A New Start
Well it has been a few years......Anyways, I'm officially a Master's Certified Teacher in Sioux Falls, SD. I'm back "home." It is interesting to be back in Sioux Falls; many things have changed, but so many things are exactly as they have been for years.
I am teaching at New Technology High School out on the Southeast Tech campus. Many people confuse our school with the Career and Technical Education (CTE) center located near us. New Technology High, or New Tech as we call it, is based around Project Based Learning (PBL). This basically means that students create as they learn.
The New Tech model has been interesting to learn as a teacher. Many students who attend New Tech are students who have found a way to slip through the cracks of the academic system. They have never been expected to learn, perform, or participate. New Tech forces them to be engaged. Their transition into a new mindset of education is a challenging and fascinating process.
As a teacher and coach, I expect maximum effort from students. As a first year teacher, I came out guns slinging ready to change the world with PBL. I can relate this experience to being given a seed. The florist proclaims this seed will blossom into the most amazing flower you will ever lay your eyes on; it is much more beautiful and pleasant smelling than all the other flowers. All you must do is water it daily and provide nutrients, and it will develop as I say. Well the florist didn't say that the seed would take a month just to sprout.....
Maslow became more real to me as I saw my students hiding behind figurative barriers. I could water them with love and fertilize them with science and nothing happens. The students were so used to being able to slide by, that they neither expected to, nor knew how, to do well. Try giving three workshops, reinforcing the workshops with webquest activities, informal assessments, and daily formative assessments only to get about a 60% class average.....#feltlikeafailure
It was not until this last week that I have begun seeing students engage in learning. They are thrilled to work in groups, they love the atmosphere of the school, and many have friends for the first time in their lives. However, I'm required to teach them some content knowledge as well.
My teaching partner Lindsey and I have discovered that freshman students require an incredible amount of coaching. We have been finding new ways to ensure productivity in class. We used an accomplishment tracker for a week. Students tracked what they accomplished every ten minutes during class. This created a ridiculous amount of grading, but I think it showed some students how much time they were wasting. We edited our group contracts for our second project to include a larger task management check list, and we also have been much more involved in encouraging students to stay on task. These reflective practices are beginning to work; student confidence is beginning to rise and the culture in our classroom beats any I've ever been in.
The first month of the school year has been stressful. I'm thankful to be blessed with an excellent co-teacher and be in a place that empowers students. That seed is slowly beginning to sprout and I cannot wait to see how these students "bloom" (as cheesy as that sounds).
I am teaching at New Technology High School out on the Southeast Tech campus. Many people confuse our school with the Career and Technical Education (CTE) center located near us. New Technology High, or New Tech as we call it, is based around Project Based Learning (PBL). This basically means that students create as they learn.
The New Tech model has been interesting to learn as a teacher. Many students who attend New Tech are students who have found a way to slip through the cracks of the academic system. They have never been expected to learn, perform, or participate. New Tech forces them to be engaged. Their transition into a new mindset of education is a challenging and fascinating process.
As a teacher and coach, I expect maximum effort from students. As a first year teacher, I came out guns slinging ready to change the world with PBL. I can relate this experience to being given a seed. The florist proclaims this seed will blossom into the most amazing flower you will ever lay your eyes on; it is much more beautiful and pleasant smelling than all the other flowers. All you must do is water it daily and provide nutrients, and it will develop as I say. Well the florist didn't say that the seed would take a month just to sprout.....
Maslow became more real to me as I saw my students hiding behind figurative barriers. I could water them with love and fertilize them with science and nothing happens. The students were so used to being able to slide by, that they neither expected to, nor knew how, to do well. Try giving three workshops, reinforcing the workshops with webquest activities, informal assessments, and daily formative assessments only to get about a 60% class average.....#feltlikeafailure
It was not until this last week that I have begun seeing students engage in learning. They are thrilled to work in groups, they love the atmosphere of the school, and many have friends for the first time in their lives. However, I'm required to teach them some content knowledge as well.
My teaching partner Lindsey and I have discovered that freshman students require an incredible amount of coaching. We have been finding new ways to ensure productivity in class. We used an accomplishment tracker for a week. Students tracked what they accomplished every ten minutes during class. This created a ridiculous amount of grading, but I think it showed some students how much time they were wasting. We edited our group contracts for our second project to include a larger task management check list, and we also have been much more involved in encouraging students to stay on task. These reflective practices are beginning to work; student confidence is beginning to rise and the culture in our classroom beats any I've ever been in.
The first month of the school year has been stressful. I'm thankful to be blessed with an excellent co-teacher and be in a place that empowers students. That seed is slowly beginning to sprout and I cannot wait to see how these students "bloom" (as cheesy as that sounds).
posted by Trey at
6:41 PM
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