Practicum_Reflection

**Practicum Reflection**
As far as first days go, this was a lot of what I expected. A lot of time was spent on establishing rules and routine - all day, in fact. I really only expected it to take half of the day. But seeing how we also had to go through school policies and such, it makes sense that it would take all day. I think a lot of the kids were bored during this (I saw as they played with the stuff on their desks) but it was part of how my Associate Teacher wanted to set up an atmosphere. Of course, I don't mean a boring one but a quiet and safe one. The kids will grow to get used to it and like it, I think.
 * Week 1 (Observation)**
 * Day 1**

Speaking of my AT, he's great! I'm the second UOIT student he has had. He has a really calm and collected demeanor but he's also zany and out there when he wants to be (there were a few times during the day where he showed us a little of his silly side). He likes to tell stories and explain things through analogy as well as get students involved in discussion; these are all things that I'll probably end up doing as a teacher! It created a good rapport with his students, I think.

I get a good vibe from the class. A lot of them are shy (don't want to volunteer or participate) but a lot of them also just want to contribute when they can! I was able to point out the "trouble maker" (class clown type). My AT already gave him a stern look and a few words today when he blurted something out. He didn't act out for the rest of the day. It was so great to see a teacher "crack down" on a student so early and get him back in line. Hopefully that's something I can master - I have a feeling that when I do it, it's //slightly// too aggressive when it should be more assertive.

I also got to attend a staff meeting today (students were dismissed early). A lot of the stuff I didn't fully understand but at least I got a taste of how much admin. stuff goes on behind the scenes. There's a lot more than I expected. In addition, I saw how they handle students with special needs. Every teacher has a "blue binder" that has information on students as well as contains the IEPs for each.

We’re more or less done with the first day set-up. Everything is in place and we only spent a very small amount of time going over administrative things. We labelled some things, handed things out, but nothing like we did on the first day.
 * Day 2**

My AT has morning duties four out of the five days of the week. He has to do “bus loop” which means he stands outside while the buses come and unloads students. At the same time, we greet parents who drop off kids at the bus loop. We open the doors for them, greet them with a smile, and get them out of the parking lot as soon as possible. I think this is a great practice! What better way to start your morning?

During recess, my AT showed me the way he plans his lessons. It’s really condensed, especially compared to the ones at UOIT. But we both agreed that it’s important to start somewhere really detailed and the work away from that at your own pace. His plan basically goes:  Beginning – What are we reviewing? Taking up homework? Etc.  Middle – What are we actually doing today? Lesson plan’s main idea/focus.  End – Home activities and other things.

We did a reading assessment early in the day. He picked random people to read aloud to the class and then we did some comprehension and understanding questions. The main point was how words have a meaning and you can put emotion into your readings to make stories more interesting. We also tied in our own personal emotions to the story. He then “warned” the class that tomorrow we’re doing a CASI (which is a reading comprehension test passed down by the ministry).

Today we started rotary. My AT teaches math to a 7/8 gifted grade. He used attendance (a usually boring routine) to build rapport, mostly because he knew everyone’s siblings and shared stories and joked around. He also started to talk about Math-Olympics: the extra-curricular club that he runs. Again, they were given textbooks and folders to keep their supplies in. This was done in a more laid-back manner since the kids already were used to doing routines in the first day. We still had to go through expectations but this went by faster since it was now day 2.

My AT prefers a Q & A style lecture where he talks and then asks for questions as well as gives examples (real-life if he can). At the end, he made showed them a “trick” to do it faster.

As far as home assignments went, the gifted class was given slightly more challenging and numerous questions. But really, there was minimal difference between the classes.

I saw a good behavioural management technique today. A student asked a question to the teacher and another student chirped up with his answer. My AT said, “Excuse me, the question was directed at me and not you.” It wasn’t aggressive or anything but certainly showed that student what was acceptable behaviour and what is not. He also uses the technique where you call out a student by saying, “Mr. So-and-so” to get attention and let them know they need to stop whatever they are doing.

**Day 3** I was given a chance to stand up in front of the class and take up homework. Unfortunately, I had never even seen the homework or the solutions. Flying by the seat of my pants, I asked for volunteers and just went through them quickly. To me, the purpose was to give students a chance to ask any questions incase they had problems with it. Unfortunately, that's not exactly what my AT was expecting. His expectation was to give the students the answers so they could check their own work. So that didn't work out so well. From now on, I'll actually take the ten minutes to look over the assignments the students have to do.

I did get a chance to circulate among students and offer help and advice. That was fun, interesting, and a few students appreciated it.

Today, a student said I was a "pretty cool teacher." Hah, that was flattering. Unfortunately, it doesn't mean much since I haven't actually taught anything. Still, this at least means I'm building a rapport with them, right?

