Second Week at UHS

I have experienced many new things this week at UHS. Since Monday, I have been working with the Honors Pre-Calculus classes on their five minute checks that they do at the beginning of each class. We give them about five minutes to perform review problems, and then I go over them to solidify their understanding. It has been a great opportunity to introduce my teaching into the classroom and build stronger relationships with my students. Today, Mrs. Farley was not here. Therefore, there was a substitue teacher in her place. Surprisingly, the students were very cooperative and completed the work that Mrs. Farley had left for them. Luckily, I was able to answer any questions that students may have had while working through the problems. I am very excited to be easing my way into teaching. I am able to become more confident in my teaching before I start teaching full-time. Like I previously stated in my last post, I think it is very interesting to watch my mentor teachers teach the same course to different classes. I am able to see how they accommodate to the classes based on their specific needs. Sometimes we move a little slower in one class, yet fast through another. I feel that this is a strong ability to have as a teacher. It is very significant to move the class at a pace that benefits their learning most. Also, I have been taking attendance on WVEIS for three of my classes and uploading the class notes on edline. So, the students are able to access the exact notes that the teacher presented in class from the Smartboard. As each day goes by, I feel more confident that this will be a successful semester. So, I am ready to begin creating lessons, activities, and assessments to build a meaningful semester of learning for the students and myself.

"A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning."
-Brad Henry

First Week Back at UHS (:

During my first week back at University High School, I have been spending much time observing and communicating with my mentor teachers. I have been assigned two Honors Pre-Calculus classes and two general Pre-Calculus classes with mostly juniors. The first couple of days were still quite chaotic due to many schedule changes and assigning books to students. After observing the classes of Honors Pre-Calculus and general Pre-calculus, I have noticed how they differ. In Honors, we move a little faster and incorporate more activities involving problem solving and conceptual group work. It has been very interesting to compare each of the classes and how they differ or learn in different ways. Sometimes, we have had to modify our lesson according to how quickly they are picking up on the concepts. One class sometimes takes a little longer than the other even though it's the same material for both classes. So far, I have been able to work with students by helping them with clas work that has been assigned. In addition, I have began learning the students' names by passing back papers to them. This allows me to begin to build relationships with my students and understand their specific needs to help them learn in my Pre-Calculus class. Altogehter, I am extremely excited to be back at University High School working with juniors and seniors. This semester will be challenging and motivating. I am hopeful that this semester will truly verify my choice in career path. I cannot wait to begin planning lessons, bringing new ideas into the classroom, and complete my action research. Completing this semester will mark a big accomplishment!

The essence of mathematics is not to make simple things complicated, but to make complicated things simple.

-S. Gudder