LOOKING AT MYSELF

(Required Blog re: Self-Evaluation)

There are a couple of things that really stuck out to me about my teaching style. Just as I thought, I present material in a boring, mattter-of-fact type way. The kids are probably struggling just to stay awake. Unfortunately, sometimes I don't think there's anything more I can do to liven up things. Math is math. There are steps that have to be learned, and given a limited amount of time, sometimes there is simply no time for fun and games. I do see a need for a variety of instruction methods. While this lesson was straight and to the point with little board work for the students given the amount of material that had to be covered in only fifty minutes, I should definitely not teach like this day in and day out.

I also noticed the "filler" phrase that I use when I'm trying to think or have momentarily lost my place is "alright." I didn't count how many times I used it, but I repeated the word MANY times. It's the same problem that I and many people have when giving speeches. Pausing feels weird, so usually the phrase "umm" comes out. I wonder whether the students notice the filler or whether it is annoying to them. Honestly, if they don't have a problem with it, I don't see the point in trying to correct it. Especially if pausing or moments of silence might make them lose focus on the lesson.

I also walked around the room quite a bit, especially when the students were working example problems. This is a big change from when I first started. Sometimes I wonder if I distract the students when I walk around looking over their shoulders. That would irritate me as a student. However, I do it because I''m able to see if the students are taking the right steps, and I can assess whether I can move on to something else. Maybe the students really don't mind. I found that they often like affirmation that what they're doing is correct.

Despite the fact that my lecture style is generally boring, I was able to get the kids laughing for at least a moment. They were working on some problems, and I told them to look up at me for a minute so that I could show them something on the board. They did not respond immediately, so I said it again more sternly. I said I know I'm not the best looking thing, but it shouldn't hurt your eyes to look at me for just a couple hours a day. They giggled just a little bit. I think that little laughs like that are good for the class just to lighten things up a little.