In chapter four of "Teaching Strategies: A Guide to Effective Instruction", the authors list six questions that need to be answered to begin planning lessons. I strongly agree with the questions listed, but would like to talk about one-time considerations.
One of the first lessons I learned once I started teaching is that I like to plan how much time each lesson is going to take for each class. I found that by the time I taught a lesson for the third time, I pretty well knew how long a lesson should take to be completed. So, the the last twenty years, I have spent part of my summers creating calendars for each class. These calendars define what lesson or chapter we will be working on each day, when to expect quizzes and tests, and when projects will be due. I give my students a calendar on the first day of each semester so they know what my expectations are.
I understand that we as teachers need to be flexible. I tell the students when I give them the calendars that they are not set in stone, that we will adjust as necessary, especially for unforeseen circumstances that will arise. I do not tell them I will adjust for slower students. I have found that they will try to manipulate your time if they think it is necessary. However, I do leave myself flexible for reteaching or taking extra time if students are not learning the projected outcomes.
What has become difficult for me the last five or six years is the increased disruptions to the learning cycle. We are almost to the end of the first quarter, and some classes haven't really been able to reach the rhythm that allows us to learn in an efficient manner. We barely get started and along comes homecoming. The state-mandated junior testing is about ten days away, and that will be the third time already this year that class schedules have been disrupted by standardized testing. We have also had classes disrupted for class meetings and a lyceum. To help achieve AYP, there are additional demands on our class time. This is in addition to all the normal disruptions such as sickness, various activities, and such. The last few years I have often found myself a full week or more behind where I was just a few years ago. Sometimes this has been a result of adding an additional lesson or having to slow down for a group of students, but as a general rule it is the result of all the other demands on my class time. Why are our students struggling? I believe part of it is all the extra disruptions and demands being placed on the educational system. How do the rest of you feel?
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Randy--I am anxious to have that amount of experience that will allow me to, as you describe, create semester long proposed (but flexible) calendars for the classes that I teach! What I love is that while you have that experience, you are doing something with it...allowing it to benefit your students! And I would imagine, such a proposed schedule would also help you with where you are and where you want to be.
ReplyDeleteAs I am in my fourth year of teaching but only first in this district, I find myself still feeling my way through units of study. Additionally, this is my first year of block scheduling which changes plans drastically as well.
It is definitely to your credit that in introducing your schedule, you remind students that you are not necessarily "stuck" to that schedule. As you mention, our end result (the student's learning) is always the same but somehow now we are expected to do it with less (time). I always look forward to the "normal" weeks in which I will get to keep my kids for the entire block, the entire week.
Great points, Randy!
Randy,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you very adamantly. There are so many disruptions that is is amazing that anything gets done. I teach music, so guess which class gets gipped when extra time is needed for 'extra' things. I am certainly not under the time constraints that a 'real' class is, except at performance time. It is crazy to think how much we cram into a school year or school day. I have heard many a teacher say how far behind they are. Calendars are a great idea. It is always helpful for kids to know what to expect. I know I love the guidelines a calendar can provide. As you said flexibility is key. Student make up can contribute a bit to the over burden at times as well. I have had groups of beginning band kids that have completed a normal lesson book that usually takes all year by the end of December. In these rare instances, the student make up is just really talented, driven and committed and competitive. Always good characteristics to excel. In the same tokken, I have had groups that don't even come close to completing the book by the end of the year. Different talent levels and so on. You just have to adapt to what you are dealing with at the time. But again, I am not so concerned with being part of the AYP so it might be easier for me to feel this way.
Elizabeth Haraseth
Last year I taught beside a veteran teacher of 9 or 10 years and he was saying the same thing about being farther behind than in previous years. I also heard of many teachers complaining about mixed up schedules, but since it was my first year teaching, I thought what is the big deal? You just need to adjust! However, I quickly realized how hard it was to adapt a 50 point lesson into a 35 min. I think the best thing to do is plan. Often times I would forget and not plan for it and it would be doubly tough.
ReplyDeleteI do think that I need to learn to adapt though. I think by planning out a schedule like you do will help. School is supposed to be an experience so it is important that students have lysiems, homecoming, and such. I think we as teachers need to try to encourage and incorporate it into our curriculum so that learning is a collective thing and not just bits and pieces of information. If we think of education as a whole and not just individual courses, we will have an easier time giving up instruction time.
Philip
What a great way for you to have the kids organized. It is great that you show them when(about) things will be taught, when a quiz/test is given etc. I do feel that there are a lot of outside factors that affect our students (home life, activities etc). I see it with my own children. My children are in hockey, competitive gymnastics, football and baseball. Both my husband and I have told them that school comes first and if any of their activities interfer with their learning, the activites are done and their homework needs to be done after school with one of us. But not all parents feel the same way. When my students have homework I can tell you which ones will not have it done. Their reason... I was not home all night, I had this and this going on. The really frustrating thing is when I e-mail their parents about the childs homework (that they will need help with it), have their parents reply back that it will get done and they come back with it not done. I do feel that parents need to have some responsibility with thier own childs learning.
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