Week 5 Reflection

This week I was asked to create sub plans for my T.A. while I was in Lethbridge
and I found the importance of being prepared as well as giving more simply
instructions for subs. Having work periods while subs are there creates easy
transitions for your students. They already know expectations and the substitute
do not have to stress about assignment expectations. It is also helpful to be
prepared in advanced to know where your class is headed when creating sub plans in
advanced.
This week I also found that been planned in prepared in advanced creates less
stress for a teacher as well as gives the teacher a better understanding of the
classroom. Planning and preparing is a large portion of the teaching profession;
however, is time consuming to plan and gather materials for a classroom. This is
especially evident in elementary classrooms due to having many subjects to teach
within a day. Using preparation periods, wisely is useful to being prepared for
future lessons.
This week and next week; however, the main focus is marking. Nearing the end of
my practicum there is a lot of assignments being handed in, as well as larger
summative projects, math worksheets, and at the end of the week tests. Having
many things to mark with a deadline is stressful and overwhelming. The week is
planned with times both when I am teaching as well as when I will be marking these
assignments. To mark assignments and give the descriptive and meaningful
feedback takes time. As well as marking without bias, for the most valid and
reliable assessments is another difficult task. As a teacher we must create
appropriate rubrics and test keys are tools that can support proper assessment.
The strategies to have proper assessment then gives the teacher evidence on the
students understanding of the material for formative assessment as well as
evidence for summative assessment.
The other struggle with marking is having a lot of and a variety of evidence
for each subject to track learning. This then makes assigning and marking a larger
task for teachers. For a formative/summative task like a math worksheet it is
important to have quick feedback so students can see where they might not
understand as strongly as well as the teacher using the next period to go over the
questions where students may have struggled. This means that worksheets need to
be marked the same day but it is important for a more positive learning experience
for students!