Late July, Blog 2: MII (most important improvement)

The number one thing I need to improve on as a teacher is simplifying my lessons. As Jeremy F. said, give "shotgun lessons," rather than lessons that attempt to cover too much terrain.  By far, my best (at least, better) lessons have been those that did not require back-breaking lesson planning. Their objectives and activities are simply conceived, crystal clear, crisp like a Colorado fall air. No need for over-complexity, bells and whistles, longwinded directions and a winding road to assessment. No, as E.S. (my June evaluator) taught me, simple is best. Sometimes the best lessons are when modeling, guided practice and IP all mirror each other, in triple symmetry or like a triple-header. 

Now, I am actively striving for simplicity. It is not as easy for me as one (or I) might expect. I am Queen of Diversions. Why is it important for me to make this a priority for improvement? For one, simple lessons open up room for the teacher to address students' different learning styles, instead of being wrapped up in delivering the maxiumum quantity of information in the minimum amount of time. See, that approach to teaching puts stress not only on the teacher, but on the students also. I think overcomplicating or overdoing content ruins a lesson. So, secondly, simplicity, second to effective classroom management, is what makes a lesson effective. As Wong & Wong say, a student will like a teacher who makes them able to complete the work (as opposed to a teacher who jams material down their throats and whirls formal assessments they're not ready for at them). The last thing I want to be is an exasperating teacher, and if I am not careful, I can see myself tending toward complicated lessons. So I will be vigilant. It is a true help to my students, and to my abilities as a teacher.

As a corollary to this improvement, and its necessary side-effect, I need to learn to plan lessons more quickly, to stay focused, and not pour too much time or energy into them (as usually, too much time= too complex). I have improved at this over these two months, but I still have a ways to go.