The first Tuesday of each month, we have professional development sessions. In one of our sessions today, we had to complete a self-assessment of our classroom management. I am all for reflections and self-assessments for my students and myself.
However, trying to read the packet in a room full of teachers who are talking becomes difficult for this old brain. I was having to think too much, and the talking was a distraction. I was actually thinking, "How in the world are they answering these questions with all this noise? How could they even think?"
I inconspicuously (one of our roots this week!) pressed my fingers against my ears and tried to really focus on these three sentences:
- I provide frequent, specific, and immediate contingent acknowledgement for following classroom expectations.
- I use multiple systems to acknowledge expected behavior (teacher reaction, individual and group contingencies).
- I use differential reinforcement to acknowledge effort, successive approximations, and behavioral improvement.
What in the world did all this mean? How am I supposed to rate this when I don't understand it? At the end of the day, too many big words and too many distractions left me with this thought," Just mark it low, and make it a goal!"
And that's just what I did!
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.
Diane (newtreemom)
ReplyDeleteMaybe yoh should have marked everything high based on your many years of experience and your openness to improving!
I often felt that teachers make the worse students. They behave in way they wouldn't tolerate in their classroom. I sympathize with you over the language. Sometimes you just want to say. "Tell me in plain English what you mean." arjeha
ReplyDeleteYou sum up so well how I too feel about a lot of that self assessment stuff. I love your resolution!Makes me remember those years when I had to give pre-tests and post-tests with the PD I conducted (a state requirement, it no longer exists). Teachers would worry about how poorly they felt they did on the pre-test. I'd tell them, "Don't worry! All they want to do is establish that you've learned in this PD. Score low on the pre- and you will show growth on the post-." Love that you used this week's root in you writing.
ReplyDeleteNoise is such a distraction for me. I like your idea "mark it low, and make it a goal."
ReplyDeleteOMG! I, too, need quiet to read and understand. Well, my house is quiet...yet I do not understand. LOL! Well, actually, I understand it now, but it took me four tries to decipher. And I agree, you should have marked it high based on experience.
ReplyDeleteThe end of a day in a noisy setting is not my best learning time, so this slice resonates. Tough surveys may require more thought, yet you also want to be done. Totally feel this.
ReplyDeleteWord salad! I was laughing so hard over these statements! Love your approach to mark it low and make it a goal. Was refusal to participate an option?? I have so little patience for such intensely behaviorist approaches to classroom management.
ReplyDelete