Logistics

During my student teaching, I quickly learned the importance of organization, communication, and up-to-date data. Before teaching, I had always known that being a teacher required a lot more than just time spent teaching in the classroom: there is always work to be graded, lessons to be planned, and meetings to have. Johnson (2005) stresses the importance of organization and staying on top of grades, not only for the sake of the educator, but also for the peace of mind of students. In my experience this year, students always wanted to see their progress and wanted feedback on assignments; students used grades and comments from teachers on Google Classroom to track their progress in classes. In discussing data and the measurement of student success, Donald Orlich explains that consistent feedback and communication of intentions between teacher and students are necessary elements of tracking student progress (2001). It was important for me, as the teacher, to stay on top of grading and feedback to mitigate as much stress as I could for myself and for students. In order to do so, I learned how to utilize Google Classroom as a tool for prompt and accessible feedback. I often posted class assignments in the morning before our daily homeroom meetings. During homeroom, students were prompted to check their email and Classroom pages for assignments due or feedback posted, and so everyone knew what would be due after the day's class before arriving to class. Similarly, I utilized the morning homeroom meeting to invite specific students to office hours if needed and to post any announcements for students. Then, later on in class, I could walk students through their assignments and ensure that they all had proper access to the Google Docs/Slides.

I also utilized the private comment section of Google Classroom to remind students to turn in their work before the deadline. Oftentimes, students finished work in class but forgot to push the "turn in" button, so sending gentle reminders increased the number of completed assignments turned in on time. Students could also use the private comments on their assignments to ask questions as they worked or notify us of any difficulties they had run into. As seen below, it was common for students to ask for some guidance or express uncertainty after turning in their work. As the teacher, it was my responsibility to stay alert of notifications that a student had left a comment, and I tried my best to always respond ASAP.

Usually, the morning after a deadline, I would log onto Classroom to check submissions. I used prep periods during the day to review student work and leave feedback for each student, as seen in both images below. It was overwhelming, at first, to leave feedback for all 64 students. However, I felt that feedback was an essential part of my role, especially given that students were completing complex reflective and analysis work. And so, as time progressed, I got better at using Google Classroom to ease the process, and I developed a routine for reviewing work and submitting grades to my cooperating teacher. This was one of the most valuable skills I learned during my student teaching and one that I am glad I learned using digital resources.

Overall, my learning process with the more logistical aspects of teaching made me pay attention to the importance of data in the classroom. Although the process of grading is flawed, it is something that is necessary in the current education system. I tried my best to provide personalized and detailed responses to student work that focused on what they achieved and what we will continue to work on in future assignments. I wanted students to have more than numbers to base their progress on. I learned that it is important to stay on top of grading and review so that it is easier to review the ways students' work develops over time. I found myself often comparing student work to past submissions and noting where each had improved along the way. The progression of work is what helped me analyze students' growth towards our class goals/ objectives. In order to keep track of such progression, it was necessary that I stick to a grading and reviewing routine using Google Classroom.