Teaching!

The week before Thanksgiving break I taught and planned a lesson and was observed by my field instructor for the first time. It was definitely a little nerve-wracking, but everything turned out really well! I have taught segments of lessons throughout the Fall and have also been in charge of helping the students review for exams and quizzes, but this was the first time that I was in charge of the entire lesson and was being observed. I was pretty nervous at first, but after a few minutes, I realized that I was totally at ease and having a great time with the students. We were reviewing for test and I had come up with three activities to cover the material and maintain the interest of the students throughout the hour. Each exercise went really well and the students did a great job of participating appeared interested in reviewing for their test. One activity involved a backpack that I carried around the room from student to student and as they pulled an object out, I asked them a question about the item. Because this is a beginner level French class, many of the students are very shy and hesitant to speak. I was so excited when several of them volunteer to participate. They seemed to enjoy digging for something in the backpack and answering the questions! After the lesson was over, I had a chance to talk with my field instructor and discuss various aspects of the hour. I told her that I'd been really nervous beforehand, but the anxiety wore off almost immediately. We talked about some of the reasons that I felt this way and I found that it was really helpful to break down the different parts of my lesson and the way I worked with the students. Malli gave me great advice on what she liked about the lesson, what could work a little better the next time, and suggestions for other activities in the future. I think that I'm so worried about doing everything right and perfect for my students that I forget that I'm still a student too. My experience in the classroom is so important to developing my style as a teacher and every time that I'm at Wayne I'm learning more about what works, what doesn't, how the kids react, classroom management...etc. It can be difficult because there is so much to take in, in such little time!

I do think that the debriefing session was helpful and I appreciate all the feedback that I get from both my field instructor and my mentor. I want their advice and suggestions because I have such little experience in this area. Also, just something that I found interesting....One of Malli's suggestions involved getting the class to quiet down. Instead of saying "Shhhhhhh," she told me to simply stop talking and stand silently. She had noticed that when I said "shhh" some of the kids didn't always stop talking. By standing silently, I'm not trying to talk over them and those who are paying attention will help and try to get their friends to quiet down. I also taught 4th hour that day and at one point they began to get loud and I just stopped talking and stood still. Almost immediately, the class quieted down...I thought that was pretty neat!