Observations

I did most of my observations today and am excited about the things that I saw. It was great to be able to recognize some of the things that we have been working on in our class. One of the teachers that I was with today very closely mirrored the basics of our mini-lessons. I did not get to see his lesson plans, but he absolutely followed the model, guide, and independent practice pattern. He demonstrated how to complete the lesson objectives, worked with the students to complete the objectives, and allowed the students to independently complete the objectives. It worked so well. If a student had a question, he was ready to provide guidance to them. I shared my observation with him, and he told me that he had been teaching for a very long time, and that is one of the best ways to teach any lesson, especially a new concept or idea. He said that if you have something to build on; use it, but if you have nothing to build on; create it. I love this thought and hope that I remember it as a teacher. I look forward to tomorrow and more observations. I wish I could have gotten in sooner, although I might not have gotten anything else but observations done this semester.