Going into my first lesson that would be “officially observed” made me much more nervous than I anticipated, and I wondered if it would affect the lesson. Fortunately, once I started teaching, the nerves began to dissipatate and I found myself enjoying the interaction between myself and the students. The nerves went away – at least until after I was done teaching.
Taking a deep breath, I prepared to take my medicine, knowing I would be receiving “constructive feedback,” for better or for worse. I felt very vulnerable and anxious but knew I had given it my all. Fortunately, both my field observer and master teacher were intent on encouraging my growth instead of stunting it.
They both started with positive statements to put me at ease, mentioning that I had engaged the students with both the artifacts I had brought in, as well as the different levels of questions I had used to provoke their critical thinking. They liked the shared reading I had the students participate in, with its focus on learning new vocabulary words, and the turn and talk went well preceding the group discussion. The role playing and the song my students concluded with also went over well, but (here it comes) I could have used a stronger type of closure to reinforce what they had learned throughout the lesson.
Hmmm, that wasn’t so bad after all. I didn’t feel humiliated or that I had failed. In fact, when reflecting on my lesson, I could see that they were right. Yes, my students had enjoyed my lesson but, other than their comments during our discussion time, I had no official documentation of what they had learned. Perhaps I could have included an exit slip or had them write a brief paragraph, mentioning something they learned that day and a question they still had. It could have even helped me in planning my next lesson with them. Apparently I still have several things to learn, but I am on my way, having received some great “constructive feedback.”
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