I think you have to focus on why the students didn't understand your teaching. If it is just one lesson, you need to reteach the lesson. One way is to ask them what they learned and chart it on chart paper. Then, fill in the blanks. Perhaps they didn't have the background material necessary, or they didn't understand the vocabulary. Maybe, they didn't understand your objective or found the lesson particularly boring.
If it happens regularly, then you need to look a little further. Is it a language problem (yours or theirs)? Are you well-prepared to teach or are you trying to teach off the cuff? Do you clearly let the kids know what you are going to teach before you teach it? Do you relate what you are teaching to what they already know (school and/or life experience)? Do you vary your teaching style? Do you make your lessons interactive? At the end of the lesson, do you have a "whip around" to find out what the students learned? Is there someone that can come in and observe you and then make suggestions/comments on what you are doing well and then one or two things that you could try to do better? Have you ever thought of videotaping your lessons? If you are a first year teacher, don't be too hard on yourself because there is a wide learning curve. I think classroom management is the most important thing to master the first year. Then work on one area/subject and focus on becoming better in that area? Many teachers leave after the first few years because they are overwhelmed with all the work -- including paperwork, correcting papers, etc. Some teachers should leave after many years of teaching because they think they know it all and/or are burned out. In most cases, however, I think that if a teacher is interested in becoming a better teacher, he/she can figure out ways to improve. Remember, too, all teachers are individuals and are not cast from the same bold. One teacher may be wildly flamboyant in the class and her excitement bursts out and enlivens the class. Another teacher may have a quiet personality and this is the way she will teach her class. Both teachers, and those in the middle, can be great teachers. ----- Original Message ----- From: Deb Green<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ; Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group<mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 9:41 AM Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Am I a bad teacher? No you aren't bad. But you will need to teach a focus lesson based on what you observed in the lesson you noticed confusions. Sent from my iPod On Jul 23, 2008, at 12:30 PM, Danielle James <[EMAIL PROTECTED]<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>> wrote: > > Hello, my name is Danielle James, a junior studying Elementary > Education at Wayne State University. Currently I am enrolled in > Nancy Creech's, Reading in the Content Areas course. As I approach > my senior year I am facing many fears and questions. One of those > questions are, If your students are unable to comprehend your > teaching, does this make you a bad teacher? > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org<http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org> > . > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive<http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive>. > _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org<http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org>. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive<http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive>. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
