Teaching Journal: Day One/Week One Overview

Teaching Journal: Day One/Week One Overview

Monday August 27, 2012

Day one went great! Unlike the first time I stepped into a class room (well over a year ago), I was confident and well prepared. Although, that is really not a fair statement as I was very, very prepared my first time teaching...I was just also very, very nervous! Today was different though, I immediately felt comfortable and confident in the classroom and never doubted my authority. So, it was a good start!

I started the class with my new journal prompt :"Thanks But No Thanks." In the past I always used "Five Gratitudes," students would write about 5 things they were thankful/grateful for and then we would share. However, after a journaling workshop with Sherrie Gradin, I decided to revamp my entry prompt. "Thanks But No Thanks" asks students to talk about 3 things they are grateful for and 1 thing they are not--this way, students can now write about things that are both good and bad in their lives, helping them to think and write reflectively while hopefully freeing them of some anxiety. The weight is still on the positive aspects of their lives, which I think is important.

The class did really well with this first journaling exercise and many students shared right away. I was really impressed with their level of engagement and this brief 10-15 minute exercise created the environment of the class I was looking for.

The rest of the class focused on the syllabus, grading contract, and other paper work--it was a typical "first day" and went very smooth.

Wednesday and Friday's class were also great! I think the biggest mistake I made was in Wednesday's class--I got out of sorts during the Greene discussion. I don't think we covered enough of it, or some of the larger issues--it wasn't a complete disaster, I am just feeling critical of my approach.

One thing that is trowing me for a loop is being a student in the 5890 teaching methods class right before I teach. We focus on the next days work so by the time I step into my classroom (10 minutes after the end of 5890), all I can think about is what I am supposed to be teaching in two days time instead of right then. For example--on the day I taught Green, we focused on Kleine in the 5890 class, which I wouldn't be teaching for another two days. The Greene discussion was focused on two days prior, so even though I had a working lesson plan for Greene, my focus shifted to Kleine and much of what I wanted to address in class was pushed out. Somehow I need to reevaluate the way in which I create lesson plans so that this will not become an issue--perhaps I need to create fuller, more flushed out plans (as in scripted) in order to have point by point what I am doing in class so as not to be side tracked by the previous hours work.

To return to the week of classes--overall, I feel very good about my teaching this past week. I really enjoy the group of students I have and by and large, they seem to be enjoying the class and doing a great job participating. Each of their assignments had an almost 100% turn in rate (for each of the two assignments only 1 student failed to turn in a response), and attendance is high. I am really looking forward to spending the semester with them :)

And with that, I will end this entry <3