As I have been thinking about being a reflective teacher (Reflection Break #3) I have realized several things about myself. One is that I reflected mostly in the moment and act then based on the feedback/reactions I am getting from my students. It is in the moment that I decide whether or not something is working. I have also learned that outside of teaching in the moment, I do most of my thinking about and reflecting either on my drive to and from work or in the middle of the night/early morning. In most cases, is seems so hard to intentionally force yourself to take the time to reflect on an activity. I have also realized that my reflections are not generally very deep. They are more about what went well in an activity, how could I do things differently, etc.... When looking at some of the questions posed in the reflections break, I realize that I need to do more than surface reflection and need to begin to think deeper about myself as a teacher.
When looking at the breakdown of levels of reflection, I feel like I definitely do level 1 (actions, behaviors) and through our classes like RR, I feel I am beginning to move into the level 2 where I am beginning to think more about my theories and beliefs.
I chose to look at reflection break #1 because the questions asked in it really need to be addressed by so many teachers. The first question was do you enjoy going into school each morning...most of the time I can say yes. On those rare days that I don't, it has nothing to do with school, but maybe because I don't feel well. However, there are so many teachers I have met that do not enjoy coming to school everyday and they complain about it constatnly. The same can be said for the next question, do you find teaching exciting and challenging? My answer would be yes because each year there is a new group of little ones that need to be taught the same material, but they may need it to be taught in a different way. Because of that, it never gets boring. Again, I hear teachers complain quite often about how tired they are of reading this specific book, or teaching this unit, blah blah blah....my response has always been, then find a new way to do it!!
As for the third question, do you think of teaching as a job or a profession, I definitely think of teaching as a profession. In my mind, a job requires just anyone to walk in off the street and fulfill the requirements. With teaching, not just anyone can do it, or should I say do it well. Teaching requires patience, understanding, compasion, and loads of training! We have to be able to problem solve on a moments notice, adjust plans according to student performance, and teach students on an individual level so that they can learn. Not just anyone can do all of those things. Teaching is definitely a profession.
The fourth and fifth questions were what is the best/worst aspect of your life as a teacher...and my answers are related. The best aspect of my life as a teacher is seeing the growth in the students I work with and watching them improve right in front of me. The worst aspect right now would be the fact that I feel like I don't get to see enough kids change and improve, and even the ones I do get to see I don't get to work with on a regular basis. I would like to see more students more often.
I only answered the first five questions on here because I think my post is forever long.
Looking a the different places that I could introduce this reflection breaks... I think in the nontenured professional development group that I will introduce and discuss reflection break #6.
1)Open-minded 2)Responsibility 3)Wholeheartedness
I think we all have to remember this throughout our teaching career. We have to stay open-minded about strategies and best practices. We have a responsibility to continue ourselves as learners - staying current and up to date on practices. We have to wholeheartedly take a close look at ourselves as teachers!
As I reflect on my teaching I have discovered that I am one of those teachers that did my relections in the car on the way home or going to sleep at night. I find in my current position that I guide teachers to reflect on their teaching strategies and ways to improve their reflective practices. The bar has been raised for all of us so reflection is the best way to prevent from making errors year after year. Teaching is no longer writing a set of lesson plans to follow for the next 10 years.
Reflection Break 21 encourages teachers to reflect on their classes after they have finished teaching. This is the type of reflection that I feel like I engage in quite frequently. As a coach, I am encouraging teachers to do the same. Reflection-on-action involves looking back and deciding how effective each aspect of the lesson was. Whether teachers make note of these ideas for future lessons, discuss the results with another colleague, or talk to students about their perceptions of the class, reflection-on-action can certainly be an effective tool to improve instruction.
Reflect-for-Action (Break 22): This best describes my reflection approach. Coming from a science/math background, I find myself approaching my reflection systematically. One of my dearest friends is one of my colleagues. She and I spend a lot of time discussing educational issues we are facing each day in and out of the classroom. Through our discussions we work through the action research process together all the time. We identify areas of concern by the data collected through observing our students in action. The analysis of that data helps us to evaluate the strategies/activities we are using. From this we identify areas of weakness and attempt to become better. Through this process we share our successes and our failures. Over the years we have learned a lot about effective teaching strategies from one another.
