Friday 27 February 2015

What Superpower Would You Choose?

Reflective Teaching 30 Day Blog Challenge 
DAY 16: If you had one superpower to use in the classroom what would it be and how would it help?


The superpower that I would choose would be to have renewable ENERGY!!!

Kids have so much energy and some days they are hard to keep up with. Not to mention all the little things that, as teachers, we are constantly thinking about and trying to manage in our classrooms. Not only would it be great to be able to run around with them and not lose my breath, it would be super handy in the classroom too where there is so much going on!

I could be taking a small group and giving them my attention but still have the brainpower to think about how much time I had left until the next transition or break, what I am doing with the kids next, as well as keeping an eye out for any slackers that might fall between the gaps!

Thinking about this makes me realise that I need to take better care of myself so that I have more energy to give to the kids and keep on top of things!

Thursday 26 February 2015

My Strengths as an Educator

Reflective Teaching 30 Day Blog Challenge
DAY 15: Name three strengths you have as an educator.


A strength I think I have as an educator is my professional relationships with children, parents and the staff that I work with at the school. I enjoy working with a range of people and I am good at striking up a rapport with others as an educator.

I also believe that I'm good at reflecting on my teaching practice. I am constantly thinking about what went well and what didn't and how I could do things better.

Lastly, another strength I have as an educator is that I am willing to take on board constructive criticism to better myself as a teacher. i enjoy the chance to learn something from another colleague and I welcome the chance to try a range of approaches and see what will work best for me in my classroom.

Wednesday 25 February 2015

Feedback For Learning

Reflective Teaching 30 Day Blog Challenge
DAY 14: What is feedback for learning and how well do you give it to your students?


For me feedback for learning is all about having a conversation with children about things in their work that they do well and things that they can work on improving for the next time. This might be something that the teachers wants the child to improve on or something that the child themselves has noticed that they could do better. Both praise and critique are given in context and are specific e.g. "I like how you used a capital letter at the beginning of your sentence." or "Remember that a capital letter should always be at the beginning of your sentence!"

Wednesday 18 February 2015

Favourite Part of the School Day

Reflective Teaching 30 Day Blog Challenge 

DAY 11: What is your favourite part of the school day?


My favourite part of the school day is when I have the chance to work with children in smaller groups or in one on one situations. I enjoy having the time to focus more closely on children and be able to have a conversation with them. It is great to be able to learn more about each child not only in an educational sense but in a personal sense as well. It is really helpful to have a fuller picture of each child and being able to catch up with where they are.


Tuesday 17 February 2015

Random Facts About Me

Reflective Teaching 30 Day Blog Challenge
DAY 10:
  • Share 5 random facts about yourself.
*I love writing.

* I challenged myself to read 100 books this year(I love reading too!). 

*My passport got water damaged after a sudden torrential downpour in Bali!

*I have a fear of birds (and I have no idea why!).

*I'm learning to wakeboard.

Monday 16 February 2015

Biggest Teaching Accomplishment

Reflective Teaching 30 Day Blog Challenge 

DAY 9:  Write about one of your biggest accomplishments in your teaching that nobody knows (or cares) about.


I am really struggling with today's prompt and I wonder if it is because teaching is such a sharing and reflective profession. Teachers and their colleagues both know and care about what happens in each other's classrooms (especially when you teach in smaller school like I do).

Friday 13 February 2015

What's in your desk drawer?

Reflective Teaching 30 Day Blog Challenge
DAY 8: What's in your desk drawer and what can you infer from the contents?


This one is hard as I do not have a desk drawer in my classroom and I also share the classroom space with another teacher who has taught in this classroom for several years. However I do have some key things that I keep close that might end up in a desk drawer if I had one to fill:

Thursday 12 February 2015

Most Inspirational Colleague

Reflective Teaching 30 Day Blog Challenge
DAY 7: Who was or is your most inspirational colleague and why?


Being a beginning teacher I get so much out of my colleagues! So much is new to me and watching someone else in action is always a great learning experience and very inspiring to me, which makes it hard to choose just one.

Monday 9 February 2015

In My Classroom



Reflective Teaching 30 Day Blog Challenge
DAY 5: Take a photo of your classroom and describe what you see and what you can't see that you would like to.


In my classroom I can see:

Wednesday 4 February 2015

What I Love Most About Teaching

Reflective Teaching 30 Day Blog ChallengeDAY 4: What do you love the most about teaching?


The thing that I love the most about teaching is the kids. It's interacting with them, seeing them engaged in the activities and being a part of that moment when they REALLY GET something!

Monday 2 February 2015

Improving An Observation Area

Reflective Teaching 30 Day Blog Challenge
DAY 3: Discuss on observation area you would like to improve for your teacher evaluation.


I would like to improve on varying the tone and use of my voice in the classroom. I have quite a soft voice and I have to work to vary my tone to suit the situation in the classroom. I am slowly developing this but I would like to improve on this more and more.