Spider Talking: Reflecting on the Practice

Original Idea HERE

https://modelsbydesign.wordpress.com/2013/02/17/be-better-spider-web-discussion-and-why-thankfully-teachers-are-not-as-important-as-we-thought/

Post Observation Reflection 9/23/15

CP English 12 - Spider Talk Beowulf Essential Questions

2a: Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport This is something that I try very hard to do, especially at the start of a course.  Having respect and rapport in the classroom is an essential element to teaching successfully.  Students are very aware of how much you care!  Having half of these students for English last year has brought an even higher level of rapport.  The students know that I want their best effort for every period, every day, period.  Their respect toward one another reveals the level of expectation that I have instilled in the classroom. One area that I want to improve is utilizing access to students via social media, email, and even postcards to strengthen the respect and rapport beyond the classroom.

2b: Establishing a Culture for Learning Incorporating and emphasizing essential questions for each piece of literature has proved an asset for establishing a strong culture of learning.  This link between the literature and life relevance for students that fosters the idea of lifelong learning.  At the time of the observation, it was apparent the students who had experience.  Over time, I will monitor their individual progress in the process of Spider Talks.  To encourage students to improve their responses, I will continue to require that students complete the questions ahead of talk time.  Perhaps strategically grouping students prior to their performance day to preview the questions will elevate the level of responses.  Also, a collection and display of all the Spider Talks to follow so students can self evaluate and compare their progress.

2c: Managing Classroom Procedures To ensure students use all the time allotted and begin promptly, I will use a class timer that begin counting down once the bell has rung.  This will encourage an on the clock feel for students to get talking.  Also, students will take a turn at tracking the conversation in the future.  It will be a modified version, but serve the purpose of letting students take ownership over the learning process.  Further, students will be coached to draw peers into the conversation who are reluctant.  I want these areas of improvement to be student driven.

2d: Managing Student Behavior This is an area I will continue to enforce, especially the student driven part.  As seniors, these students need to understand how to fit socially into a classroom of higher learning.  So many of the skills needed to have a successful classroom discussion are mature students.  Also, preparation to share your insights with your peers.  As students are focusing on the task, they must be “scared” to perform at the right high stakes level.  This takes care of student behavior, especially when it is on displays for their peers and self.

2e: Organizing Physical Space For this learning activity, the desks/tables need to be in a circle so students can see one another clearly and feel as though they are closed into the conversation.  I will ask the student in the future to move the desks into a circle.

3a: Communicating with Students I thought that students understood the instructions, content, and procedures.  In the future, I would like this activity to run on cruise control as a result of internalizing the expectations via communication.  Students should continue to explain that concepts to their peers, these lasting essential questions have maximum impact when delivered by their aspiring colleagues.

3b: Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques As the teacher, I was pleased with the students’ responses to the questions.  It is valuable to have a continuation of students who have had a year’s worth of practice and can lead their peers.  In the future, students will be tasked with creating some of the essential questions that will be used for Spider Talks.  I hope to use their knowledge of the process to continue to initiate the topics and make unsolicited contributions.

3c: Engaging Students in Learning As the class goes on and the Spider Talks increase in frequency, I will consider the students’ insight about the dynamics of the groups.  Further, I will have students use their input to have some mobility in the formation of the groups.  The documentation of the talks will prove useful in future teaching to adjust groups that do not participate as well together or have personality impacts on one another.  Also, students will have to “close” the conversation in the future.  Students are VERY engaged in this learning process.

3d: Using Assessment in Instruction In the future, students can contribute to the development of the assessment criteria by writing I can statements that provide clear indications of what it means to achieve mastery for the rubric standards.  Also, students formatively assess themselves after the conversation and then the teacher assesses over their marks.  This alignment or misalignment is a teaching tool for students in understanding what it takes to achieve high marks in the speaking and listening standards.

3e: Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness No lesson adjustment was needed; but in the future I anticipate having to adjust the lesson.  Although I have reasoned that 7-8 questions is the perfect amount for 40 minutes of discussions, sometimes students get stuck in a single question, and that proves to be a vacuum of time.  As the teacher, I accept the responsibility of needing to move the students if they are stuck in a spiraled conversation that is not making any progress.  For persistence, I will continue to explore other ideas and ways to incorporate speaking and listening into the classroom.