Assignment #6 – Cast Your Vote!
November 20, 2009 by wojtera
In 1991, Gordon published results of a study of the problems of beginning teachers. The results are listed below.
- Difficult work assignments
- Unclear Expectations
- Inadequate Resources
- Isolation
- Role Conflict
- Reality Shock
Last week the Clinical Faculty offered their ideas of the 5 most common problems of beginning teachers. I compiled the comments you made into a wordle. Click on the wordle to see a larger image. The largest words occurred most often in your answers.
- time management
- discipline
- communicating with parents
- classroom management
- lack of funding/ paperwork
And here are the results of a study by Veenman (1984) of the difficulties beginning teachers most frequently reported. I put them in a poll format so we could vote.
For Assignment #6, choose the one answer you think presents the most difficult challenge for beginning teachers. On the next blog post, I’ll reveal the ranking that Veenman found. We will see if it matches the results of our poll. Don’t forget to mark your assignment on the google docs form!
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I think that effectively planning instruction to a large extent impacts meeting individual differences and some discipline problems.
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Having been in several different schools, I think developing relationships with peers, office staff, etc. is crucial to making you feel a part of the school community. This can be difficult when you spend so much time in your classroom with children and no adult interaction. If people who are already established in the school, don’t make you feel welcome and try to include you, it can feel very lonely until you find your niche.
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I just know that with student teachers discipline can be one area they have a hard time with. So, I think some beginning teachers would probably have the same problem. I know they can have a hard time with that fine line of wanting to be the students friend and being liked by the students and being the teacher and the one who has to discipline!
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Effective discipline and classroom management come from experience in establishing a classroom culture. Since beginning teachers obviously lack this experience, I think classroom discipline is probably the biggest problem facing most.
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Classroom management. How to get it all in, and keep students motivated.
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I agree with Mary. I think finding the balance between enjoying your students and being friendly and being the disciplinarian and role model for the class can be difficult especially when you start out in the high school setting and you are not that much older than your students.
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Effective discipline is continually changing and flowing. The realization of this comes from experience. There is no magic strategy that works every year with every child.
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I think planning and providing instruction to meet the diverse needs of our students is one of the most difficult things.
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Kelly Reply:
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:34 pm
I agree, Anne —
As I reflected on the difficulties I remember from my first year of teaching, I know I struggled a bit with assessment and with classroom management — but I had tools in my tool box for those issues . . .but I don’t know how well I differentiated instruction. I felt I was very prepared to teach to the middle, and I understood the well-behaved smart kids, but the others were more of a challenge for whom I had fewer tools. . .
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I think discipline and time mangement are the most difficult areas that student teachers encounter.
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Establishing a relationship with the grade level team, faculty, administration, students, parents and community takes an enormous amount of time and effort. It is often very difficulty to make this a priority when beginning teachers are worried about classroom setup, lesson planning, learning the district curriculum, learning the state curriculum, establishing a strong classroom managment plan, etc.
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Definitley classroom management!
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In a specialty class, I think classroom management, and discipline are difficult, but the pacing of a lesson can also be a trial too. You only have them for a certain amount of time every week, and have to cover all the Standards. Also the extra stuff like programs, integration and most importantly getting to know your students add to the stress of your first year.
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I agee with Debbie ,”developing relationships … can be difficult when you spend so much time in your classroom with children and no adult interaction.” The isolation can be hard. And “niches” come and go.
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I agree that time management and classroom management seem to be the most challenging tasks for beginning teachers.
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Management – From time management to classroom management to communication management. Doesn’t it seem like all we do is manage? And with experience, we become much better at it, like a fine tuned orchestra. New teachers lack the experiences, the confidence and the wisdom of knowing which thing to manage first!
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I so agree Ellen. Management in every aspect is overwhelming as a beginning teacher.
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I am conflicted between management of diverse needs, and establishing in-house professional relationships. Collaboration seems to be difficult due to time constraints, but as a new teacher, you are usually creating new relationships with multiple people. Not easy….. As a beginning teacher, managing the variety of needs in a Kindergarten classroom was boggling…
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I think managing a classroom effectively is a big challenge with today’s students. It is so often necessary to implement a “tough love” approach and that is not always an easy skill to implement and master. Also, kids are as different as snowflakes and what works for one may be so wrong for another!
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