I’m taking less and less notes as the days go on. That’s because we (the class, AT, and myself) have developed a routine. I’m sure that as the days continue on without me, this routine will only be solidified.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Day 4 **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This morning I was given the opportunity to witness another lesson by Madame Merrick. I love how she teaches French. For future reference, the technique is called the AIM technique and was developed by Wendy & Matt Maxwell and published as Histoires en Actions. At the end of class, she whispered to me an observation which I didn’t really notice: the French ability of some students varies greatly with others – just like it does in English. That shouldn’t be a surprise but it’s certainly interesting.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This school operates on a “back-to-back” kind of system when it comes to classes. For example, the math classes my AT teaches always comes in pairs. He generally uses the first class to take up homework and then teaches a lesson in the next part. It’s a great use of time, I think.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Today we also did student elections. Two student council members had to be elected from this Grade 7 class. To do this, we had all candidates (seven of them) stand up and provide a quick speech about why they want the position and why they’d be good in it. The students then voted for four of the seven that they wanted. Then, we took those top four and asked them to vote again for just two. That gave us our members. That was a really interesting way to hold an election and I think the students enjoyed it. My AT and I joked about how we should use these results in math class – I think it might actually work if we took everyone’s names out of it.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lastly, we talked about how the seating arrangement would be changed. I asked what kind of criteria is needed to warrant a change and we had a pretty interesting conversation. For example: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">· You probably don’t want to separate a pair if one of the students is socially awkward; let them develop a bit more before you turn their world upside-down. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">· The children that have a lot of out-bursts should probably be moved away from the front. It’s just too distracting for other kids. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">· Some kids pair up where one of them is much weaker in school. It’s probably a bad idea to split them up because they work so well together. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">· And of course, you want to split up the chatty ones. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Basically, you want to point out where the interactions are and decide whether or not it’s a positive or negative relationship.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I got to teach my first lesson and it really was not very good. I mean, I knew about it about 30 minutes before hand but still, it wasn't great. Sure, I threw in my personality, I used real-world examples, but it just felt like it didn't live up to the expectations that UOIT gives me. That's too bad because I think most of the students got it. Hell, I even got a few of them to answer some higher thinking questions. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For the record, it was a lesson on using decimal multiplication to calculate simple interest and sales tax. I used an example of buying a pair of jeans for $100 and then continued to work until I got the tax and finally the purchase price. Then I did interest and used credit cards as that example. The kids were pretty into it since it was so relevant. Or at the very least, they were playing along.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Day 6 **

By the way, did I mention how much I //HATE// taking up homework? I will never, ever, //ever// give my kids more than five questions for homework. I just can't stand taking it up. And the fact that it keeps getting sprung on me is just awful for me. I know I look like an idiot when I stand up there, not knowing what the questions are. Oh, well.

Oh, I also got to spend a bit of time with the kindergarten kids. My AT read to them and I just spent time observing. At the end, I got to interact with them and that's when I realized that I would be okay dealing with them day-in and day-out.

Looked at an IEP: what has to be included, difference between accommodation vs. modification ("accommodations are glasses") Tip from AT: take curricula documents and pencil in what assignments/projects fall within the overall/specific expecations In language, read "The Hockey Sweater" story. Minds on was reading a five-dollar bill. Pretty cool! I don't know if I agree with calling on students to read out loud for the class. Does that really benefit anyone? AT has planned out all his units and lessons ahead of time. It took a few weeks in a summer but now he never has to do it again.
 * Field Experience 1**
 * Day 1, Oct 12th**

Learned that one behavioural student has problems at home: biological dad came to live with his two parents after getting out jail. Biological dad yells at him and calls him his mistake child because he's gay. What do you do in this situation? I don't want to be unfair to other students but at the same time, I want to go a bit easier on him. Took up math homework again. I hate this more and more each time. Obvious solution? //Assign less homework!//
 * Day 2, Oct 13th**

C. continues to call me by my first name. I'm just ignoring him until he refers to me as Mr. Huynh. If this doesn't show a sign of stopping, I'll have a talk with him. Hopefully, my body language is enough to tell him that this is unacceptable.

Update: After a week, he just stopped it.

Today I got to hang out with kindergarten kids. So different! I didn't hate it and, actually, I really liked it! I feel comfortable that I have the potential to teach at this level. At the very least, I have the patience.

Day ended with a parent coming in, guns a-blazing. She had ridiculous demands. AT handled it well: blunt when he had to be but diplomatic when it was called for. Just wish it didn't take 45 minutes...

