Week Ten

This week I think I have improved in my teaching of ELA, though I’m not where I want to be yet.  Looking at the week in ELA as a gradual release of responsibility to the students really helps.  We "front load" the explicit and intentional teaching on Monday and Tuesday, with the students doing more independent work as the week goes on.  In math and science the timing of the weeks is a little bit different.  We are not typically starting with something new on Monday with the expectation of the students working on it independently by Friday.  The students are still working toward mastery of the standard, but they do not necessarily follow a weekly trajectory like ELA.

My CT paid me a compliment today.  She said I do a good job teaching math and science and that she wants me to gain that same confidence when I teach ELA.  I think part of the problems is that I have an affinity for teaching math and science because I enjoy the black-and-white nature of it.  There is more gray area with ELA.  There is more subjectivity.  Of course a noun is a noun and a verb is a verb, etc.  However, there just seems to be more wiggle room or leeway in ELA.  I do not do well with wiggle room I guess. 

There are a number of areas in classroom management that are clear areas where I need to improve.  I am getting better, but still need work.  These include:

1. Giving directions.  I need to make sure I have the students’ undivided attention, give clear and succinct directions, and write them on the board.  I also need to use the tactic of making myself unavailable after directions have been given so that kids can’t ask me immediately after I give directions what they are supposed to be doing. They can read the directions on the board or ask a friend if they were not listening.
2. Improve transitions. This is related to giving directions.  I need to give the kids directions as indicated above, set a time limit, and remind students that the expectation is that they are silent and efficient during transitions.
3. Accountability.  Classroom management becomes easier when students are aware that they are all accountable for the material during the lesson.  The two biggest things that have helped me with this are making explicit reference to the learning objectives (in the form of “I can” statements) and to use the Popsicle sticks with the students’ names on them to randomly call on students.
4. Simultaneous instruction and management.  I find this difficult, especially if I am not totally confident in the material or lesson that I am teaching.  I end up alternating the two rather than integrating them (not on purpose).
5. Setting expectations.  Giving directions, setting the expectation about talking during an activity, setting expectations of behavior during partner and group activities, etc. all contribute to better outcomes for student behavior.

I must help foster an excellent learning environment, as delineated in Illinois Professional Teaching Standard 4K, which states, “The competent teacher uses strategies to create a smoothly functioning learning community in which students assume responsibility for themselves and one another, participate in decision-making, work collaboratively and independently, use appropriate technology, and engage in purposeful learning activities.”

Other than classroom management, something else that I have been struggling with is the acceptable definition of success for students.  As a student, I like to get 100% and A+ on everything.  (If extra credit is available, I want that too.)

This has trickled down to having very high expectations of academic achievement in my own children (grades 5, 3, 2, and pre-K – not so much my preschooler of course).  I am blessed – they are bright kids, good readers, and more or less well-behaved at school.  Based on their abilities, schoolwork, and standards at school, I pretty much expect my children to get straight A’s at this point.  They are capable of doing this and for the most part get excellent grades. 

In contrast, most students in my class would not be considered straight A students.  This, of course, is fine.  I can see their struggles and their efforts.  I am helping them to improve.  They are working hard and they are learning.  Many of them are receiving help in the forms of math intervention, reading interventions, OT, PT, speech, etc.   However, there are only maybe two or three children who would be considered straight A students.  I hope I am not conveying a sense of arrogance or anything.  I’m not saying that my children are geniuses and my students are not.  Of course I do not believe this.  My students have a lot of struggles in school and at home, and many of their parents have different expectations regarding their schoolwork than I do.  My problem is this: How do I know what grades are OK and which are not?  

I think I have a skewed sense of what is an acceptable grade.  For example, one student from my math intervention group got 14 out of 17 or an 82% on the recent math test.  This is a good and successful grade for this student.  If one of my own children got an 82% on a math test, I would be very concerned and would probably grill them about their understanding of the material and their studying.  They might even be the lucky recipient of a homemade math test that I would use to check what they know.  I have talked to my own children, however, about their effort being the most important thing.  So if they got an 82% on a test that they studied hard for about a topic that they struggled with, I would be happy with an 82%.  I do not accept lack of effort.  I think that as I get more experience as a teacher, I will get a better handle on this.  Comparing with other teachers will also offer insight.  I have already discussed this more than once with my CT and it has given me plenty to think about.

Things brings me to a question I have been pondering.  My CT has been working on curriculum mapping for language arts for the district.  The big question that they have to address when writing grade level common assessments is this: What does mastery look like?  That is the question on my mind, but I certainly do not have the answer.