I learned so much from my 490 practicum, much of it revolving around classroom management. My main take away was probably my “teacher voice” as my coaching teacher and practicum evaluator called it; it is an assertive tone used to indicate to students that they needed to listen. I also learned to be more assertive in general. It was only the beginning steps, as I need to develop the style I use and make my tone sound less annoyed and more serious. I also need to learn to use it more consistently, as it currently comes from a place of false irritation, in that I was frequently not annoyed in any way but had more control when I sounded as though I was, and I believe I need to workshop it to be a kind of firm patience, because I am truly not irritated at the students or even mildly annoyed. I understand why their behaviour is unacceptable, but it was at the very least related to, if not directly caused by, my own. Related to this, I also developed more of an ability to follow through. I stopped talking over students and instead waited for them to listen before I gave instructions or the information. I was patient and paused until I had everyone’s attention before I started talking. I need to work on proximity as a method of gaining that attention if they are not responding to me, however.
Without effective classroom management students will not learn, or if they do it will be in spite of the classroom environment. If students do not feel they have to listen to you, they will then choose not to, and then most of the lesson is spent getting their attention and reminding people of what the instructions were. Alternatively, if I made sure they were all paying attention while I gave instructions, and those instructions were clear, I could spend more time drawing additional ideas from them. It could also be a safety issue potentially, for if I am not able to gather and hold students’ attention in an emergency situation or even in a slightly less controlled environment, students could get hurt.
In 491, I will continue to work on all that was discussed above. My style of lesson also needs improvement, with more modeling and front loading to include more specific goals. This, again, allows for me to do more than “put out fires” during a lesson. Altering the way that I give instructions is also necessary. Modelling is related to this, but so is adapting them to only have 3 parts and for these parts to be repeatable to students. This is not a comprehensive list of goals, but to name any more starts to feel unattainable, so I will start with this next practicum and move towards being a successful teacher by adding more as necessary.