Staff room today: talked about that parent. Turns out that parent has quite the reputation! Glad I sat in on the talk yesterday. Independent reading: I see the value of it. It's like another prep for my AT. But I certainly don't agree that a short 20-30 minute period is a waste! Encouraging literacy is great but independent reading everyday gets to seem like a chore... Grouping: My AT would rather hand-pick groups. High control class room.
 * Day 3, Oct 14th**

Something is going around. Lots of supply teachers. Heard them talk about how difficult it was to go on a supply list. Pretty discouraging. Taught my review lesson again. It didn't go much better than yesterday. I really went over time. I didn't take into account that I'd have both Gr 7 and Gr 8. Had to make modifications on the fly. Took a while to take up work. Felt bad because they had so much homework to do on top of it... 5 questions was too much. 3 would have been good.
 * Day 4, Oct 15th**

Supply teacher day. Turns out I'm teaching another language class so I'll just wing it. Supply didn't have to do anything today! Saw the french teacher and her reward system. She gives students raffle tickets for good behaviour or completing homework. At the end, she does a draw and someone gets something small or something. This totally doesn't work. Nobody wants her cheap dollar-store crap.
 * Day 5, Oct 18th**

Serious problem: coach said a really nasty remark to a team player and the league coordinator is a teacher to a student on the vicitimized team. He can’t act or else he would lose face. What do you do when there’s no precedent? Update: I never asked the teacher how it worked out. Wasn’t comfortable doing that. Behaviour problem: N. Decided to leave his group because he couldn’t get along with his partner. Didn’t tell the teacher. AT talked to him. I felt too awkward to listen but it seemed the point got across. Learned about Mathletics. It’s interesting to say the least. I don’t have a whole lot to say about it except that it’s great at getting kids excited about math.
 * Day 6, Oct 19th**

Writing tests: AT gives a mix of multiple choice and word problems and story problems. IEPs had a modified test: easier numbers, got to use calculators. Could also just crossed off certain problems for those students. Also, it’s okay to ask “redundant” questions (“What percent is unshaded? What percent is shaded?”). (that’s not really a redundant question but it’s pretty basic for a student at provincial level)

FA came in. Comments are in my binder. In brief, I talk too fast, said a word wrong from the textbook, didn’t ask higher level thinking questions, and need to work on wait time. Next time, I’ll write down my high order questions.
 * Day 7, Oct 20th**

Sat in Mr. Petraca’s class. Really good low voice. Does a thing and stops and says, “Who understands what I’m asking?” If a majority of hands go up, they go. Students who didn’t get it can ask other students. Does really fast think-pair-share. Pretty stimulating and exciting. Boy, that could overwhelm some students, though. He used a lot of examples that were really relevant. He had high energy and pretty low control. Used numbered heads strategy. Lesson ideas: cell city (make a city and relate it to parts of a cell). Showed a movie and made sure to prep kids for it. Knew the movie went fast so he covered material beforehand.
 * Day 8, Oct 21st**

Again, observation day. Not a whole lot different. Everything is pretty much set in stone. Good thing, I guess! Marked the math tests on the Wednesday and the rest on the weekend. I didn’t write down any marks but a good portion of the class failed. Looks like they ran out of time. A good bit was wrong due to misreading the questions, too. Though, there was still a significant number who were making fundamental mistakes. I don’t know how to rectify this... Maybe I didn’t use consolidation effectively.
 * Day 11, Oct 25th**

Gave students an additional 15-20 minutes to work on geography project. Students appreciated it and I think the work will improve. I’ll marks half tonight and half tomorrow night (edit: no, I marked it all in one go at home). I forgot to write behavioural things for 7/8C in my lesson plan but I’ll do that later (there aren’t much and I know in my head what I need to write down anyways). Lesson plan (Stem and Leaf and Histograms) went well. H. Was really weak in unit 2 but looks like she’s coming around. She agrees that she’s less about numeration and more about logic. I let her know that the logic process is probably more important than numbers.
 * Day 12, Oct 26th**

FA is coming in again. Weird because a few students were at volleyball. The other day, Tony (Mr. P.) was saying about his assessment strategy. Why should I dock marks for students when something is late? Marks represent content knowledge. If they hand something in late, it doesn’t make sense to dock marks. It DOES make sense to have it reflected under Learning Skills but marks are a different beast altogether. That said, a student can hand in a project or test whenever they want and they can keep handing it in as many times as they want until they get the mark they want. FA comments are in binder. Basically he said: what language (“yep” and “guys”) and I’m improving my question making. Everything else went just as well as last time and I’m clearly making improvements. Phew!
 * Day 13, Oct 27th**

These are weird days. Because of assembly and dance and Halloween walk, there wasn’t a whole lot of teaching going on. I stayed behind at the dance (though I was curious and wanted to go check it out) and just hung out with the kids. It was interesting. I played Monopoly with a few and they were just really irritating people to hang out with (but still good students). Kids said some heartfelt goodbyes and there was a lot of feel-good moments. I'm going to miss the little buggers.
 * Day 14 and 15**