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I would characterize this year as a year of learning. I realize now that I honestly knew next to nothing about teaching when I first started the year in September. But in the months since, I have gained a number of tools that have proved to be helpful in managing a classroom and promoting learning. One thing I liked was how I was able to experiment with different techniques to teach material such as gallery walks, jig-sawing, and PowerPoint slideshows. I have kept a mental checklist of what exactly worked and what didn’t in case I try these methods next year. More importantly, my very approach to teaching has changed: I came in wishing to teach content, but now I believe that my goal is to teach fundamental skills to students who come in without them because without these skills, many of these students will have no clue how to learn science.
This year was very challenging. One of my greatest challenges was learning how to manage a classroom. I still have plenty room to improve in this regard, but I think I have progressed to the point where a student cursing me out in front of my face no longer unnerves me. And it did unnerve me before, causing me much anxiety, sometimes enough to haunt me in my sleep. But throughout the year, this “anxiety” happened less and less often, as I went through a process of developing a thicker skin in order prevent insults or petty comments from affecting me personally. I began to ask myself how these situations actually occur in the first place. In other words, I started focusing on how to treat the problem at root (improve pacing and instruction and always speak in a calm, professional tone implying purpose) instead of just diagnosing a symptom (kid cursing me out and writing that kid up).
I feel like I had some good support here at [school]. My colleagues were very helpful to me. I took their advice and encouragement to heart. I felt that my relationships here were comfortable enough for me to share my frustrations and joys with them. I was also glad that the Aussie coaches were here to give me some framework and tools to start from in instruction. They were willing to meet with me for a significant time and offer some helpful feedback on my lessons.
I know exactly where I have to improve. I need to incorporate more hands-on learning to show the kids that science is not just sit at your desk and take notes, but also the act of doing stuff. In addition, I want to use more effective note-taking strategies to improve retention of material so that they don’t fail a cumulative final in horrifying numbers. I also have to find a better way of keeping students accountable in being prepared for class. Far too many students this year lost all the handouts that I gave them and then looked at me as if I were to blame. The final thing I want to improve on is not hesitating to lay the smack-down on some of the kids. I cannot hesitate to give out consequences to certain students who try my patience.
Therefore, I look forward to trying some new things next year and making some progress on the points I mentioned above. This year was very difficult, easily the hardest year in my life. I worked very hard and stayed at work late almost every day. I had to go and do extra stuff to make sure that my labs did not become disasters. And I had to be on my toes all the time to make sure that I was not about to get hit by a spitball. Now I just hope I can get rest for the next two months.
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