Characteristics of the Novice Teacher - Blog #1

We have discussed the Characteristics of the Novice Teacher for as long as we have been students in the Benedum Collaborative Program, however, unless we are filling out our rubrics at the end of each semester, we have not spent much time discussing what these characteristics really mean, not just as a basic definition, but to each of us individually.  The seminar we had on Friday February 10, 2012 was extremely helpful in discussing these characteristics and artifact examples that we might find helpful in showcasing what we have learned from each of them.  Although there are 10 characteristics, I will be discussing only two for this blog.

Characteristic 2: Effective Communicator

An effective communicator, in education, is someone who is able to convey information to students, parents/guardians, other teachers, administrators, and other people in the community.  This information could be important deadlines for assignments and tests, as well as contact information in case there are questions or concerns, and even a reminder of classroom rules.  Being an effective communicator means being able to not only share important information with others, but to be able to listen to any ideas or concerns that these people may have.  For parents/guardians, it could be ideas about how to enhance the learning of their particular student, and for students, it could be ideas for how we as educators can enhance their own learning.  We must be open to answering questions and open about our classroom practices because this will show that we want to work together for the students’ best interest.

The artifact that best fits this characteristic is the parent homepage that we are creating for our Education 401 class.  Although we have not yet created the homepage, there is a group of 3 of us who are required to make a homepage for parents of those students in our classrooms.  One of the girls has my same students and we are in the same “pod/team” at Bridgeport Middle School, so this should be relatively easy for us to target their parents, however, the other girl is at our home placement, Morgantown High School, so we are still trying to figure out how to make one that caters to both sets of parents.  Regardless of the way in which we decide to split the page, we will have a section for each school with information including the days and times that we are in the classroom, contact information, activities that we are supposed to do with their students for the practicum, and anything else that seems important.  This will obviously be more specific when we get together as a group and set up our homepage, but once it is finished, it will be an excellent tool for our students, their parents/guardians, fellow teachers, administrators, and community members.

This artifact offers a universal source for each person in the students’ community or support system to access information relevant to student learning and success.  This offers  a way to communicate back and forth between parents/guardians and teachers, which, according to our Education 401 book, is an essential part of student achievement.  If parents/guardians and teachers are on the same page and are working together, inside school and at home, students are more likely to succeed in school.  It also shows that teachers want parents/guardians to be aware of what is going on in their classrooms, building trust between them, and again, enhancing student learning.

Characteristic 8: Reflective Practitioner

A Reflective Practitioner, in education, is someone who keeps records of their lessons that were successes and failures, as well as keeps records of materials used in lessons.  They are educators who discuss what went well and what failed in their lessons with other teachers, and who use observations from principals to better themselves.  Not only including reflections of their lessons, but educators should also include reflections of their interactions with their students, fellow teachers, and parents/guardians.  Keeping notes after each school day or during/after meetings in school can help educators look back on what went well and what did not go well, and can help us to improve regularly.  We can compare our own notes and reflections with those of other teachers and we can use these comparisons, discussions, etc. as feedback to again, help us improve.  Teachers are supposed to teach, obviously, but many people do not also think that teachers should be researchers and learners, as well, but according to our Education 401 book, when a teacher feels that they have nothing new to learn, they should retire.  This means that teachers should constantly be researching through practice and even through seminars and other resources and from this research should come continuous learning, therefore, improving their teaching.

There are three artifacts which are important in becoming a reflective practitioner, including answering our reflection questions from our lesson plans, our reflection notebooks, and teacher feedback/observations.  The first two somewhat go together because I answer my lesson reflection questions in my reflection notebook, and include any other information that I can remember from the day that seems important.  Besides this, one of the best artifacts is the feedback/observation forms that our mentor teachers and education coordinators fill out for us, as well as the conferences that we have to follow up.  I learn best from discussing the strengths and weaknesses of my teaching with someone who observes me and can tell me what they observe.  I like to know if our opinions of how the lesson went and how I deal with students are the same or different, and why.  After these meetings or even just reading the observation/feedback forms, I typically write down another reflection of my own for how the meeting went or my reactions to the comments I’ve received in my reflection notebook.  This helps me keep records so I can look back on any of this information at later dates to remember if I cannot remember off the top of my head.