I have had the students hand in an exit slip for Math focusing on the Cartesian/Coordinate Plane as well as a writing sample that discusses what they celebrate or do over the winter break.
For the exit slip in Math, I learned a lot. I had some students surprise me because they never talk or give answers in class, or if they do they seem unsure and then they rocked the exit slip I created. I then had students who seemed to understand when I talked to them only to not do as well as I thought they would. I think this has a lot to do with how I was teaching it and has made me realize that I need to focus on working with students' multiple intelligence strengths.
Here are some examples of the exit slip
For the exit slip in Math, I learned a lot. I had some students surprise me because they never talk or give answers in class, or if they do they seem unsure and then they rocked the exit slip I created. I then had students who seemed to understand when I talked to them only to not do as well as I thought they would. I think this has a lot to do with how I was teaching it and has made me realize that I need to focus on working with students' multiple intelligence strengths.
Here are some examples of the exit slip
For my final lesson of the semester, I wanted to use a topic that fits the season. Instead of having Christmas as my theme, I had students write about celebrations that their families do or what they do on the winter break.
Below are some examples of some of the students' responses
Below are some examples of some of the students' responses
I found that the target sheets were a great guide as to how we could have control of our classroom and have lessons that were successful. Here are some of my target sheets from this semester that will be a starting point for the Spring.
I have learned many things from my co-op, but the most important one I believe, is that I need to take a step out of my comfort zone. I tended to use direct instruction as my fall back, even if I did not originally plan on using this instructional strategy. This hindered my ability to complete one of my goals. This goal was to use notes as little as possible while giving instruction. I found that even though I did not have Daryl or my co-op teacher keep a tally of how many times I said “um” or “uh”, I did not use these terms as often as I do in class presentations. I think that I will always be a person who fidgets or uses numerous hand gestures while I talk. Even though I have not fully accomplished all of my goals, I think that as time goes on in the classroom environment, they will subside.