I like that RaeAnn. You and Gina are a perfect example of two teachers using data and effective teaching practices in discussion to identify weaknesses and become better. We need to get together and discuss friendly mentors instead of competition among teachers to improve our teaching and our students learning. I would really like to see this happen at our middle schools. I see so little collaboration with the teachers in my school. We must push this or not much will change.
What a wonderful way to engage in professional development RaeAnn! Having a colleague whom you can trust to share strengths and weaknesses with so that you can both learn and grow from the experience. It is very beneficial to examine and analyze the data so that you can share your thoughts and ideas for improvement with another teacher.
I choose Reflection Break #1, because as soon as I read the first question it hit home with me. It says, do you enjoy going into school each morning? When I read that my first response was no and that surprised me. I used to enjoy going to school and I found each day fun and exciting. This past year has been more difficult and I think it's because I've felt so discouraged and overwhelmed. Another question that hit home was the question that said, do you ever discuss teaching with your colleagues in the staff room? There has been more then one time this year when talking to teachers about things that have ended badly and now I'm hesistant to even discuss certain things with certain teachers. Overall our staff feels overwhelmed and misunderstood.
I am looking at pages 14 and 15 and Reflection Break number 7 - How Routine are you in your teaching/
This made me think of our Reading Recovery program as a whole - I see teachers often for visits and have for several years now. With some teachers, it is clear to me that they are teaching a "program" and not a child.
In an effort to break into this routinization, we "front loaded" classes this year. It kept the teachers on their toes and more reflective, and less routinized. I am wondering how to tackle this issue again next year. I am thinking about using this reflection break with teachers next year about the second or third week into lessons with RR kids.
I chose Reflection Break 2 - Do you personally know a teacher who is leaving the profession? Why? My long-time friend is retiring this year- about 6 years ealier than necessary. She had taught Reading Recovery with me in Ohio for 7 years. When she moved to SW Florida, she got a kindergarten position. Going back into the classroom was a big adjustment, but I think most of her frustration had to do with going from a balanced literacy district to one that stressed using visual information so strongly. As in all new jobs, it took a year or so to feel accepted, but with no one to value her training and knowledge of the reading process, she struggled following the district mandates mightly! Her philosophy was in direct conflict with the way she was to teach and there was only one other teacher who agreed - and she left after two years. Her classes have scored well on the state assessments, but she is conflicted over doing it 'their' way, when she believes she knows a better way. She has learned to "distinguish between the flexibles and the nonnegotiables" (Kise, pg.129) in order to survive. After taking the Myers-Briggs personality test years ago, my pastor said that you can do anything for a 'season', but if you can find a job using your 'passion'/personality type, you'll be much happier and more productive!
I chose Reflection Break 50--audio and video reacordings. I focused on the video portion of the reflection. *Have you ever videotaped your classes? Yes, I have as a part of the regular classroom, as, a coach, as a RR teacher and as a CIM trained interventionist. *What was your reaction to seeing yourself teaching for the first time? It was very hard to see myself as well as hear myself. I actually had to watch the lesson more than once because the first time I could only focus on how I looked and sounded instead of how I was teaching and what were the students doing. The kids and I were fine with the placement of the camera but the uncomfortable part for me was the viewing. *Do you think the video camera should be focused on the teacher or the student (assuming you have only one camera at your disposal)? Where would you place the cameera and why? I think the camera should be focused on the student but able to hear the teacher clearly. In a small group setting I like to have the whole group in focus or have another person taping the kids so I can see exactly what they are doing with their reading or writing process. I like to be able to clearly hear myself so that I can analyze the types of prompts and level of support that I give the students.
It has been my experience that the kids are usually pretty comfortable with being filmed and don't really pay attention to it. Some really enjoy getting to watch themselves and I have used it with individuals as a teaching point(Look what a great job you did _______, I would love to see you do that everyday when you read/write). I feel videoing yourself can be a powerful tool in your self reflection and can help you make important teaching decisions.
