Year 1/Year 2 of Teaching Reflection: Loving My Students
Last year was my first year of teaching and it was pretty difficult. I think one of the hardest things was learning how to teach. Reflecting on that year, I realized that I was so focused on the instructional aspect of teaching. That includes:
- Creating resources for teaching (worksheets, accommodations, ELL support materials, preparing labs, etc.)
- Printing any of the resources above
- Creating a student-centered classroom
- Thinking about good points for turn-and-talk
- Making lesson adjustments depending on student level of understanding during formative assessments
- Making summative assessments
- Adjusting what does and doesn’t work to work even better
- … and the list goes on.
I think the best way to describe how I felt is an example. That year felt like I was in a car going 80 mph and I was looking out the side window. I got to the end or the destination, but everything that happened during the year was a blur.
This year, things are moving a lot better. There’s still a lot of growth in my instructional side as a teacher, but I realized that I focused so much on that aspect and too little on the students. I’m taking a step back this year and focusing on developing genuine relationships with my students and getting to know them deeper. I learned that while the instructional side is important, I have to see my students. If they’re hungry, having a bad day, or have things going on in their life in the background, it’s hard for them to learn no matter how strong my teaching practices are.
So this year, I’m taking more time to ask them how they’re doing. I’m trying out a check in form at the beginning of each period where the students take 5 minutes to fill out a form that asks them one question: How’s your day going? That question tells me a lot. If they’re having a great day, I’m glad! Sometimes they’ll share about what made it great and those responses are always a joy to read. If they’re having a bad day or there’s something going on, they have the chance to share that with me with as much detail as they’re comfortable with. This allows me to not only get to learn more about my students and develop a relationship with them, but it also helps me see how I can adjust instruction to care for them.
Since the beginning of this year, I’ve been moving at the same pace as I did last year and my students also have a stronger grasp of the content, even with 10 minutes of each day dedicated to the check in. Focusing on stronger relationships with my students and learning how to focus on caring for them while teaching has made teaching my kids a lot more fun, as well as effective. Some of my days still feel like I’m looking out a car window and it’s all a blur, but instead of 80 mph, it’s more like 75 mph now. Regardless, the biggest reflection I had from my first year of teaching is that I can slow down, take a step back, and see who I’m teaching and how they are before I start my lessons. This my focus in year two and being able to focus more on my students, in addition to effective pedagogy, has definitely improve my already high job satisfaction!
Originally published at http://mrdaniellieu.wordpress.com on December 18, 2019.
