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In-service program documentation
Soliciting feedback about the program (D8.1)
Participants' free-writing at the end of the Summer Institute -- Implementation
B
Prompt (in-class activity at the end of the intensive week of the Summer Institute): Please write down your impressions about this week.
Representative sample (8 out of 19)
I feel that this is a tremendous undertaking. I feel that the planning
and implementation will be mind-boggling. I feel that it will put me in
the position of being a "first year teacher - a new kid on the block."
And it took me five or six years to quell some of those first year anxieties.
And yet, in many respects, that five real long first year was a time of
deep (to the soul) learning. There were triumphs and tragedies that perhaps
too easily blend together if teaching becomes rote. And though I did get
some validation this year that I do have some good techniques and ideas
as I entered regular ed classrooms, much of my "special-ed stuff"
went on the shelf. (Perhaps a bit of prejudice on the outlook of ad,min
& reg ed!) Yet this reminds me of what good learning and good teaching
is. Although this is a tremendous undertaking (did I mention that already?)
I feel that it will change the focus of a teacher's energy. Instead of all
the:
-- wk. letters - so and so owes a bazillion assignments
-- referrals to the office for disruptive behavior from bored-silly kids
-- pseudo-collecting of non-done homework and the negative atmosphere one
then works to overcome, etc., etc.
perhaps the energy will be more appropriately and acceptably focused on
keeping up with the learning.
As I said in the journals, I end this week with feelings of both relief and anxiety. It's finally vacation! - but I am very anxious to try this out. Will it be successful - I am willing to bet "yes." What do I need to do to maximize the chances for success?
Planning is obviously part -
--get materials
-- blueprint the first few days
-- restructure both my mindset and the physical structure of my room.
I'm also very appreciative of this week. As teachers, we lead very physically sheltered lives. We're enclosed in a room with 30 kids and have little contact with our own professional peers. When we do, it's often on a limited basis - Superintendent's days, etc. This more extensive experience and its social aspect I found as valuable, in its way. Thank you.
Focus on process is a long time coming. I have enjoyed the opportunity to share my experiences and listen and reflect upon other's. It's difficult to think about mathematics and ideas differently than what you are used to or trained.
The thought of getting kids to appreciate, learn and use mathematics in an enjoyable way is an exciting challenge. I hope that I get the opportunity to work with someone and experience this implementation phase.
I'm not convinced yet that students will (can) develop the mathematical knowledge necessary to go beyond the appreciation, understanding and daily use. As our strategies to assess students expand we need to be sure that we build a bridge between what exists and what will change. It's exciting!
This whole week has been very engaging. It seemed from the journal entries that Wednesday was too slow for everyone, but I didn't notice that. I think Wed. was a let down from all of the activity of Monday and Tuesday, but the information presented was still very interesting and important.
As I sit here today, I keep thinking that I am lucky in that I haven't even "learned" how to plan any unit, so I don't have any habits to "unlearn." The discussion about planning gave me the impression that many of us were going to be learning a new way to plan when we begin planning our units. (That's what seems so overwhelming.)
My overall impression is that all of the people involved in the grand believe in it and are willing to help the rest of us succeed.
Well it's definitely Friday afternoon and we can certainly tell. But it's really funny because in some ways I'm glad that it is, but in some ways I need to know so much more, and I wish that the person that I am teaching with was here so that we could get started on a unit, and I want to go out and find manipulatives and I want to write the unit - and I want to be controversial with George.
I'll be excited to return on Thursday and work on the unit. I hope I have questions that I can ask. I definitely need to do my own processing. I can tell by my downloading -
I think I have reached my limit on chart paper and lists. I really would have liked to have had the opportunity to plan with group. Some of the questions that were brought up today I think needed to be answered individually - as regarding individual philosophies. Some of those questions didn't pertain to me and I think I could have used that time more wisely.
I did enjoy the math aspect of this conference. I haven't had to really think like that in a long time. The activities were challenging and I plan to use many of them.
I look forward to plan on Thursday and use all of my ideas and have the opportunity to bounce my ideas off others.
Help! My brain is full! I need time to process the info I've learned, to reread sections of the lessons, to prioritize and put on paper how I intend to plan this unit.
I have found each piece to be extremely useful, each list to bring together what I had learned. I am particularly interested in the processing component.
I think Deb summed it up well - I am looking at a different way of teaching and I need to keep thinking in that mode.
I learn best from seeing a demonstration and modeling my own behavior. I think those tasks will keep me focused on completing the unit successfully. (yum! Lunch)
I would like to comment once again on the energy and enthusiasm of the presenters. They have encouraged and sustained me through the week.
I look forward to digesting this info and meeting again next week. I look forward to teaching this in the fall!
The first thing that came tom my mind at this moment is that I have been sitting for a very long time. This last day has been the hardest for me because I don't feel that I have had enough opportunity to get through all the information, ask questions about and then turn it into some kind of lesson. I wish part of today would have been used to start developing a lesson and talking with other people who are thinking about the same unit as me. Now that that is off my mind - overall I enjoyed the whole experience. I still have a lot of questions to formulate after I sift through some of this "enormous amount" of information that I have been given. I feel a desperate need to ground myself in something familiar! Hopefully, I will be able to make more connections after reading. Once again I have enjoyed myself!
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