- talking in a way that would lead her to MY IDEA!
Oops, how many times have I coached her to avoid playing "guess my answer" in teaching?
- stopping her thoughts, asking questions before allowing her to discover or redirect her thinking.
Oops, how many times have I coached her to let the kids talk it through, let them discover as they talk, it's their answer to find, not ours to give?
-setting her goal for the week!
OPPS! I really did this, I TOLD HER WHAT SHE WAS WORKING ON PROFESSIONALLY FOR THE WEEK! Who owns the learning now, who will remember the goal, not my student teacher!
This is one of the many reasons I enjoy working with others, all the learning I discover along the way! I am not sure what makes best practice slip away from me when working with adults, but I do know if I want my I student teacher to own the learning she has to do the work, not me.
So this week I will step back, I will watch, I will listen, I will plan my conferences and set my teaching targets with her as I would with my kiddos. This week we will learn side-by-side in our ways.
Sometimes a little more guidance is helpful, though, don't you think. It always depends on the student teacher, some are ready to go and can work as your equal, others need you to steer for a while. I do agree, though, we can't dominate. They'll have a lot of decisions to make!
ReplyDeleteYou are so patient and good to embrace your student teacher's learning like you do. You are so right about teachers dropping best practices when dealing with adults. It's just so easy to fall back into "Do as I say..." Thanks for the reminder and good luck with supporting and allowing her learning this week!
ReplyDeleteYou sound like such a reflective practitioner ....no wonder they have pair her with you....always growing, learning and adjusting practice...That is exactly what is important to model for new teachers...she is lucky to have you!
ReplyDeleteWow, I love this. You are so reflective to even notice these behaviors in yourself!
ReplyDeleteI find myself often slipping into "bad habits" in my work with adults, too. Why do we do that?
I can't help thinking how oh, so lucky this student teacher is to be working with you!
She is so blessed to be working with you!
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