This past week I have started trying to focus a little more on my 'Documenting Student Learning' table that I created to help me keep track of the things that I notice about each student. I have found myself having somewhat of a difficult time with this. It seems as though when I am observing and trying to make really thoughtful notes about the students, I am less engaged with them. So, then of course once I notice this I try and correct it as soon as possible. The problem is though that once I am completely engaged in the students, I forget to write things down. I am still of course making observations all of the time, I just assume that I will remember the observations later, which of course I do not. Then I feel like I have to make a choice between writing down my observations and being 100% with my students.....and of course the latter always wins out, which is why I still don't have many observations about the students. I think what makes writing down my observations difficult for me is that I am always doing something with the students. Usually I am working with a small group on an activity that requires a lot of attention. I have to continually explain their task, motivate them to continue, remind them of behavior expectations, expand their thinking with questions prompts, and the list goes on and on. As I head into the next week, I am going to try and come up with a better way to do the observations while still being completely engaged with the students.
Any suggestions? Have you had this problem? What do you do to get your observations down on paper?
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About Me
- Amelia Bowen
- Seattle, Washington, United States
- I am on my way to start my next adventure.... backpacking through Central America. I'm writing this blog to keep my friends and family updated on all the crazy things I'm doing as well as a record for me to look back on when I'm old and grey ^^
3 comments:
Hey Amelia,
I have encountered this same problem of taking notes and being involved. I had to put questions at the top of my notes to help guide me. I put questions like how does the student work with classmates, how does the student work through a problem. I have no idea how teachers stop to make observations about all their students' learning, engage with the students and manage them all at the same time! It's nice to hear we are all going through the same challenges! I hope I helped a little and good luck! :)
Amelia,
I think that you have addressed a very important issue: how do we make thoughtful observations yet still be present with students? On one hand, we know that anecdotal notes help to inform instruction and document student growth. The flipside of this is that we want to be an engaged and interacting with our students and not constantly taking notes.
Although not a complete solution, I am using a strategy that has been helpful for me in these areas. I a two column chart with each students name and then a blank space to take notes. After I meet with a group or work one-on-one with a student, I take 20 seconds to write down information about those students. Maybe you could try taking quick breaks and jot down a couple notes without distracting you from what’s going on.
I too struggle with this problem.
I have not disciplined myself enough to put a plan into action yet but one thing I have been thinking of is to have a notebook or pages in a notebook with a tab for each student. I would then take a few minutes between each chunk of time to jot down thoughts on any particular students I have been working with. I think it would work if you stopped at each recess and lunch and took 2-5 minutes to put quick thoughts down it would remind you enough to later draw from your thoughts and write more in depth or adjust their instruction as needed.
I hope I take my own advice soon! It is so easy to come up with ideas but harder to put them in action while trying to handle a class full of energetic students.
I wish you luck from down the hall at LU!
Bree
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