Week 5

This week was normal in the sense of there wasn't a snow day, delay or early dismissal in sight! However, as a teacher candidate I continue to grow. I have begun to settle into a routine of when planning happens, how I manage the classroom and keeping up with the kiddos. What was different about this week was I had a visit from my university supervisor, my horse has had health issues, and I have been quite sick. This has created a set of challenges for me to complete day to day activities. I feel rather confident in saying that I have made it through the week and feel quite accomplished.

My big focus is on the visitation from my university supervisor. I had been fretting over this for quite some time. I realize that all teachers get visitations from their administration and that can be just as nerve racking. After spending a little extra time organizing and prepping my lessons I spent a while just thinking. I thought about where I was a year ago, or even where I was a month ago. I realized that the change has been incredible. I also think about how much more I have to accomplish. I know as a teacher, you must always challenge yourself to be a better teacher. Consistently strive to stay current in the world, in teaching practices, in technology and stay current with the students.

My lessons this week were good. They were informational, but something was missing. I need more 'why' in my lessons. I have how things work but I don't have the why they work part. After it being brought to my attention I can clearly see that my day to day lessons are lacking higher level thinking questions. Students are being challenged to learn general information, they are not being challenged to be critical thinkers. Being able to think critically is a trait that will follow them where every they go.

My challenge for the weeks to come is to create deeper questions, get students to apply their knowledge and to tie my lessons together in a more sequential manner. With these 3 key areas I hope to bring my teaching to the next level. Thanks for reading!