How it goes.
May. 9th, 2013 05:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
karenhealeyWhat does my learning how to be a teacher entail? It looks like this:
Weeks 1-3: Center block!
Seminars (behaviour management, planning and assessment prep, collaborative learning workshops, etc etc - practical teacher knowledge)
Academic bids (we research in pairs or groups and then present our findings in order to demonstrate understanding - academic teacher knowledge we can put into practice)
Weeks 4-9: Teaching placement!
We're in a school, teaching. I was teaching a full class on my second day in my last school. It was awesome. And terrifying. But also awesome.
"Teaching" involves planning, assessment, resource preparation, involvement in school life, professional conduct and contributions with your senior colleagues, meeting attendance, club activities, and the part where you actually have a classroom with a bunch of students in it who need to learn something.
While teaching, we get observation, feedback and consultation.
Observation and feedback happen whether we want it or not - tutors come in and watch us work, note down the things we're doing great and the things we need to work on, and then tell us. It's up to us whether we listen. You can bet I listen.
Consultation is us actively seeking help or advice - "Homg what is a unit plan and how do I use pre-assessment to help create one?" "I need some literacy activities for my Year 9s; resource tips?" "How do I differentiate learning in a class where I have high achievers and kids with a lot of learning needs?" And so on. Different questions, depending on our classes and our experiences.
Week 10: Bidding week!
All that teaching we just did? We reflect on it. For pages and pages and pages, assessing whether we hit the criteria, what we'll need to do next time to get them, etc etc. Word count isn't actually important, but just to give you an indicator of the amount of labour involved: In the last bidding week I wrote ~14 000 words in five days. (Actually, I wrote 14k in four days and then my hands stopped working, thanks RSI). This was on the low side - some people did closer to 30k.
Week 11-12: SLEEP.
Or in my case, line edits. BUT ALSO LOTS OF SLEEP and also lots of pleasure reading and baking and Mass Effect. Shep/Garrus, all the way.
Right now we're in the center block, doing academic work. So when Roomie Matt comes home, it's usually to this:
Me: *slightly glazed* Matt! Do you want me to teach you about the social, educational and political development of Maori since 1840 in terms of the Treaty of Waitangi?
Matt: Not... right now.
Me: I MADE A TIMELINE. Also, if you would like to learn about how tikanga can be practiced in the classroom, I found some great resources!
Matt: Good for you!
Me: How about the rationale for including Classical Studies as a social science?
Matt: How about, instead of that, you take a nap?
Me: GOOD IDEA. YOU ARE RESPONDING TO MY OBSERVED BEHAVIOURAL STATE AND SUGGESTING MODIFICATION THAT ADDRESSES MY SPECIFIC NEED; IE, TO GAIN RESILIENCE.
It is an intense course. It is a great course. I am really happy I'm doing it, and I'm learning so much, all the time.
But that's why I'm not blogging much this year.
Weeks 1-3: Center block!
Seminars (behaviour management, planning and assessment prep, collaborative learning workshops, etc etc - practical teacher knowledge)
Academic bids (we research in pairs or groups and then present our findings in order to demonstrate understanding - academic teacher knowledge we can put into practice)
Weeks 4-9: Teaching placement!
We're in a school, teaching. I was teaching a full class on my second day in my last school. It was awesome. And terrifying. But also awesome.
"Teaching" involves planning, assessment, resource preparation, involvement in school life, professional conduct and contributions with your senior colleagues, meeting attendance, club activities, and the part where you actually have a classroom with a bunch of students in it who need to learn something.
While teaching, we get observation, feedback and consultation.
Observation and feedback happen whether we want it or not - tutors come in and watch us work, note down the things we're doing great and the things we need to work on, and then tell us. It's up to us whether we listen. You can bet I listen.
Consultation is us actively seeking help or advice - "Homg what is a unit plan and how do I use pre-assessment to help create one?" "I need some literacy activities for my Year 9s; resource tips?" "How do I differentiate learning in a class where I have high achievers and kids with a lot of learning needs?" And so on. Different questions, depending on our classes and our experiences.
Week 10: Bidding week!
All that teaching we just did? We reflect on it. For pages and pages and pages, assessing whether we hit the criteria, what we'll need to do next time to get them, etc etc. Word count isn't actually important, but just to give you an indicator of the amount of labour involved: In the last bidding week I wrote ~14 000 words in five days. (Actually, I wrote 14k in four days and then my hands stopped working, thanks RSI). This was on the low side - some people did closer to 30k.
Week 11-12: SLEEP.
Or in my case, line edits. BUT ALSO LOTS OF SLEEP and also lots of pleasure reading and baking and Mass Effect. Shep/Garrus, all the way.
Right now we're in the center block, doing academic work. So when Roomie Matt comes home, it's usually to this:
Me: *slightly glazed* Matt! Do you want me to teach you about the social, educational and political development of Maori since 1840 in terms of the Treaty of Waitangi?
Matt: Not... right now.
Me: I MADE A TIMELINE. Also, if you would like to learn about how tikanga can be practiced in the classroom, I found some great resources!
Matt: Good for you!
Me: How about the rationale for including Classical Studies as a social science?
Matt: How about, instead of that, you take a nap?
Me: GOOD IDEA. YOU ARE RESPONDING TO MY OBSERVED BEHAVIOURAL STATE AND SUGGESTING MODIFICATION THAT ADDRESSES MY SPECIFIC NEED; IE, TO GAIN RESILIENCE.
It is an intense course. It is a great course. I am really happy I'm doing it, and I'm learning so much, all the time.
But that's why I'm not blogging much this year.
