ORGANIZING FOR INSTRUCTION

• How do you focus on instruction?

As academic instruction is the center of an effective teacher role, I know that I need to give instruction in a clear and understandable way. Good instruction begins with good organization and good planning. We teachers are responsible for focusing on instruction always remembering we have diversity of students with different needs, different objectives, and different learning styles. Planning for instruction is a continual process that must be focused on the students. Teaching is an art that is mostly leaned through experience.

• How do you maximize instructional time?

Teachers must use any resource that helps them maximize instructional time, which is very important for effective learning and is done by thoughtful and careful use of time. Another way of doing this is by setting routines that help teachers provide smooth transitions from one activity to another. This helps give priority to instruction, it is very important that teachers be organized. Being organized helps the teacher not only to plan but also to provide students who want to know what’s next in the class with this information. Besides, having an organized teacher helps students acquire this vital skill. A good lesson plan also helps teachers maximize instructional time.

• How do you expect students to succeed in your classes?

I have high expectations for my students, but my expectations are not unreachable. I see all of them as potential English speakers. They all have the capacity to learn; though they learn at a different pace, I am certain that they all can succeed if I become a good facilitator providing them with the tools to learn. I’m in agreement with the prophesy that says that when a teacher believes his or her students can learn, students really learn. Unfortunately, this works the other way around too. Therefore, when a teacher believes students are low performing and unable to learn, students perform poorly.

• How do you plan and prepare for instruction?

This semester in Didactics II, I learned about the importance of a lesson plan; however, it was until I got to my teaching practice where I experienced the importance of it. Without a lesson plan, I couldn’t fallow important steps to make students learning easier, I couldn’t provide appropriate time for each activity, I could forget important information I needed to convey, I could forget activities needed to develop important skills, etc. I have also learned that I need to think of my students during the preparation of the lesson, while I’m teaching the lesson and after I have taught the lesson. This is something that will help me improve my teaching and will help my students as well.

Do you make last-minutes changes when things are not working? Based on what premises, have you made such changes? Did they work? What needs to be done to better your instruction?

To be honest, I make changes to my lesson plan when I see students are having too many difficulties to complete their task. Adjusting the task doesn’t always mean making it easier, but most of the time it does. Having to make certain decisions to modify an activity is not easy, but I always take into consideration what the intended purpose the activity had and adjust it to meet their needs. Students sometimes show the activity needs to be modified; for example, my students were supposed to be working individually, but half way through the activity, some students began to ask their classmates for some help. I knew they were taking too long to complete it, so I allowed them to work in pairs. Everything worked well since they finish a few minutes after, giving me the time I needed to solve the activity with all the class. One important thing I have learned with my practices is that I need to monitor my speech.

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