Three teacher skills I want to practice and improve this summer are: lecturing less and placing more responsibility on students to teach each other; the ability to keep sustained quiet working time at the end of a lesson when students have reached the “independent practice” portion of the lesson (after modeling and guided practice); and an increase and consistency in the use of wait time in asking students reading-comprehension (or otherwise) verbal questions. As end-of-year student evaluations of my class and my teaching revealed, according to my students, sometimes my class needs more zip and “enjoyment” (it’s all work and sometimes I can just feel that I talk too much), sometimes my classroom discipline isn’t enough to foster focused independent working time, and sometimes kids who don’t get it can slip by under the radar, until OOPH! Assessment day!
One thing I do well as a teacher is organize my students: in my own (behavioral and academic) records, in the physical environment of my classroom, in having all the materials they need to succeed prepared for them, in teaching them how to organize themselves, and in how I present information. This skill allows for a peace of mind that can withstand the daily uncertainties and energy demands of this job.
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