New Teacher Seminar - May 4, 2022 Follow-Up

The seminar sessions provided new teachers with the opportunity to reflect on the school year and plan for the weeks ahead as they wrap up the school year. Most of the feedback from the exit slips showed that the evening sessions were informative and valuable. There were a few questions to address and the answers are included below. If additional questions arise that can't be answered by your mentor, please continue to reach out to Heather Husk at hlhusk@smcps.org and answers can be shared in future updates.

Behavior 101, Part 5

I am still wondering how I can make my verbal directions super clear. Any ideas?

Have you ever walked into the grocery store with a list of items in your head and walked out forgetting at least one item? The mind can only hold so many ideas at once. Verbal directions are great to clarify expectations and complete routines that have been established. However, when expecting students to complete multiple tasks, it is essential that you include written prompts. Each step in your directions should include one action for the students while your verbal explanation can include more details or the rationale. Posting the steps on a screen or your whiteboard will provide the opportunity for students to self-correct and self-monitor their progress through a task. In addition, consider images or modeling for complex directions that require hands-on actions. Also, you could move through the steps as a whole group and you can move about the room monitoring student progress on that step before moving on to the next.

Special Education

I still have questions about ESY. Who can I contact for clarification?

For questions about ESY folders and paperwork, teachers can contact Sherry O'Dell, Supervisor of Special Education at slodell@smcps.org. In addition, the special education presentation with links can be found HERE.

End of Year Engagement

I am still wondering how my students will act in the last few weeks after testing. What can I expect?

Remember that you set the tone in your classroom. If you continue to maintain your routines and expect students to enter your classroom ready to learn as they have all year, they will continue to do so to the last days. Learning does not equal testing or grades. There is freedom in the risks that you can take after testing to explore new strategies and try a different approach to engage the students. If there was a skill that students struggled with earlier in the year, revisit it in a new way. If you are confident that students have acquired the knowledge for your curriculum, plan for a student-selected project in which they explore an area of your curriculum in more depth and create engaging presentations to share with their class. They can even create an "assessment" for their peers! The tests are not the end of your curriculum, be bold and ambitious! Have a bit of fun while learning!

End of Year Professional Responsibilities

What am I expected to prepare prior to my end-of-year evaluation conference?

Generally, your principal should include information about what they expect teachers to bring to their final conference. However, be sure to check Perform for any tasks that are tagged to be completed. Your final SLO reflection will be necessary and a self-reflection may be requested. Be prepared to discuss your year, your growth, and how you might use what you learned to succeed next school year.