Planning Worries
There are certain things that bug
me a bit about my two CTs. I know that they are professionals and teaching,
planning, and management comes more easily to them now that they are advanced
in their profession. I am having trouble with the way they plan lessons, and I guess
it’s more that they are so different from each other. One of my CTs goes by the
pacing guide, and follows a strict schedule, so I find it so much easier to
plan for her. I know what she is expecting to teach, and around the time she
expects to teach it. My other CT has a very flexible curriculum, and tells me
that as long as we cover the essential points on the pacing guide, we will be
fine. She gives me a date to teach, and I have to really work hard to get her to tell me
what she thinks she wants me to teach over. I guess, in a sense, I like the flexibility
and freedom that she gives me, but I get very anxious and stressed out when I don’t
have a schedule or plan to follow.
I need to
be able to figure out how to plan for both, and to be able to succeed with
those plans. Should I use a pacing guide to plan for my CT who gives me free
range on the lessons that I make, even though she’s kind of all over the place?
Or should I just piggy-back off of whatever she is doing or planning to do
during that week?What I've been doing is asking her what she absolutely needs to cover during that week, and I share with her some lesson ideas, and if she is happy with them then, I teach. This seems to work well, but i guess is just want a bit more structure.
On a positive note, I have thought a lesson for my "least flexible" CT, and received very
positive feedback from her. She is giving me the responsibility of coming up
with bellwork for students, and for starting off the class, which is sort of
nerve wracking, but definitely a growing experience.
Denise,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you have it figured out. You are doing the best job you can. There are always going to be differences in planning styles. I do have to say, isn't it going to be nice to have our own class one day so we can plan and do as it works best for us and our students?
I'm not experiencing the same problems currently, but I have in the past. It's most frustrating. From what I read I think you are a planner. You like structure. Could you maybe use the structure of your favored teacher to create a calendar? You could plan out what you have to teach when and present the idea to your teachers and ask if they need to make any changes? Perhaps this would serve both of you better?
Hang in there, your own classroom will come soon!
:) -LeAnna
oh, sorry Denisse. I just saw I spelled your name incorrectly! Yikes! Sorry!!!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, I totally understand where you're coming from! My CT this semester also goes by the pacing guide in the sense that as long as we brush upon the topics on it, we'll be fine. So, pinning down when and what I'll be teaching has been a bit of a challenge. I can see how the flexibility can be a good thing, but one of the problems is that she will jump ahead at the prompting of the students, which messes up her plan for the rest of the week.
ReplyDeleteMy CT last semester wasn't strict about the pacing guide, but had a basic outline for her semester that gave the class a comforting structure. So, I agree with LeAnna that it will be very nice to have our own classrooms where we can plan in our own way! :)