I am co-teaching a Math 7 class this year. I was a bit intimidated and am still figuring out the best method behind it. (Figuring things out will likely take all year...)
My co-teacher has been teaching for 27 years. He taught special education for 17 years and has been teaching general ed math for the last 10 years. He certainly has a lot of experience on me. He has been very nice and has told me that he is open to new things and wants me to feel like a teacher and not just an aide in the classroom. I really appreciate this support because I would have a hard time just being an "aide" in the classroom.
I was giddy after math on Friday though. We finally gathered some data on Thursday (we gave a 10-question quiz on adding/subtracting integers). I was SO EXCITED to have data. We got to see what students were getting it and which students were still struggling. I was seriously teacher-nerding out because I was so happy.
After collecting data, we decided to do some re-teaching. I taught the group of 11 or so kids who scored a 60% or below on the quiz and Klark (my co-teacher) led an extension activity for the kids who scored a 70% or higher. We split the class and I taught my group by the promethean board (a smart board that attaches to my computer) and Klark directed his group at the back. The noise level wasn't too bad, although it took my kids a while to hear what I had to say.
My student teacher and I had come up with a task analysis (steps) to solve the different kinds of problems and it looked like my kids were understanding the material. I was loving this re-teaching. After the bell rang, a girl who was in my group came up and said, very sincerely, "Thanks for teaching today. I think I actually get it now."
That moment right there made my whole day. I think it will get me through the next month! This is the whole purpose of co-teaching! Co-teaching allows two teachers with different teaching styles to come together to meet the needs of more students. It consists of a special education teacher and a general education teacher. It can be difficult to overcome the idea that the special education teacher = a classroom aide, but Klark has been great.
I am excited to share more stories about how co-teaching goes this year!
-Ms. Damron-
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Student Teacher #2
I have the opportunity to mentor a student teacher again this year and she is amazing already and it's only been week ONE.
To introduce her to the class, we played a "Get to Know Us" jeopardy game. The students had to guess who the story/information was about. There were stories about our childhoods, embarrassing stories, habits and pet peeves, favorites, etc. She ran track in high school and at BYU and one of the stories about her involved track. When we asked who the story was about, an 8th grade girl looked at me and said, "Well, I know you don't work out, so it must be her." hahahahaha How delightful...and observant. (Just for the record, I DO work out. Rude.)
Another favorite story came in 3rd period. I don't know how this story came about because I was on the other side of the room when the conversation started. The next thing I knew, my students were asking me how old I was. I'm not shy about my age, but I didn't know why they were asking (I didn't want to give them any hints about the answer if that's what they were attempting). I gave a vague answer and said, "I'm in my 20s." One of my sweet little 7th grade boys then said, "Wow Ms. Damron. You need to get a date and get married!" My student teacher was laughing so hard. I was cracking up. It made my day! I loved sharing that story.
As a follow up story, my classes created Edmodo accounts (kind of like Facebook between teachers and students - it's pretty cool). This student sent me a message that said the following:
"Dear Ms.Damron,
You need a date. Really it's long until to you will become into a mom.
Sinserly, XXXX"
To introduce her to the class, we played a "Get to Know Us" jeopardy game. The students had to guess who the story/information was about. There were stories about our childhoods, embarrassing stories, habits and pet peeves, favorites, etc. She ran track in high school and at BYU and one of the stories about her involved track. When we asked who the story was about, an 8th grade girl looked at me and said, "Well, I know you don't work out, so it must be her." hahahahaha How delightful...and observant. (Just for the record, I DO work out. Rude.)
Another favorite story came in 3rd period. I don't know how this story came about because I was on the other side of the room when the conversation started. The next thing I knew, my students were asking me how old I was. I'm not shy about my age, but I didn't know why they were asking (I didn't want to give them any hints about the answer if that's what they were attempting). I gave a vague answer and said, "I'm in my 20s." One of my sweet little 7th grade boys then said, "Wow Ms. Damron. You need to get a date and get married!" My student teacher was laughing so hard. I was cracking up. It made my day! I loved sharing that story.
As a follow up story, my classes created Edmodo accounts (kind of like Facebook between teachers and students - it's pretty cool). This student sent me a message that said the following:
"Dear Ms.Damron,
You need a date. Really it's long until to you will become into a mom.
Sinserly, XXXX"
I'm not 100% sure what he meant by the mom thing, but I just loved it and he certainly made me laugh. What a good kid.
My student teacher begins teaching Resource Learning tomorrow. She already has an excellent lesson planned on learning styles. I can't wait to see how it goes.
-Ms. Damron-
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