Observation #1

Well, I was observed for the first time today while teaching... 

I taught a math lesson on story problems with not enough information. The first part of the lesson went awesome. I was integrating technology by utilizing the SMARTboard, the kids were engaged and participating, and everyone was on the same page. THEN I had the students work independently on their student workbook page, which is precisely when I realized that none of the students actually understood how to do the problems on their own. So, I ran around the room like a chicken with its head cut off trying to answer all the questions until too many minutes had passed and I had realized that not enough of my students could complete these problems independently. That's when I called the students attention back to the front of the room and went through the worksheet with them on the document camera. After pulling them back together I felt like the students had a better understanding and I was able to clarify some things. Right when I was done going over the worksheet with them it was time for lunch and I had to dismiss them. I dismissed the students and walked over to my college supervisor, waiting to hear the worst words my mind could think of: "You are not going to be a good teacher."

Instead, when I sat down she asked me how I thought it went, to which I replied, "It went okay..."; she replied by telling me that she thought I did a very good job. Needless to say, relief washed over my entire body like a flood. Suddenly I remembered the purpose of this whole experience, which is simply to learn. She explained many things I did well and then concluded with some things I could work on, but the best thing she did was to make me think about what I would have done differently given the chance. I explained a technique that I thought would work well, which would address multiple problems. I would go through the worksheet with them one problem at a time, reading the question aloud, having the students solve the problem independently, and then going over the problem immediately afterward. My supervisor liked this idea and said that she was impressed with my thinking.

Overall, I am proud with how my observation went. Although my students had difficulty with the subject matter, that was not completely my fault. While I could have done a few things differently that may have helped with the students' understanding of the lesson, for the most part this experience served its intended purpose: to be a learning experience.


Hence the title of my blog: Learning & Teaching. :)