TEACHING STYLE

I don't think that my teaching style has changed drastically from last year to this year. I am still pretty much a straight-forward, no frill type of teacher. I am rather business-like most of the time. To a certain extent, I do try to lighten the mood of the class more often than last year. I joke with the students a little bit more. I have found that even though in my mind my teacher's personality should be irrelevant to what I can learn from that teacher, it seems that part of getting a child's attention is for them to see you as a human being. My students are constantly asking me personal questions and are always unhappy with my responses ("My personal life is irrelevant to how you perform in this class," or "maybe I'll tell you later"). I do give them bits and pieces, but not a whole lot!

Other than slight changes in my attitude and demeanor, I'd say that I also allow a much more free-flowing classroom than last year during independent practice or group work time. I was somewhat forced into this because geometry is difficult to teach in a big group settting, and it is impossible for me to give sufficient one-on-one help to all the students that need it during class, so it is just about mandatory that I allow other students to assist them during class. There's a trade-off that takes place because along with the conversation about how to construct an angle using a protractor, there will also be conversations about who wore what to the game Friday. So, my class is not as structured as last year, but I think my students are learning more than last year too.

This year I have also made it a point to break up my lessons more often. If I am trying to cover multiple objectives, I will teach one, let them work out some problems/do an activity while I walk around and assist, and then teach the next one, and do the same. The students do not like to get too much at once.