established a respectful relationship with them and it helps with the overall operation of my classes. Other than my sixth period class who thinks the day ends after fifth, I really have some eager students. I think I have developed a comfortable environment for them and also for me.

Reflecting on what I need to work on, I can think of more than one thing as there is always room for improvement. At the top of my list would be sticking to my lesson plans and not deviating from them. Personality wise, I am a very "go with the flow" type of person. There are some days when I get to work and read my lesson plan for the day that I decide that is not what I want to do, so I change it up, causing more work for me. I stick to the same topic, I just change activities. Second on my list would be doing a better job following through with grading work that the students are supposed to do in their notebooks (bell work, daily work, etc.). I need to do a better job of showing students my expectations for them as far as independant work is concerned. I could go on, but I will stop there! It really has been a good first half so with all things considered!

Reflection on Fall Semester

Knowing and understanding the components of the lesson plan and how and why preparation is so important to creating a good psychological atmosphere in the class has been my biggest improvement. I have enjoyed feeling more relaxed and prepared. I have enjoyed finding out that I have the tools to do a good job teaching. I really have appreciate all the different activities and methods we have been taught to use to present information in a way other than lecture. The area in which I need to improve in is figuring out how to evaluate student work in a thorough but quicker manner. I am stuck on thinking quizzes and tests are the only way to evaluate if a student has truly learned. I am looking forward to next semester to learn alternative ways to evaluate students fairly and in a manner that is truly helpful to determine their knowledge.

Reflection

This semester, I have really learned how to be more efficient in managing my classes. Having the tools to manage the class properly in the beginning and close it properly in the end was very useful. There used to be a time where I would literally run out material during a 90 minute class period with 20 minute left in class and the rest of the class time was in disarray. But with all the added material where I would do a set induction, a review in the beginning, and closing and cleanup at the end eats up that 20 minute gap that I used to have. I notice that it is also easier for me to manage the class by setting the expectations with written objectives and have the class follow it. I have been told that I do a good job with the "look" but I haven’t quite bought into that yet, but I am certain that I have perfected the “choice” as a discipline tool. I use that as much as I can. I also feel that the kids I have do like the class better because of the routines and expectations that I provided from day 1 of my ‘introduction’. Overall its been great, the visits from our advisor have been very helpful and I will continue to use all of the things that we have learned. I have not implemented all of the knowledge that we have learned in with group dynamics, but I am gathering the tools as we speak and have a plan to implement some, if not all of the things that I have learned this semester for next semester!

Fall Reflection

This is my second year teaching. During my first year, I divided up the semester into four parts. I assigned a bundle of assignments into one module, making four modules for the semester. These modules were full of work that each student would struggle to finish. As a new teacher, I felt that I needed to basically work my kids to death. I didn't know when or if anyone of authority would stop by for a visit. The teacher who was in my position before was "retired in place". The word on the street was she was constantly in the hot seat because of her lack of ability or desire to teach. So I took it to the opposite end and was a drill Sargent.

This year, I have relaxed a bit. Even though my program did increase in size after last year, I want to have a pleasant work environment in which my students can succeed. With the counsel of fellow teachers, I feel that I have lightened up a bit, but not enough to lose control of the class or the program. Since I've done this, I feel less stressed. I no longer feel like someone is over my shoulder critiquing every move I make.

I have settled into my position and will continue next semester to design lessons and projects which incorporate more fun into the class. I have moved from four project modules, to many smaller projects. Both the students and myself benefit from this strategy. We are not only working on computer based projects, we are up completing group activities and hands on learning. NTI has expanded my views and helped me to work with a variety of instructional strategies.

Reflections for Spring

Deciding where I have improved the most over the past semester is difficult. I feel that improvement has occurred in many areas of my teaching practice. Many of the lessons we have studied from classroom management, to learning about preferred modalities, teaching styles and methods as well as delivery systems are all interdependent. Better delivery that applies to all helps with classroom management and vice a versa.

I believe that my classroom management has improved the most. I am able to handle surprises from the students better as well as make adjustments in my teaching methodology and material when un-expected influences occur, whether it be student induced or a schedule change that may result from the home schools or other sources. There is still a lot of room for growth in this area.

I have noticed as the students grow and mature during the year that their attitudes change as well as their motivational needs change. Across the entire this change can be observed as well as how they interact. Sometimes it may seem like a mood change but there seems to be a greater change. They are growing and maturing and sometimes not in the directions we would like as their lives are influenced from many directions. Just as fish change their feeding habits when the weather changes and we must change our fishing techniques so do the students change as they mature and grow.

Overall I would like to review all of the material that we have covered so that I do not forget or lose any of the many tools and knowledge that we have learned. I have been able to use so much of what I have learned, often implementing in my next class after NTI. New Teacher Institute has provided me with many tools to become a better teacher.

Thanks,
RS in Alpharetta

Reflections

One of the things that really made an impact on me during Summer NTI was the deliberateness in the way the instructors provided the lessons. Everything was well planned, thoroughly explained, and time managed. This left little room for misunderstandings of assignments but also allowed students to ask specific, and dare I say intelligent, questions. I have tried to copy some of this deliberateness with my lessons / instruction and can see a big difference in how the students respond to assignments as well as how they respond to me as a teacher. There is an elevated level of respect for teachers who appear to have it together. Of course, sometimes I get it together 30 seconds before the bell rings, but my students don't need to know that.
Today I gave instructions for a project that is relatively easy to do but difficult to explain and students often struggle with how it's to be done. I really worked hard on the written instructions, gave 3 different visual examples of the project, and tried to be specific in my descriptions. Amazingly students started work immediately and had very few questions. Putting into action the things that I have learned and seeing positive outcomes is very rewarding!

What do I need to work on for next semester, other than everything, is trying some of the instructional stratagies we have learned. I have true intentions of implimentation, but not enough time to carry them out. I think we're all in the same boat with multiple preps, new curriculum and administrative "stuff" that limits our time to plan. Here's my goal, try one new instructional stratagie every 2 weeks. That will give me a week in between to make changes and time to plan for the next week. I also want to get my advanced students Blogging and doing some online curriculum work. The technology of NTI has been a bit of a struggle for me but now I am very proud of my accomplishments with the computer, and I'm ready to learn more.....I think. I want to be able to share that with my students so when they go to college they can say, no big deal, I did that in my high school class.