Halfway there... well almost
This will be my fourth reflective blog and it is amazing to see the growth and improvement I have had thus far. While at times it has been a difficult journey, I have learned that I take criticism well. My face might not look like it while I am processing what is being said to me but I internalize the feedback I am given to allow for me to better myself as a teacher. Over the past two weeks, I have learned that things will not always be perfect. In my forensics classes, my kiddos just started their unit on impressions and we started to look at how a cast is made of a shoeprint using dental stone, dirt, and some water.
With this being my first time working with these materials, I was not expecting perfect results from each lab group but I was hopeful that I would at least get some good results. My first class of students casts looked like a pile of mush. At first I was disappointed that things did not work out and felt like I failed my students in not providing them with the cool artifact they could have bragging rights that they made. Eventually I realized that things not working out for the shoe casting served as a teachable moment for both me and my students. As a teacher, I realized that no matter how far out you plan, there is always a possibility for things to go wrong. And in regards to my students, they got to learn that evidence analysts in the field of Forensic Science will not always be looking at evidence that is pretty and clear. This gave students that sigh of relief that professionals in this field at one point or another will encounter evidence that is not as clear cut in comparison to other pieces of evidence.
In addition, I actually have been using an abundance of resources to provide an array of feedback to make myself better. I found that in the video of myself I still have a habit of not circulating as much as I need to. Seeing footage of myself in action helped me to see exactly what I need to do in order to improve. In addition, I have recently utilized the expertise of my mentor teacher and instructional coach for my upcoming observation with my principal to determine if the layout I have for my upcoming lesson is logical and organized in a manner that will allow for me to climb up the ladder in domain one for planning and allow for that to flow down to classroom management. When I met with my instructional coach and overall she thinks that the layout of the lesson was organized and flowed nicely.
After getting feedback from my instructional coach, I think reached out to my mentor teacher for advice of feedback for my lesson plan and it was in that moment, that my mentor teacher pointed out to me that because I had my students making a DNA paper model and then have them make another DNA model using crafting supplies with the goal in mind of determining how structure of DNA relates to function. When my mentor teacher pointed this out to me, I realized my mentor teacher was right and needed to figure out another activity for my students to do. One thing that my mentor teacher suggested I do is to have half the class make an advertisement for DNA and the other half of the class complete an advertisement on RNA. The completion of this ad would allow for students to demonstrate their knowledge of differentiating between DNA and RNA. Having this suggestion inspired me to change the closure activity to complete a picture sorting activity where each table will be given a piece of chart paper and will be given a zip loc bag of the images and vocabulary words and will be asked to determine which category each cards belongs in. Overall, I learned to not be too proud to ask for help and it has paid off. I am almost halfway through the school year and I am so proud of myself for how far I have come so far.
With this being my first time working with these materials, I was not expecting perfect results from each lab group but I was hopeful that I would at least get some good results. My first class of students casts looked like a pile of mush. At first I was disappointed that things did not work out and felt like I failed my students in not providing them with the cool artifact they could have bragging rights that they made. Eventually I realized that things not working out for the shoe casting served as a teachable moment for both me and my students. As a teacher, I realized that no matter how far out you plan, there is always a possibility for things to go wrong. And in regards to my students, they got to learn that evidence analysts in the field of Forensic Science will not always be looking at evidence that is pretty and clear. This gave students that sigh of relief that professionals in this field at one point or another will encounter evidence that is not as clear cut in comparison to other pieces of evidence.
In addition, I actually have been using an abundance of resources to provide an array of feedback to make myself better. I found that in the video of myself I still have a habit of not circulating as much as I need to. Seeing footage of myself in action helped me to see exactly what I need to do in order to improve. In addition, I have recently utilized the expertise of my mentor teacher and instructional coach for my upcoming observation with my principal to determine if the layout I have for my upcoming lesson is logical and organized in a manner that will allow for me to climb up the ladder in domain one for planning and allow for that to flow down to classroom management. When I met with my instructional coach and overall she thinks that the layout of the lesson was organized and flowed nicely.
After getting feedback from my instructional coach, I think reached out to my mentor teacher for advice of feedback for my lesson plan and it was in that moment, that my mentor teacher pointed out to me that because I had my students making a DNA paper model and then have them make another DNA model using crafting supplies with the goal in mind of determining how structure of DNA relates to function. When my mentor teacher pointed this out to me, I realized my mentor teacher was right and needed to figure out another activity for my students to do. One thing that my mentor teacher suggested I do is to have half the class make an advertisement for DNA and the other half of the class complete an advertisement on RNA. The completion of this ad would allow for students to demonstrate their knowledge of differentiating between DNA and RNA. Having this suggestion inspired me to change the closure activity to complete a picture sorting activity where each table will be given a piece of chart paper and will be given a zip loc bag of the images and vocabulary words and will be asked to determine which category each cards belongs in. Overall, I learned to not be too proud to ask for help and it has paid off. I am almost halfway through the school year and I am so proud of myself for how far I have come so far.
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