Reflection TIme

As we embrace 2015 I want to reflect on 2014 and how it went for me. Term Three, 2014 signified a whole year of teaching in NZ which also meant I could apply to become fully registered again!

I have to admit, I had a wonderful class of year 5/6 and having taught for a while now, I have to admit they are up there as one of the best classes I have ever had.

When I look back at the first day and how they were I would have never expected by the end of term 4 the majority of them would have grown in confidence and develop skills to become independent learners. They were a fantastic class to ‘experiment’ all my new ideas with as they seemed to enjoy taking on a challenge as much as I did.

What I learnt the most is things take time and one big change can be better than a million of small ones.

 I started in Term 2 with a lot of the ideas I had gathered from other teachers off Twitter, through their blogs or from my own readings and research. I will admit I was so excited to be able to ‘change’ a lot of what I was doing, I probably went in a little too fast. I had to remind myself that most of these students were used to a very different way of teaching and learning but I also had parents to contend with. Boy, did it take a while. I have to admit I had my doubts at times. I’m impatient and I have high expectations of myself so I thought by Term 3 it would be perfect!

Looking back now, there were a lot of very small changes happening to each individual student. It wasn’t until I had relief teachers in the room and through their comments I began to see this. From then on, I sat back (now and then), watched and listened to the students during lesson time and this really did inform me a lot!

Communication was the key.

Whatever I changed or did differently in class it was important to also keep my parents informed and explain my reasoning. This worked ok. I would send a letter home, write in certain student’s diaries and also communicate via our class page so they could access information at home. We are yet to trial allowing parents to email us personally and there were times I wish I had been able to do this. Also, I wish I had ‘opened’ up the classroom each term so parents could have had the chance to visit and ask questions. One idea could have been having an open evening in week two of every term so parents could come and find out about what was happening.

Also communication with my class was important. Each term we reflected on what worked and what didn’t. As well as what did they want to do differently? They articulated their thoughts and ideas so well even to the point they would talk to each other to find answers or solutions.

What I found interesting was how sometimes what I thought they would like, they didn’t. Two things that really surprised me were; they didn’t like sitting on the floor even with cushions and they were not a fan of low tables.

Realisation

I had to accept and realise that not all my students would get there- ‘yet’. There were still those who needed more of a structured timetable and others who were able to plan their whole week independently. To be honest that was ok with me as I had seen the small changes in them and knew they would get there just it would take a little longer.

The best moments were seeing the changes in my students who relied on mum and dad a lot in the first term. Some were now even planning their whole day independently and had made huge leaps and bounds academically.