Every so often I like to write to my readers who are teachers. I consider myself a pretty creative person. I love to write all different types of genre and do arts and crafts. Therefore, I do personally create a lot of activities and games for my classroom. However, I love to steal from others too. I watch, observe, and read for new ideas. I then take these ideas and adapt them to match my personality and the needs of my students.
I hope that by writing ideas and thoughts aimed at other teachers, I can too aide them in finding an idea to adapt. Homeschooling parents may also find some useful ideas.
In this article, I want to discuss reflection. All new teachers go through a series of observations and evaluations. During this process, the teacher is asked to complete a form that deals with reflecting on the lesson that was taught.
I think that this is one of the hardest things for new teachers to do. Most teachers put a lot into planning their lessons. They create cute little props and write out fancy lesson plans. They get everything ready for the day and even rehearse the lesson in their minds.
When the observation and lesson are over, the teacher takes a deep breath of relief and is finished. However, the after-lesson is one of the most important parts of being a successful and effective teacher. So you had a great lesson plan and cute ideas, but did your students learn anything?
Effective teachers think about their lessons both before and after they occur. They observe the amount of learning that is taking place. They adapt their lessons and teaching style to meet the needs of their students.
Just because you love to do hands on small group work does not mean that your students are learning from it. You may enjoy singing a song for every skill that you teach. However if your students are not auditory learners, you may need more.
Teachers must be constant evaluators of both their students and of themselves.
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