1. Think back (or revisit) the “Principles of Children’s Learning” or “Belief Statements” that you wrote at the beginning of this journey.
a. What specific principle or belief do you most rely on as you interact with students each day?
I feel that the belief that I rely on the most is building positive relationships with students. I have worked hard this semester to get to know my students better. When I have a good relationship with my students, we work better together and they learn more. The classroom environment is more productive.
b. In what ways has this helped you reframe anxiety-producing problems into productive, solvable problems (maybe even opportunities)?
Getting to know my students better helps with behavioral issues in the classroom. Classroom management can be anxiety-producing for me at times, and have good relationships with my students alleviates some of that anxiety. I can talk to them about what's going on that day or I can tell if they are struggling or need to take a break from what they are doing.
2. In what ways has your Semester 1 learning impacted your interactions with colleagues?
I am willing to ask for help and discuss ideas with my colleagues. They provide support and strength for me to try new things. I am also more open with my colleagues on a personal level trying to build relationships with them as well. Just like the relationships I am building with my students, the more I work on relationships with my colleagues, the better we will work together.
3. What new nugget of learning (or insight) has impacted your practice most? What are you doing differently as a result of this learning?
I have been really thinking about and working on formative assessment and differentiation. I want to make sure that my students understand what I am teaching and can apply the concepts to problems. I have also been focusing on those students who are struggling with understanding concepts and completing assignments by working with them in smaller groups during class time.
4. What are you still wondering about?
It is crazy how a little bit of communication with students can make a BIG difference with them, in terms of behavior management and regulation within your classroom. Students really do feed off of the attention we pay to them on a 1:1 basis, although we know how hard it can be to get to all of them in one day.
ReplyDeleteI too feel your anxiety with the action research data collection. I continuously am putting it off, as I am fearful it will not give me conclusive evidence, or I won't have enough data to make a conclusive statement.
Dear Jodi,
ReplyDeleteYour focus of relationships is evident in your writing and what I've learned about you in class. You must have a high level of trust and group work I within your classes. I appreciate how you use your formative assessments to help find small groups of kids to reteach. What do the other students do while you are reteaching? Have you found it hard to catch up if the other students have moved on from the group you were reteaching?
Carolyn
Jodi,
ReplyDeleteThis relationship building thing is a huge deal and I am thankful that our work in our MB2 community has emphasized it so very much. I appreciate how you write about these relationships being with both students and colleagues. It really does come down to human connection, doesn't it?
Our work with formative assessment will prove to be equally valuable. I wonder, do you think it could alleviate some stress if you thought in terms of formative assessment when it comes to your data collection? I bet you can assess and realign your practices just as you do with your students.
See you soon.
Michael Hensley