Hello! I hope you've had a very happy and relaxing holiday season so far! I am 1 week away from going back to school and my mind is already partially in back to school mode.
For most, the New Year holiday brings a time of personal reflection. Many people set resolutions, or try to generally reset some part of their life once the clean slate of January 1 of the new year comes. I'll be writing in another post about my goals for 2017, but for this post I want to talk about How to Be a Better Teacher in 2017.
As I said in another post about reflection, it is extremely important to me to always try to continuously improve my effectiveness in the classroom. Reflecting honestly about my teaching practice is a key in being able to do that. The day that I get complacent and think that the way I've always done things is the way I'll always do things, is the day I am not putting forth my best self for kids.
When I reflect, it mainly boils down to how my teacher actions affected student actions. The following list is not exhaustive, but has questions that I have asked myself to help me re-focus over breaks. Classroom Goals
Of those we are on track to reach, why are we on track? What can I continue to do to build on that success?
Of those we aren't on track to reach, why aren't we on track?
Are my classroom goals big, measurable, and easily articulated to kids?
Have I done a good job of investing the kids in the big goal? What can I continue to do, or improve upon to improve investment with students?
Classroom Culture
Am I really getting to know all of my students so far this year?
If so, what do I need to ensure I continue to do to expand on this? If not, what do I need to do differently?
Does my attitude toward my work contribute to student learning or stifle it?
Are my relationships with students helping the students learn, or hindering me from effectively behavior managing?
Would I want to be in the class? Would I want my child to be in this class? If yes, why? If no, what should change?
Student Behavior
What teacher actions have led to student misbehavior this year?
What about my classroom layout/set-up has allowed for student misbehavior?
Have I been consistent with my classroom behavior management plan? If not, why not? What should be changed?
Do I need to teach the behavior expectations differently after break, or outline them more explicitly?
What is working and what isn't work with my classroom management plan overall?
Did I follow through when giving consequences/communicating with parents? If not, why?
Am I consistent in rewarding/incentivizing positive student behavior?
Is what I have done this year to reward positive student behavior sustainable for the rest of the year?
What can I do to improve next year to encourage positive behavior/buy-in of class goals?
What can I do to improve re-directing and tracking of negative behavior?
Who can I speak with or go observe to get ideas regarding behavior management?
Collaboration & Team Function
In what areas can I improve in order to help the team?
Are/Have my actions prohibiting/prohibited my team from growing, working more efficiently, or trying new things?
What "works" on our team?
What can we do to become more consistent?
How can we support each other better in the next year?
What is at least one thing that we should try as a team next year?
Does our team exhibit to kids that we believe all of them can meet expectations and can succeed at a high level? If not, what must we change so that is the case?
Self-Care
What can I do next year to further prioritize my family instead of taking so much work home with me?
What can I change for next year that will make me a more efficient teacher?
How can I structure my classroom, planning period, short down periods during the day to maximize my effectiveness at school?
What do I need to prioritize next year so I can live a balanced life?
What can I do next year to help me stay excited about teaching?
Instruction/Teaching Practices
What lessons have "worked" for me?
For lessons that haven't work, was it because of lack of preparation, they weren't interesting to kids, they should be taught in a different order?
Do I give enough feedback to kids? If so, is my feedback meaningful?
Does my grade book reflect student learning and progress?
Do my assessments assess learning effectively?
Do I backwards plan effectively?
What can I do to better assist those who don't "get it"?
What can I do to better assist those who work more quickly and need meaningful extension?
How do I know that my students are learning?
So, what do you think? What am I leaving out? I'd love to hear your own reflections and questions in the comments or in an email! I hope you have an AWESOME start to 2017 and the new semester!
If one of your goals for 2017 is to be more organized...check this out!
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One of my goals for 2017 is to connect with more people and to expand my #teachertribe! Follow me on Instagram and I'll follow back!
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