For this week in my fourth grade classroom, I have been getting more involved as far as teaching lessons and taking charge. My CE has been cautious to not overwhelm me with this new teacher life, but I'm thankful that she really trusts me with much more than I could have hoped for. There is never a dull moment for sure.
Something in particular that I have caught on to in my classroom and have been able to research a little this week is how it is important to plan, but it is also important to preplan! This sounds a little redundant, but it's something I've not considered until this semester's clinical experiences. Preplanning is also known as the habit of taking into consideration all of the unexpected things that could happen while you are implementing your planned instruction. That could be anything from the copier being out of ink to a student repeatedly needing medical attention. If we can nip those little discrepancies in the bud, then imagine how effective our use of time in the classroom each day could be.
I found an article on Twitter that I think can be beneficial to use when talking about planning and planning to plan, so to speak. The bulk of the article talks about how to strategically plan for not only a successful, but an effective school year. What I really like about this article is that it is targeted towards new teachers, which is a season of life we are also upon!! I recommend reading over it, because there are some things that I never would have thought about, and will definitely be reassessing myself and my capabilities to rise above whatever attempts are made to take away instruction time.
I found a connection to NCTCS Standard 4b, which hits on teachers being able to plan appropriate instruction. I felt this definitely went hand in hand with the concept of preplanning, because you want your students to receive the best, most appropriate instruction you can accommodate for. However, standard 5c is so important also-- 5c evaluates teachers on their ability to function in a complex, constantly changing environment. This is what preplanning is all about; expecting the unexpected.
I've also been really lucky to see some of this in action, as my CE has definitely mastered the "calm, cool, and collected" look when something unexpected rises. It's like she has a "Plan B" for anything that could need one. One of my goals over the next several months is to develop and inherit those skills. Instruction time is structured so that every minute of the day is precious to student learning, and I want to be able to maximize that. That's not to say that I always make the best use of my time every day I'm in the classroom, or up front teaching the class. Like I said, it is a goal of mine to get there.
**Article link: http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2016/08/10/a-teacher's-guide-to-surviving-preplanning?utm_content=1471257732&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter#.V7GceTq-1-A.twitter
Olivia,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your blog this week mainly because this is not something that I have sat down and specifically thought about! How many times does this actually happen though? Pretty often I would say. I have already learned and experienced this to some degree this semester. Often times we have a student that shuts down when it comes to group work. He doesn't want to participate or do the work. At first it really caught everyone off guard, caused the whole class to come to a halt, and distracted all of the other students. Now that we know that this is definitely a possibility during every situation, we have strategies and plans to calm him down and keep the rest of the class on task. But like you said it could something as simple as the copier being out of ink. Thinking about these things ahead of time and PREplanning, might make all the difference in the world.
Olivia,
ReplyDeleteEXCELLENT perspective about eliminating ALL of the "little things" that can take away from instructional time. THIS IS HUGE! Pre-planning your lesson fully allows your focus to be where it should be - - - student learning.