...... (Brandy)

Overall, I think my action research was a success. For six weeks, I provided a different creative writing prompt at the beginning of each class period. Students were given a length requirement (a half of a page) and a time limit (10 minutes) to complete the assignment. I ended up changing a few things throughout the process. Initially, I wanted to collect data from all three of my ninth grade classes, but soon realized that would be overwhelming. I then decided to focus only on my smallest class of 25 students. I had all three classes complete the writing prompts, but only reflected on and followed the progress of one. Overall, my goal was to determine whether or not daily writing would improve students’ writing abilities and confidence. Initially, I got exactly what I expected, a lot of complaining and struggling to meet the length requirement. Eventually, students got into the habit of entering class and writing. Once they realized it was not an option, they were able to focus entirely on writing. By the end of the six weeks, I saw major improvements. I had a few students who refused to write anything for the first week or two, and by the end were responding to every prompt. Students’ writing improved as well as the ability to ignore length requirements and allow words to flow onto paper. This is something I would definitely use in my classroom. It allows students to settle down as soon as they enter the classroom and also eases their anxieties about writing assignments.

Like Lauren, my PDS experience was far from ideal, but I learned a lot from it. You could throw me into a classroom of rabid, immature, non-stop talking ninth graders, and I would look at you and ask, “Is this all you’ve got?” Morgantown High School is an incredible school that received a silver medal in U.S. News and World Report Magazine’s annual list of the best schools in the country. Okay, I’ll stop bragging now, but the school is great and so are the faculty and administrators. I think I was just placed in the classroom of the least motivated teacher imaginable. My biggest complaint about my entire internship is that my host teacher was basically absent during it – not literally, but she provided no feedback whatsoever. She gave me free reign over everything and whenever I asked for suggestions, she simply stated, “Just do whatever you like.” It allowed me to take over everything, but at the same time it would have been nice to have some help. I mean she was supposed to be mentoring me after all.

I have very few negative things to say about my PDS. The faculty is exceptional and the school is very well-maintained considering the large number of students. The community is involved, and most teachers display leadership in and out of the classroom. I would like to focus on my host teacher’s behaviors and attitude, because I am sure there are other teachers like her in the school. She has eleven years of teaching experience but appears to have completely lost all passion for teaching. During my first week of observation, I noticed a complete lack of classroom management. This bothered me because it is my weakest point as a teacher, and had to observe other teachers in the school to witness appropriate methods. The school operates on block scheduling and teachers are encouraged to teach “bell to bell.” She rarely did. She had students listen to stories on CD instead of reading them aloud. She would also give students free time at the end of almost every period to “work on something,” and would then turn her back to her students and use her computer. She was completely unorganized and lost students’ work. Hmm…so many negative habits to choose from, but putting it simply, she was lazy. Students basically manipulated her and she couldn’t even realize it, or maybe she could, but just no longer cares. I did learn one thing from her and that is how to get students involved in literature. Because she has a master’s degree in literature, she is very educated on almost all genres. She assisted me with activities and ways to get students interested. It was clear that her passion was literature and not teaching. This just goes to show that the characteristic of a novice teacher we hear so much about – mixing content and pedagogy – is important.

I think the best way to change this type of problem is to focus on my own passion for teaching. When teachers see others going above and beyond, they have two choices. They can fall behind and look bad, or they can put in a little extra effort as well. It’s as if some teachers feel stuck in a career that they don’t enjoy, so they possess a negative attitude instead of utilizing the skills and knowledge they have about effective teaching. Just because you hate your job, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go all out.