Goals for final week

Goals for the week-

Spend time and allow time for the students to reflect on their learning.

This is something that I want to complete together as a class as I believe reflection is one of the most important aspects of teaching both for the teacher and students. Without reflection we wouldn’t know where to next.

Reflect on-

·         Art

·         Black Robin report writing

·         Maths lessons

·         My overall time with room 10

Fun in the sun

A few pictures of us completing class challenges and games. Having fun in the sun!

Reflection

Reflection on student’s learning-

I wanted to share this as I had a wee ahaa moment on Friday afternoon. I tested the students in a fun Black Robin team quiz. Most teams got 10 out of 10, 2 got 9 and 1 got 8. I am the only one who has taught them about Black Robins, hence the reason I am feeling proud that they have learnt so much.

Planning

Planning-

I have tried a different way of planning this practicum as well as my original way. I have used mind maps to channel ideas. I have attempted this way of planning as this is something that Mary-Ann uses often and it is something in which I wanted to try. I like this way of planning. I am a right brained person, therefore these circle and bubble maps suited me well. I like this way of planning as it seems to be a much more relaxed approach to putting a unit together. Ideas seemed to come more easily, rather than trying to think of ideas as well as fitting in the curriculum links at the same time. I plan to use this method in the future.

3rd week reflection

It is the end of the 3^rd week here at Terrace in Room 10. The students have been away each morning for Technology. I have been using this time to visit other classrooms, go through my final planning and to gather more resources from Mary-Ann. I began this week thinking that I would struggle to get all of the work that I had planned for the students finished but I have am pleased to say that I have managed to finish everything that I was hoping to.

I also am happy with how I am going about achieving my goals. I have spent time discussing these goals with Mary-Ann. I was worried that I hadn’t collected sufficient evidence but Mary-Ann suggested that the goals I have set are difficult to display in hard copy, as many of them are communicative and observational.

Whilst on duty at lunch time this week, I had an incident with a couple of year 8 boys that the school is having trouble with. I have to keep reminding myself that I am only here for 4 weeks as I tend to become to passionate about issues.

I cannot stress enough how much I have learnt being here at Terrace. It has opened my eyes to a whole part of life that I have never experienced before. Having the opportunity to experience in greater depth the culture of the children here at Terrace has been a real learning curve. I am so thankful to be in with Mary-Ann and have gained a huge amount from her. I have also taken on any advice given to me by other teachers here at Terrace and am lucky that everyone has been so welcoming. 

Reflection

End of second week reflection- Reflecting against the graduating teacher standards

After two weeks of being in Room 10 at Terrace Primary School, I feel that my mindset has changed ever so slightly prior to coming into Room 10. I originally came into Room 10 prepared for a weeks work of lessons and although my topics have remained the same, I have since changed how I have approached my planning. I came from being with year 3 on practicum last year. There is a huge difference in how you approach your planning and teaching with year 7 and 8. I have since taken a step back and realised that it is hard to plan a structured daily routine for this year level, therefore I have set myself goals to achieve in terms of planning and teaching and what I would like the students to accomplish. I have 3 major unit plans that I am working towards in the 3 weeks of teaching, a geometry/measurement plan in mathematics, an integrated science and literacy unit on native brids and an art unit incorporating maths and science. My goal is for the students to successfully complete each of these units by the time leave to a very high standard.

In terms of the gradating teacher standards, I have been extremely conscious of these, working to incorporate these into my teaching.  Knowing what I am teaching and how the student’s best learn, has been an important part of my practicum. I have been working hard to understand and know what information I am passing onto my students, not only because this is a requirement as a teacher, but it also makes me feel alot more confident and comfortable in the classroom. This means being prepared well prior to the days teaching.

I believe I have always been able and proficient in terms of knowing my students. I think that one of the reasons that I have received outstanding practicum reports thus far is because I have always taken the time to familiarize myself with the students that I am teaching, this being both inside and outside of the classroom.  I take the time at lunch time to get to know the students in the playground and before I began my teaching in Room 10 I spent the first week acquiring knowledge from Mary-Ann about how best certain students learn.

I am working hard on my planning and believe that I have always been organised with side of my teaching. The reason I work hard at my planning is because I don’t feel well planned and organised then I don’t believe that I teach to my fullest potential. I have learnt a new way of planning off Mary-Ann using Mind Maps which I am enjoying putting into practice.

The staff of Terrace have been amazing to me and very welcoming. There is a real sense of community within the school. Being a year 8 classroom however, I do not get to interact with the students parents as most of them make their own way to and from school. I do enjoy this side of teaching but it is evident to me that interacting with parents occurs more in the junior classrooms.

Thus far I am loving my time at Terrace and am relishing the opportunities that I have been given and look forward to the next two weeks.

Art in Room 10

Art plays an important role in room 10 and as an art lover myself it is nice to see such an emphasis being put on it. Art is not just done in room 10 as a reward, to fill in time, to decorate the walls or to finish off a unit. Mary-Ann puts a lot of effort into teaching art and spends a lot of time with the students working on perfecting their art skills. I have seen art in room 10 in some of their personal folders that I would love to get copied and hung on my living room wall. The students are focusing this term on Maori Art. I am using this focus to complete an art Unit integrating out theme for the term of native birds. Our aim is to create a piece of artwork using a Maori weave pattern and to incorporate a native bird into the picture of our choice. The picture is come out looking like an optical illusions. Here's hoping it works.

Updated- Here is an example of some of the students photos from the category, cold. Very cool!