Week Sept. 8th Elissa NTI

9/6/14
Hello! Welcome Back!
Where do I start? This program and especially this summer has changed who I am as a student, teacher, and a person. I have become much more relaxed and can focus more on the lessons I am teaching rather than putting together things at the last minute. I have taken more control of my classroom and lab and as for being the only teacher it has been wonderful.  I am using technology more to break up lecture and classwork. I keep students engaged by letting them watch the video then afterwards we debrief and they fill out the questions, this way they are not just concentrating on the questions while they are supposed to be watching the video. My classroom rules and procedures are posted and I refer back to them when needed as well as the syllabus that all students and their parents signed the first week of school. I have implemented almost everything that we learned this past summer into my classes and the strategies have impacted all 198 of my students I believe. We have already started cooking and this month are catering  3 events because lessons plans have been running so smooth! The strategies we learned all are a different approach to the different learning styles we have at Riverwood and in my Culinary classes. One of the best lessons I learned was the repetition from a student of the directions  I give for the class period. This way I do not have to keep repeating myself and one or more than one student gets to take ownership of what the plan is for the class. Lessons plans that we wrote this summer have reduced my stress by 80% I just wish I had had enough time to complete them all! Changing the grading system this year was another bonus for my CTSO FCCLA our culinary club participation or (assignments if they are not a member)  it is 5 % of their final grade. Last year I had 36 members it was something fun but was not incorporated into the grading nor was it organized. Now since it is a requirement for a grade and  to show ACF (Industry Certification) that we are an active chapter I have 197 active members.They are doing great things already for the school, program, and community. I have also been worried about leaving on maternity leave February - May but as I am teaching the other classes I am writing lesson plans as I go. This helps me see what worked and what did not work and how I can improve. Transferring in and out of the lessons in the beginning and the end of class also help me and the students stay on track for the week.
Elissa