My second week started off without any ungraceful incidents, which is more than I could say for the first week. It was a very busy week though, and it seemed that no matter how much I got done in a day, there was always more to do that I wasn't able to get to. However, everything did go smoothly, and even my first lessons went relatively well. There were awkward moments in the first lesson simply because my co-op suggested a spontaneous change of plans that sort of threw off the flow of things to an extent, but it still worked out well in the end and I believe it was beneficial to the students overall.
My best lesson up to this point probably came with my first class on Friday. I seemed to have the students attention and kept it moving at a fast pace which worked well. Being that I have all seniors, and this is their last semester, they are not too interested in applying themselves unless it's upbeat and lively (which can be difficult at times because many of them are not interested in "The Fed" and other opening topics of personal finance, but so far so good.)
If I could change anything about the week, I would have had assigned seats ready for the students on the first day as well as name cards placed at each of their computers (for the sake of learning their names). This is something that I had prepared for the second class, but it would have been beneficial for me to have this done in time for the first class so that I could get a jump on learning the names. Other than that, everything went according to plan this week.
What I found to be most beneficial was the manner in which I "chunked" the lessons of my second class (I only taught two lessons/four classes this week being that it's a block scheduled 1/2 credit course). The segmenting of material, and varying methods of instruction (group-work, discussion, active reading, videos, and games) proved be beneficial in keeping everyone involved and entertained as much as possible. I felt good about Friday's classes.
The most challenging aspect of the week would be the fact that my 3rd period class has a "split lunch" which means I get them for about an hour, then they go to lunch and come back for the last 20 minutes of the period. This presents challenges in some obvious ways, so I am learning how to be creative in adjusting the material accordingly.
Overall it has been a good week, and I look forward to being able to tweak a few things in the upcoming week to improve on what I've learned up to this point.
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It sounds like you are quickly getting the hang of everything! I know what you mean with the seniors, my co-op is having a hard already with his business law class that is mostly seniors. It's like they've already turned their brains off and they still have half a year to go! I think you'll do great at making the content interesting for them though. Good luck with the split lunch group, that does sound difficult with trying to bring them back in after their lunch.
ReplyDeleteWow, some of your schedule is weird. The "chunk" class schedule I have never heard of. I bet it is tought to get those kids to do anything that last 20 minutes.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, glad your lessons are going well. You gotta love those spontanious changes to your lessons, I have had a few of those myself.
Great post Rich! It sounds like you have quite a challenge with the split period. When I saw that on your weekly teaching schedule, I was trying to understand the mentality that went behind that decision. I think it is solely a time issue and not a best practice decision. I can only imagine in what frame of mind the students come back with for the remaining 20 minutes of class.
ReplyDeleteThree toughest times to teach: first period (because most of the students are tired), immediately after lunch (usually because of the drama and some like to take a nap after lunch), and last period of the day (of course, we know that reason).
Remember what I said in class: We are truly on stage and need to remember our audience at all times. It's never the same crowd!