Adjusting your classroom procedures...
I agree with Mr. Henry that one of the most important things for a new teacher to do is to establish and adjust classroom routines on a regular basis. I believe that sound classroom procedures can make or break your first year. They prevent confusion and chaos and dampen some of the student nonsense that can overwhelm any instructor in any class.
Now that you have a week or so of school under your belt, take a look at your procedures and fine tune one or two of them. Don't be stuck doing something inefficiently forever. I know it took me a year to figure out how to collect papers in an orderly fashion - hopefully you are a quicker study...
Here are 5 questions I would use in assessing my classroom routines:
1. Can you easily identify student work by student name and assignment and keep it organized near your desk?
2. How efficient is your system to move kids out and into your room - before, during, and after a lesson?
3. How effective are you in returning student work and should students hold onto all work or not?
4. How effectively do you run classroom discussions?
5. How do you take care of work for students who miss your class?
Again, go after one or two of these ideas and make an adjustment. You have a lot on your plate right now...don't try to fix everything all at once.
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hmm
That's actually some good advice I think, it's not something I would have thought of right off the bat. Makes sense though, I'll be sure to remember these tips, thanks! :)
management plans
if you continually adjust the management plans would this send a confusing signal to the students? I would think a standard but flexible plan would provide the most stability for students. Just a thought
While i don't have my own
While i don't have my own classroom yet i believe that this is really helpful as far as laying out a path and putting some solid ideas into my head and what i want to do. One thing that I've always wanted to do is what i saw my high school English teacher do is at the end of class he would stand by the door and shake everyone's hand as whey went out saying little things here and there. What ever it was it was helpful or funny or a joke or something that i know made me feel good about walking out of his class and just was nice to have one-on-one contact just talking and saying goodbye. I think this is useful b/c what ever happened in class the student will know your not a robot and you can be real and honest with them on a different level.
Thanks for posting and true enough
What nagoya is saying is very apropos: the job is about continuous adjustment and improvement.
The first time that you lose a paper or can't find a class' s assignments will be the moment that you realize that something has gone wrong and needs fixing.
In my case, I too, was a slow study, only realizing that things needed fine tuning after something went wrong.
Now, after years, I have a little more sensitive needle for when things need to be adjusted, and I make a mental note and it gets done.
Nonetheless, the point is well taken: it is never too early to start making adjustments because that's what will keep you alert and alive to the reality around you. And that's exactly what the job's about.