As I have been thinking about being a reflective teacher (Reflection Break #3) I have realized several things about myself. One is that I reflected mostly in the moment and act then based on the feedback/reactions I am getting from my students. It is in the moment that I decide whether or not something is working. I have also learned that outside of teaching in the moment, I do most of my thinking about and reflecting either on my drive to and from work or in the middle of the night/early morning. In most cases, is seems so hard to intentionally force yourself to take the time to reflect on an activity. I have also realized that my reflections are not generally very deep. They are more about what went well in an activity, how could I do things differently, etc.... When looking at some of the questions posed in the reflections break, I realize that I need to do more than surface reflection and need to begin to think deeper about myself as a teacher.
ReplyDeleteWhen looking at the breakdown of levels of reflection, I feel like I definitely do level 1 (actions, behaviors) and through our classes like RR, I feel I am beginning to move into the level 2 where I am beginning to think more about my theories and beliefs.
ReplyDeleteI chose to look at reflection break #1 because the questions asked in it really need to be addressed by so many teachers. The first question was do you enjoy going into school each morning...most of the time I can say yes. On those rare days that I don't, it has nothing to do with school, but maybe because I don't feel well. However, there are so many teachers I have met that do not enjoy coming to school everyday and they complain about it constatnly. The same can be said for the next question, do you find teaching exciting and challenging? My answer would be yes because each year there is a new group of little ones that need to be taught the same material, but they may need it to be taught in a different way. Because of that, it never gets boring. Again, I hear teachers complain quite often about how tired they are of reading this specific book, or teaching this unit, blah blah blah....my response has always been, then find a new way to do it!!
ReplyDeleteAs for the third question, do you think of teaching as a job or a profession, I definitely think of teaching as a profession. In my mind, a job requires just anyone to walk in off the street and fulfill the requirements. With teaching, not just anyone can do it, or should I say do it well. Teaching requires patience, understanding, compasion, and loads of training! We have to be able to problem solve on a moments notice, adjust plans according to student performance, and teach students on an individual level so that they can learn. Not just anyone can do all of those things. Teaching is definitely a profession.
The fourth and fifth questions were what is the best/worst aspect of your life as a teacher...and my answers are related. The best aspect of my life as a teacher is seeing the growth in the students I work with and watching them improve right in front of me. The worst aspect right now would be the fact that I feel like I don't get to see enough kids change and improve, and even the ones I do get to see I don't get to work with on a regular basis. I would like to see more students more often.
I only answered the first five questions on here because I think my post is forever long.
Looking a the different places that I could introduce this reflection breaks... I think in the nontenured professional development group that I will introduce and discuss reflection break #6.
ReplyDelete1)Open-minded
2)Responsibility
3)Wholeheartedness
I think we all have to remember this throughout our teaching career. We have to stay open-minded about strategies and best practices. We have a responsibility to continue ourselves as learners - staying current and up to date on practices. We have to wholeheartedly take a close look at ourselves as teachers!
As I reflect on my teaching I have discovered that I am one of those teachers that did my relections in the car on the way home or going to sleep at night. I find in my current position that I guide teachers to reflect on their teaching strategies and ways to improve their reflective practices. The bar has been raised for all of us so reflection is the best way to prevent from making errors year after year. Teaching is no longer writing a set of lesson plans to follow for the next 10 years.
ReplyDeleteReflection Break 21 encourages teachers to reflect on their classes after they have finished teaching. This is the type of reflection that I feel like I engage in quite frequently. As a coach, I am encouraging teachers to do the same. Reflection-on-action involves looking back and deciding how effective each aspect of the lesson was. Whether teachers make note of these ideas for future lessons, discuss the results with another colleague, or talk to students about their perceptions of the class, reflection-on-action can certainly be an effective tool to improve instruction.
ReplyDeleteReflect-for-Action (Break 22): This best describes my reflection approach. Coming from a science/math background, I find myself approaching my reflection systematically. One of my dearest friends is one of my colleagues. She and I spend a lot of time discussing educational issues we are facing each day in and out of the classroom. Through our discussions we work through the action research process together all the time. We identify areas of concern by the data collected through observing our students in action. The analysis of that data helps us to evaluate the strategies/activities we are using. From this we identify areas of weakness and attempt to become better. Through this process we share our successes and our failures. Over the years we have learned a lot about effective teaching strategies from one another.
