Seminar Reflections Feb. 2, 2011
As I was looking out to you last night, the great white-tabled gulfed-divide loomed even bigger as I sensed you were not with me-unengaged, not attending. I am loosing them and they do not seem to care how much I want to get this across to them or how much I care for them or how much I know they care for me. They are not with me. My first emotional sense felt indignant. How rude. Can’t they see that I am talking to them? What are they telling me? They are bored; not interested; already know this; been there, done that, I was talking to myself.
One of the great and worse moments of teaching when you experience first hand that things are not going well and what you do to resolve it is the craft of teaching. This Tuesday, I sensed what was happening, smiled inside and admitted to the student teachers and one teaching intern that I understood what their behavior was telling me. I could have stopped talking about his a long time ago and you already got it. I thanked you for your patience.
As I thought about it, it was one of those timely teaching moments when what you said not to do you find yourself doing the very same thing in front of the very people you said not to do it.
The reflective teacher I am, considered how it could have played out differently. What could I have done differently:
I could have asked K. to show how she got into her google account. J. could have showed her own page where she posted her classroom observation. We could have opened it up to questions you had and I would have followed your leads instead of wasting your time, which is what you were communicating to me. I could have picked up the clues better and sooner. I could have asked you to put on your sticky notes questions you had about your webpage or google site; invited you to talk in pairs or triads about how you were coming along with your pages discussing what were your next steps and questions that still needed to be answered.
Or I could have announced a time out and asked: If you were a principal observing this situation, what suggestion would you make to the teacher? This would be followed by sharing your comments and a debriefing by me. But I did not do any of these and we all know about hindsight! I got in your way of learning or at best did not contribute very much to your learning, and as a result, wasted your precious time. So I sit and reflect for the next time, the next opportunity, the next learning experience with you!
So the moral of this reflectory tale is to recognize what your student are communicating to you as you stand in front, behind, to the side of them. When they are not listening to your pearled words, it is more of a reflection of what you are not doing for them and interpret really what they are communicating to you. A most elegantly simple strategy is to ask them directly or admit to them directly: This is boring, isn’t it? I am wasting your time?
Let’s regroup by taking me out of the sage on the stage to become the guide on the side inviting you in to participate and lead your learning. Last night I was in the way. Like a dance partner, the dynamic felt clumsy and I was too domineering in the give and take of the learning. Thank you for the opportunity to refine my delivery and rethink my own teaching strategies as they impact your learning in our seminar.
As the seminar progresses, you will be assuming more responsibility as a professional learning community.
Also, let’s take time to review our syllabus responsibilities and seminar phases so you feel grounded in where you are and where you are going throughout the semester.