As student teachers, do you think we should assume more responsibility in the classroom? If so, when? Would you like to be taking on more classroom projects? What are some ways in which we can ask our cooperating teacher to delegate and give us greater responsibility? Before we teach for the first time, would you want your cooperating teacher to have you do a demo lesson so you could see/get to know how the students in your class learn best? How will you (as a student teacher) handle this issue of assuming more responsibility and gaining more experience?
Eleanor McAloon:
ReplyDeleteI think as student teachers, we should most definitely assume more responsibility than we had during regular observations. This increase will allow us to feel more prepared to run a classroom and shoulder all the responsibility. The first few times we are with our cooperating teachers, I think it would do us well to observe how he/she does it before getting more involved. Sometimes I feel nervous to be more responsible, but these nerves mean I care about doing a good job and it will help me to perform better. This can be communicated to cooperating teachers in a kind way that shows you are not going to overstep, but rather be there to help and learn how to be a more effective teacher. I personally like to see how the teacher runs a lesson before I do my own - I model my lessons after the ones I have seen because I want this to be a smooth transition from teacher to teacher. By this, I mean that I want to fit into the regular lessons of the classroom so that it makes the most sense for the children in the classroom. I would never want to stray too far from routine because it will confuse the students and may not fit into the cooperating teacher's plans. The last thing I would want is for the cooperating teacher to feel she needs to reteach something because the lesson was too confusing or was not done the way she usually does it. As the year continues, I will accept more responsibility and make myself available. I will also communicate often with the other teachers in the room to show I want to be more involved and will use their guidance to perform the best I can for both myself and the students in the classroom. Although I am nervous, I am ready and excited to be a teacher!
As student teachers we have to assume responsibility in the classroom because it’s how we gain experience. Of course it’s not going to be the full responsibility that our cooperating teacher has in the classroom. Before we take responsibility in the classroom it’s good to observe our cooperating teacher and the students. We don’t want to jump into something that we are unfamiliar with because we need to figure out the students routine and how the teacher does things. There are several different ways we can assume responsibilities in the classroom before we start doing lessons. One way we could assume responsibility is at the start of the day when students are unpacking, we can make sure that students are on task (especially the younger ones). If the class goes over the calendar in the morning, we can take on that responsibility. When students are working on something individually we can help our cooperating teacher by going around and providing assistance to students who may need it. If the class is doing a shared reading we can read to them and ask them questions. Another way we can assume responsibility is if the class is doing centers and we can be moderating one of the stations. It’s always ideal to have good communication with our cooperating teacher and establish boundaries. We can discuss what responsibilities the cooperating teacher is willing to give us and what responsibilities we’re comfortable with. I like the idea of teaching a demo lesson because we can familiarize ourselves with the many different learning styles. It could be a good ice breaker to get us comfortable for our first lesson where our supervisor will be observing us. I’ll handle this issue from the start by talking to my cooperating teacher and figuring out which responsibilities I can take on. I definitely want to be really involved this is all part of my learning experience and I need to appreciate every opportunity I get.
ReplyDeleteAs student teachers, I think we should definitely assume more responsibility in the classroom. By stepping up and taking responsibility, this is how we learn and grow as future teachers. I think it is important that you first spend some time getting to know your students and the way your cooperating teacher runs their classroom before taking more responsibility. This way you are familiar with how things are done and do not cause any unnecessary confusion or disruption to the classroom. In my classroom I try to help my cooperating teacher with as much as I can such as grading papers and working with small groups of students. I think a demo lesson is a great way to be more comfortable with teaching the class. I have only been in my classroom a short time, however I have worked my way to taking more responsibly by offering to help students who are struggling and working with small groups on assignments. This way, when it is time for me to teach a lesson to the whole class I have already worked with most of the students.
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