Be a Life-Long Learner

Another week has passed. Honestly, I cannot believe how quickly time is going by! Graduation is only six weeks away!! I never, ever thought that the time would finally come for me to walk across the stage, but here I am with only a handful of weeks left in my classroom. Leaving Northwood will be a whole new challenge I'm not yet ready to tackle.


Last week, members of the district's administration came in to observe teachers for ten minute segments. I was fortunate to have Northwood's assistant principal visit my room. On Monday, Mrs. P. and I have a conversation about my observation, and she gave me some very helpful advice:

1. Transition into something new at least every ten minutes with students in middle school and below. 
2. Make goals measurable (which I've been doing all semester!), and use higher-level verbs to begin them.
3. State the goal at the beginning of the period and refer back to it multiple times so that students know exactly what they're supposed to be accomplishing for the day.
4. Constantly be checking in on students' progress and understanding.
5. Be attentive of every little comment in the room. Call a student out from the other side of the room so that they know you are paying attention to everything. 
6. Converse with teachers from students' prior grades to see how you can build on what students have learned rather than simply reteach the content.

At the end of our discussion, I asked Mrs. P. if she could observe me again before I leave Northwood, so on November 19, she'll come in during my fifth period to see how I'm improving. The next day, my cooperating teacher told me that Mrs. P. was impressed with my very firm desire to learn how to be the best. 

I have also arranged a practice interview to take place with Mrs. P. and the principal, Mr. W. 

There's not much else to report this week. We lost two days due to a reward days and a teacher institute day. This next week looks to be full, though.