School Experience - Reflection 3

The most transformative lesson I learned this week is that:

Creating successful learning experiences for students is fundamental to build students’ self-esteem and a love of learning.

Goal # 3: Classroom Management:

Last week, my learning related to classroom management was connected to the importance of building relationships with my students to begin to develop a feeling of mutual respect. This week, I learned about the need to implement clear expectations with my students and the importance of wait time (wait until ALL students are quiet before talking). 

At the beginning of the week, I got annoyed by the level of noise and the amount of chatting during my teaching part of the lesson. I had to talk louder and louder to get my students attention, and I felt frustrated because I did not observe that problem with my teacher mentor. After some reflective time, I realized that I never discussed my expectations with my students, and that it could be why I was being challenged. I created a visual reminder on cardboard following the model of a traffic light (red – no talking / yellow – whispering / green – normal talking) and I shared it with my students before every lesson. Clearly stating my expectations of no talking while I talk has truly decreased the level of noise in the classroom, and has improved the attention of my students. 

Another key tip I learned this week is the importance of wait time. Once my expectations are known, I MUST follow up and wait until the classroom is silent before talking. In other words, my actions need to reinforce my expectations or I will lose my credibility as a teacher. While I did not have to wait too long to achieve quietness, I know that students will push the limit, and I must stay close to my beliefs and wait for everybody to be quiet before I start teaching (prior signal could be clapping / give me five / hand on your head, nose, chin, show me good listening). 

Goal # 7: Knowledge of Students:

My most transformative moment is unfortunately linked to a very exciting science experiment I have planned and taught, and the lack of success experienced by one of my students. My lesson was about structural adaptation in animals, and the experiment was to use three different tools (chopstick / spoon / cloth pin) and three kind of food (pasta / chickpeas / toothpick) to mimic bird beaks and feeding habits. While the activity was fun, and all students had a positive learning experience, one student was discouraged and sad. He was assigned chopsticks as his tool and he could not catch any food because he has limited fine motor skills. I felt heavy-hearted because my philosophy is based on nurturing a love of learning, and one key component is feeling successful. Afterwards, I had a private discussion with that student; I congratulated his perseverance and gave him a “sockeye” for being responsible in order to restore some self-esteem. 

This incident clearly emphasizes the importance of knowing the academic strengths and weaknesses of my students in order to implement individualized teaching.  Creating an inclusive environment is a pillar of my teaching philosophy, and adapting some tasks for students who are struggling will support my values. In the future, I will adapt my lesson to support the needs of that student. 

Goal # 14: School Culture and Community (and Professionalism)

This week, I had to ask for help a few times to various staff members of our school community (custodian for a desk and a chair / EA for extra photocopies / secretary for a class list / teachers for tips on classroom management / volunteer for finishing a bulletin board). I believe that I have established positive relationships with these individuals because I received great support and awesome ideas. .

I have true respect for every member of Central community and I am slowly becoming part of the team. While the school faces many challenges, it feels good to be surrounded by people who truly care about the students and their well-being.