At the beginning of this course I was dreading the full
clinical cycle because I thought the pre- and post-observation conferences would
be uncomfortable. Now that the course is culminating, I have a great
appreciation for these conferences and welcome the opportunity to experience
them again. I do believe that the
teacher I selected greatly impacted my experience, and I would not have had the
same experience if I had chosen another teacher. After the post-observation conference, the teacher and I
walked out of the classroom with excitement and awe as we expressed our
appreciation for each other and our accomplishments together. We really enjoyed the clinical cycle
because we got to talk openly about meaningful instruction and assessment. It doesn’t get better than that!
I am naturally reflective, but I do not like watching myself
on video. I always learn a lot
when I watch myself, but I feel very uncomfortable during the process. Just like I used to do with parent
conferences, I chose to sit next to Yvonne instead of across from her. Tables and space can often serve as
barriers, so I eliminated them. While I felt very relaxed during this process,
my body language appeared to be anxious as I sat forward in my chair. At one point during the conference, I
sat back in the chair to ponder a thought, and that is when I realized the
power of a relaxed body language. No
matter what I am feeling inside, I must be aware of how I am presenting myself
to others. As for my strengths, I make
eye contact and nod my head often in conversation to acknowledge that I am
following along.
One of the areas in which I need to improve revolves around
data gathering. I struggle with
focusing on a particular aspect of the classroom when so much is happening at
once. As a result, I end up
overlooking important details. An
easy to use data-collecting instrument might help me improve in this area;
however, I have not found this instrument yet. I tried to create one of my own, but it was extremely hard
for me to figure out a way to quantify the information that the teacher wanted
to gather. I am now more
aware of the importance of identifying measurable objectives during the
pre-observation conference. I
shared my reflection with Yvonne so that she would be more comfortable sharing
her lesson reflections as well. We
both felt comfortable thinking critically about the lesson and brainstorming
methods of improvement.
I firmly believe that this conference was 100%
collaborative. Both the teacher
and I have similar levels of experience and as a result, respect each other’s
opinions. We took turns discussing
the successful portions of the lesson as well as the problem areas. I came prepared with ideas to discuss
in case we had a mental block, but in our exchange of possible solutions, we
covered all of the ideas that I had brainstormed beforehand. I look forward to our next meeting when
we start to implement some of our new ideas!
