I try very hard to hide the fact that I am shy. Unfortunately for me, it’s hard to hide such a thing in the classroom and I often show little confidence when I am teaching. According to dictionary.com, confidence is “belief in oneself and one's powers or abilities.” I definitely need to get some more of this noun! It turns out, there’s another goal I need to work on this semester – being a more confident teacher.
I noticed my lack of confidence the second of week of pre-student teaching. Mrs. Bradley asked me to read aloud questions and answers on a test to the class as they graded each other’s papers. I thought it was no big deal, so I just scanned the test and answer sheet before making my way to the front of the classroom. As I read, I started listening to myself. Really listening. I noticed how nervous I sounded. I’m not sure if it resulted from my sudden unpreparedness or even my inexperience with the test's material, but for some reason I sounded uncertain when I spoke. That was the moment I knew I needed to get some confidence. And I needed to get it quickly with my 5 day unit approaching!
Here are some ways I plan to boost my confidence:
1. This one shouldn’t be too hard: I will start pausing before responding to students. Often, I find myself guilty of immediately spewing out a response without considering if it makes sense or is even helpful. After doing this a few times in a lesson, I lose confidence in myself and sort of just give up. If I mentally ask myself, “Is this the best thing I can say?” or, “Does this make sense?” I will sound more assertive and will ensure that I am responding appropriately to the student.
2. When I plan lessons, I will write out a list of questions that I want to ask students during discussion. Not only this, but I will also write out ways to respond in order to stimulate HOT (higher order thinking). I hope that by doing this, I will sound more confident in a discussion with my students.
3. Practice, practice, practice! I am beginning to realize that the more I teach, the more confident I will become. The best way to work on this is to ask Mrs. Bradley for more experience/opportunities. Every day when I come to class I will ask her what she needs help with and if I can do anything during class. Even if it’s just passing out papers or providing instructions prior to a lesson, she nearly always has something for me to do.
Luckily, I am placed with an awesome group of students who have been great to work with so far. Mrs. Bradley has been an excellent CT too. She understands that I am in a learning position and may not be totally confident in my abilities at this point. When asking me to do something, she always makes sure I am comfortable. I hope when I meet these goals I’ll be running down the hallways proudly declaring my confidence!
*All names (including names of places) are changed to pseudonyms.
I have had this same problem. My previous CTs have never really involved me in their classrooms very much so I've become used to sitting at the classroom observing. Now that I have a CT who is willing to let me take over, I find it very nerve-wracking. However, I have let him know that he is more than welcome to let me do anything he is comfortable with handing over to me. While I am not completely comfortable with it yet, I agree with you that practice really does make perfect.
ReplyDeleteIt also helps to make sure the students are comfortable with you. From the very first day I was in the room, the students have been really good about asking me questions. I have also made the effort, with some trouble, to learn all of their names and make sure I call them by their names when I am talking to them. In my first week, I had most of the students talking to me in the hallways and coming to me for help with assignments. Knowing that they are comfortable with me has helped me to become more comfortable with them.
*at the back of the classroom observing... I'm clearly not good at proofreading! :)
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