This chapter made me a bit uneasy. It was interesting to read the classroom dialog and then see the analysis of what had occurred. However, this is what made me so uneasy. While reading the dialog I thought of some instances where the teacher could have done a better job explaining or could have asked the students to explain but she didn’t. When reading the analysis I didn’t catch as many mismatches as the observer had, that worries me. While reading I was thinking of myself in the teacher’s situation, would I know the mismatches taking place, would I be able to address them or would I need an outsider to tell me what was wrong. I don’t want to fail my students by not noticing learning opportunities, especially in an ESL classroom. I am just a bit worried I will be more worried about my lesson than what happens during the lesson to build on (as a first year teacher). I know from all my classes to pay attention but I’m afraid when I get in front of the class and have an agenda I may forget! Kuma has really good exploratory projects to help teachers evaluate their teaching acts. I think for me it is most important to remember I can always grow as a teacher and always learn from what happens in the classroom (observations don't mean I'm doing a horrible job!). The M&M is a really good way to observe and I am sure to use it in the future.
I agree. I would be so much more nervous if some of this "observing" was going on, and I really do feel that my teaching would suffer because of these nerves. I think that for our first year of teaching self-reflection and evaluation would be most beneficial. They say that it takes a while to really be a good teacher, so I would want to be given a fair shot to get to that point before being told what I'm doing wrong.
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way when I was reading the dialog. It seemed as though the teacher was trying to rush through some of the conversation time and so she didn't fully address a lot of what was going on.
ReplyDeleteAs for the observation nerves, Kuma suggested that you choose an older, more experienced teacher you feel would give you honest feedback, which I think would make it less nerve-wracking (sp?) than if a principal or administrator were to be the observer.
I definitely agree with you that I will be using the M&M scheme in the future. The episode was a bit difficult to read, and I am sure we all have the same apprehensions as you, but we will surely improve with time, and I think it is important to begin this self-oservation, analysis, and evaluation at an early stage.
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