Reflecting on Block 1

All of my classes are having us do simple reflections for them, they want to know what was great, what was hard, what was surprising or unexpected, and what we need to know for next time/should have known for the first block. In the spirit of keeping this short, I'm going to share with you the area I felt least prepared

I felt very unprepared when it came to the area of marking. We never did any practice marking in any of our classes where we would give a grade value to a student. It was something my Teacher Associate had expected me to already have experience in, so we didn't really go over it to much other then however many marks its worth is how many different pieces of information I'm looking for. When I was marking these kids, I sometimes felt that if they came up to me and argued there mark I would be more than happy to change it because who am I to tell them what they deserve?

All of my classes taught me something before I left out for my block, but I feel like it was only in a few that I was given the opportunity to practice these teachings. My teachable classes did a great job of introducing us to lesson plans, how to plan them and write them, this was essential for me. The class that did the best job allowing me to implement the tools was my optional Technology class, Zoe did a fantastic job giving us a wide range of tools to use in our course of teaching and she always gave us the opportunity to practice them in class.

In closing, I had a fantastic experience out on my teaching block. I'm very thankful for what I learned before I left, I just wish I could have been more prepared form the technical area of marking. I did a great job with formative assessment, providing my students with a lot of feedback for their success, I just wish I had a little bit more. I'm excited to learn more, because one day I want to truly believe this video can apply to me! (Thanks Anne for sharing this with me.)