ReplyDeleteI like that RaeAnn. You and Gina are a perfect example of two teachers using data and effective teaching practices in discussion to identify weaknesses and become better. We need to get together and discuss friendly mentors instead of competition among teachers to improve our teaching and our students learning. I would really like to see this happen at our middle schools. I see so little collaboration with the teachers in my school. We must push this or not much will change.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful way to engage in professional development RaeAnn! Having a colleague whom you can trust to share strengths and weaknesses with so that you can both learn and grow from the experience. It is very beneficial to examine and analyze the data so that you can share your thoughts and ideas for improvement with another teacher.
ReplyDeleteI choose Reflection Break #1, because as soon as I read the first question it hit home with me. It says, do you enjoy going into school each morning? When I read that my first response was no and that surprised me. I used to enjoy going to school and I found each day fun and exciting. This past year has been more difficult and I think it's because I've felt so discouraged and overwhelmed. Another question that hit home was the question that said, do you ever discuss teaching with your colleagues in the staff room? There has been more then one time this year when talking to teachers about things that have ended badly and now I'm hesistant to even discuss certain things with certain teachers. Overall our staff feels overwhelmed and misunderstood.
ReplyDeleteI am looking at pages 14 and 15 and Reflection Break number 7 - How Routine are you in your teaching/
ReplyDeleteThis made me think of our Reading Recovery program as a whole - I see teachers often for visits and have for several years now. With some teachers, it is clear to me that they are teaching a "program" and not a child.
In an effort to break into this routinization, we "front loaded" classes this year. It kept the teachers on their toes and more reflective, and less routinized. I am wondering how to tackle this issue again next year. I am thinking about using this reflection break with teachers next year about the second or third week into lessons with RR kids.
I chose Reflection Break 2 - Do you personally know a teacher who is leaving the profession? Why? My long-time friend is retiring this year- about 6 years ealier than necessary. She had taught Reading Recovery with me in Ohio for 7 years. When she moved to SW Florida, she got a kindergarten position. Going back into the classroom was a big adjustment, but I think most of her frustration had to do with going from a balanced literacy district to one that stressed using visual information so strongly. As in all new jobs, it took a year or so to feel accepted, but with no one to value her training and knowledge of the reading process, she struggled following the district mandates mightly! Her philosophy was in direct conflict with the way she was to teach and there was only one other teacher who agreed - and she left after two years. Her classes have scored well on the state assessments, but she is conflicted over doing it 'their' way, when she believes she knows a better way. She has learned to "distinguish between the flexibles and the nonnegotiables" (Kise, pg.129) in order to survive.
ReplyDeleteAfter taking the Myers-Briggs personality test years ago, my pastor said that you can do anything for a 'season', but if you can find a job using your 'passion'/personality type, you'll be much happier and more productive!
I chose Reflection Break 50--audio and video reacordings. I focused on the video portion of the reflection.
ReplyDelete*Have you ever videotaped your classes? Yes, I have as a part of the regular classroom, as, a coach, as a RR teacher and as a CIM trained interventionist.
*What was your reaction to seeing yourself teaching for the first time? It was very hard to see myself as well as hear myself. I actually had to watch the lesson more than once because the first time I could only focus on how I looked and sounded instead of how I was teaching and what were the students doing. The kids and I were fine with the placement of the camera but the uncomfortable part for me was the viewing.
*Do you think the video camera should be focused on the teacher or the student (assuming you have only one camera at your disposal)? Where would you place the cameera and why? I think the camera should be focused on the student but able to hear the teacher clearly. In a small group setting I like to have the whole group in focus or have another person taping the kids so I can see exactly what they are doing with their reading or writing process. I like to be able to clearly hear myself so that I can analyze the types of prompts and level of support that I give the students.
It has been my experience that the kids are usually pretty comfortable with being filmed and don't really pay attention to it. Some really enjoy getting to watch themselves and I have used it with individuals as a teaching point(Look what a great job you did _______, I would love to see you do that everyday when you read/write).
I feel videoing yourself can be a powerful tool in your self reflection and can help you make important teaching decisions.