Future Goals
A Little Background on My Goals
As the school year has progressed this year I have been reflecting on goals for next year. I had the opportunity to observe more experienced teachers for a day and I discovered ways to improve my practice. I also considered how these areas of my instruction were going this year and how I thought I could improve them. I decided upon three areas I wish to improve and investigate: small group instruction, parent communication and soft starts.
Goal 1: Small Group Instruction
Last year I began to dive into small group instruction during my language arts instruction. I group students based on their reading level and provide mini lessons matching the week’s skills. When I had the opportunity to observe my peers I witnessed a colleague teach math in small groups. I immediately noticed how engaged and on task all the students were in the room, even if they weren’t working with the teacher. I saw how she changed her instruction based on the skill level of the group. After watching the lesson I knew I wanted to try to teach mathematics in small groups in my class. I like how small group instruction allows me to differentiate my instruction to meet the academic needs of my students. To help me work towards this goal I need to learn more about the best practices for establishing and teaching in small groups. I found the book Making the Most of Small Groups: Differentiation for All by Debbie Diller online and think it would be a helpful resource to help me meet my goal.
Goal 2: Parent Communication
Also through my observations I got a glimpse of how other teachers communicate with parents. I have tried numerous ways to communicate to parents over the years such as through Class Dojo or the Remind App. I was always left feeling as though most parents were not checking in or aware of what was going on in my classroom. This year I kept it simple with email. I send out a weekly or biweekly email sharing what students are learning and upcoming events. However some peers write beautiful newsletters or maintain a Facebook group. Perhaps I will create a template and replace the information each week or maybe start a Facebook group. My goal is to find the parent communication method that allows me to be more consistent and easy for parents to access. I also would like a way to share photos with parents. I need to do more research on the technology available but did find a website by Kathleen Morris very helpful in comparing my options and providing examples.
Goal 3: Soft Start
My last goal is to investigate and begin using Soft Starts to begin the school day. Two of my peers use Soft Starts each day. Students in their classes often do research on computers, read together or build. Online I learned teachers also offer students yoga or time to draw. Meanwhile the teacher is available to encourage conversations and provide support. These interactions may help to build my relationships with my students. My classroom this year is very quick paced when school starts. Students have twenty minutes to get their morning routine done and can feel stressful. I am interested in a Soft Start as a way to slowly get students engaged in the day. Most of the information I found online references the book The Curious Classroom: 10 Structures for Teaching with Student-directed Inquiry by Harvey Daniels. In one of his chapters he detail Soft Starts. I wish to have my students have a less stressful and more inquisitive start to their day and reading this book will be a great start to this goal.
Conclusion
As I consider ways to improve my practice and recall observations of my colleagues, I was able to generate three goals for myself. By improving my parent communication I will keep parents more informed and connected to the classroom. Soft Starts will be a slow and less stressful way for students to begin their day but it will also help me to build relationships with my students. Finally by implementing more small group instruction I will continue to meet the needs of my students and be able to more successfully differentiate my instruction. I hope to begin the process of implementing these goals this year and start out next year with Soft Starts, small group instruction and better parent communication.