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Through my Clear
program, I had the opportunity to learn how to create thorough lesson plans
that incorporate EL strategies, backwards planning, differentiation of learning
styles, and co-teaching with a para-professional. At my school, I have very little opportunity
to create lesson plans, as my students are taking online courses and teaching
themselves math through note-taking and online quizzes. I support their
learning through one-on-one meetings.
I learned that I can
successfully create lesson plans pretty efficiently and teach these lessons
effectively. I learned that I am very
capable of engaging an entire classroom full of students, paying attention to
each and every student's facial expressions and activity, adjusting
instruction, and encouraging the use of academic language during the lesson.
One of my goals this
past year was to improve student pacing, and I learned how to do this by
working closely with my focus students.
I learned the reasons behind their pacing struggles, and worked with
them to create goals to improve pacing and increase their depth of
understanding of concepts. When I
started the Clear program, I had no idea how easy it would be to turn a student
around (from a slow-pacing “C” student to an average pacing “B” student). The key connector in all of my three focus
students was attention and care. I
showed my students how much I cared about them, gave them individual attention,
listened closely to them, and worked WITH them to plan learning goals
(short-term and long-term). Working
one-on-one with students has been the key to my success as a teacher and to my
students' success as learners.
Through one-on-one's,
students gained trust in me, and I learned about the culture, history, and
lives of each of my students - individually.
By using the new tools provided to me through my Pedagogy courses and
with the help of my Mentor, I have been able to help my students improve their
pacing and their grades. My students
have achieved higher grades this semester than I have ever seen them produce
before. They are doing all of their work,
getting mostly A’s and B’s, and coming to after-school tutoring for extra
credit. They are working very hard, and
it is a very welcomed change from last year.
I learned that by
challenging my students to become better planners and note-takers, and modeling
these techniques for them, my students have become better readers, writers, and
deeper thinkers.
I noticed one thing I
really need to work on: I am constantly filling in the “verbal” space when
students look at me without knowing how to phrase a question. I need to set up more systems that would help
students solve their own problems and provide the initiative to ask the
appropriate questions when necessary instead of sitting silently without
direction.
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