One thing I've really been struggling with in teaching thus far is finding that balance between freedom and discipline. The article on behavior management gave solutions for problems in the classroom that I think would be difficult if not impossible to apply to our setting, but it still benefited me by leading me to an epiphany: I am going into teaching every day with a loose set of rules in my head, but I never really communicate those rules to the students. Then I get annoyed when they don't abide by my rules! How very unfair of me! As I see it, the problem is twofold. First, I need to sit down and come up with a set of concrete rules that I would like my students to follow. Second, I need to find a way to communicate those rules to the students quickly and effectively, right off the bat.
Another aspect of teaching that I have felt as though I could improve is my question asking and answering. The article I read was immensely helpful. I really appreciated how it was broken down into the topics of Student Questions, Answering Questions, Asking Questions, Allowing for Pauses or Silences, and Creating Accepting Atmospheres. Not only that, but each section had written out examples of dialogue between students and teachers. This presentation style was very helpful to me. I can read and read about what to do and what not to do, but without a concrete example, I sometimes struggle to grasp the real point.
With the help of these two articles, I have already written out a few strategies for improving my teaching. Here's hoping I can use them properly and effectively!
The section with written examples of questions in dialogue sounds very helpful. Kind of a concrete example, better than just listing question types with a description.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy reading your posts Tom because I think I struggle with the same issues, finding that balance in discipline and freedom. I think our last reading in Courage to Teach was helpful in that it said (in a very wordy way) that we do need boundaries but we need flexibility. I have been guilty of the same thing, having rules set in my head but not verbalizing them and then getting a little bewildered when the kids aren't following them. Last farm craft I was so determined to focus on learning names that I forgot to do some of the things that I found working for me and I felt things were a little unstructured as a result. I think often we want to be first and foremost kind to children and it feels hurtful to be spouting out a bunch of disciplinary tactics. Carli mentioned after Autumn Adventures last week that she felt like she had been yelling at the first graders the whole time. I was fortunate to get to tag along and observe and all I saw was someone who was being very clear and reinforcing behavior management in a kind way. Hope it is okay that I share this with everyone Carli. You were not mean at all. The kids were having a great time. There is so much to teaching that can only be learned in the doing. I am glad that we have this unique opportunity to share with one another and reflect on our methods.
ReplyDeleteI love hearing from other perspectives. Tom, the articles you picked to read sound very helpful, and you did a great job of summarizing them, and the learnings. I hadn't really thought about it, I also have some ideas about how I would like things to go, but how do you communicate those in the short amount of time. As I write this, I am wondering about how this might be useful in Venture Club at my church. I am wondering if I should/could suggest to the other sponsors that we have a time that we sit with the students to establish some of those expectations. They probably do that at school, and as adults we tend to think that some of that should transfer over, but I wonder if it wouldn't be helpful to attempt to create some of the structure in the church setting as well.
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