Past the honeymoon stage?
The issue is actually that students might be on their phones but when I ask them a question they can still answer me! Maybe their answer isn't always the deepest answer, but I can't even catch them off guard. My cooperating teachers say they have similar issues too, which isn't entirely a bad thing (at least they are still following along), but I try to emphasize that it is not professional. I did say on the first day that I don't mind the use of phones for educational purposes but if I find that it is becoming an issue, we will have a conversation. So I did establish that expectation. Perhaps not clearly enough. Ms. Kane is going to have to get a little more serious!
One thing I've tried is to kind of make a light-hearted joke out of it. It doesn't always make them put it away but I think it shows that I do notice them on their phones. And the way their desks are setup, there's really not much hiding it anyway. Additionally, there have been a couple of times where conveniently enough, a respectful student asks a question that I don't know the answer to so I turn to whichever student is on their phones (gotchya!) and ask them to look up that information. I'm sure there are better methods to handle this situation, but we'll see how the following week goes.
A conditioned response
Chapter Degree Recipients |
Greenhand Degree Recipients |
Reciting the Creed |
Chapter Officers |
Goals and lessons
As I continue with my full load, I hope to continue to keep my head above water. I love teaching and I think that makes any challenge much easier to handle. A personal goal of mine is to be more on top of grades. I wish I didn't have to worry about grades... just engaging students in the learning!
This week in plant science, we will have students finish their presentations and then we will review for their pest exam and then they will take the exam.
In small engines, we will finish talking about engine classifications and some of the systems.
In agriscience, I begin teaching the entire class and start with public speaking.
In welding, we just finished talking about safety and we are going to get into talking about welding techniques.
In animal bioscience, students are going to present their posters on dairy cattle breeds and get into selective breeding and later into dairy cattle production.
In food science, we are going to talk about pH in foods and do a neat lab with this which will lead us into how pH affects the method of canning, and then we will probably get into cold preservation methods at the end of the week.
In leadership, we are going to continue talking about public speaking and styles of speeches.
Leaving Thought
"If there is no way, create one"
Thanks for sharing Miranda.
ReplyDeleteYou might try a "cell phone caddy" Just google cell phone caddy teacher and you will see images. I have heard that some teachers have success with this. They can quickly have students grab if they need to do an activity.
DF
Sounds like you are adjusting well to the increased amount of classes and preparation. In my experience, as the student teacher gets comfortable, so do the students. Don't forget about your classroom management posters and don't be afraid to review school policy. I like Dr. Foster's suggestion, but there are lots of other strategies out there too! Keep doing good things!
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