KSA #1: Contextual Variables
Being able to adapt to your students' needs during a lesson is essential! I don't know how many lessons I made and thought, "This is going to be the best lesson I have ever taught!" and have to change the lesson completely while teaching for any number of reasons.
For example, during my PS1 practicum, I had been working on a mini unit with my students for English Language Arts, where the students created their own superhero and they created a biography for them. I had never discussed editing with the students, and my TA had indicated they should be familiar with it from previous years. There was our first mistake! While I was going through my lesson with the students, it was quite obvious from the look on their faces that they had no clue what I was talking about. Thus, instead of scrap the lesson I asked my Teacher's Assistant to come to the front of the room so that we could model how to edit each other's work. This turned the entire lesson around, thankfully, and the students successfully edited each other's work and the lesson wasn't wasted.
Contextual variables arise in every lesson. You may assume that all 30 of your students will show up and plan for a full classroom, but it turns out to be a snow day and you have 10 students; or you could plan to use a really cool feature on the SmartBoard but it refuses to turn on in front of your class. To be able to adapt and change your lesson is extremely important for teachers, and thus we must be able to respond to these contextual variables!
For example, during my PS1 practicum, I had been working on a mini unit with my students for English Language Arts, where the students created their own superhero and they created a biography for them. I had never discussed editing with the students, and my TA had indicated they should be familiar with it from previous years. There was our first mistake! While I was going through my lesson with the students, it was quite obvious from the look on their faces that they had no clue what I was talking about. Thus, instead of scrap the lesson I asked my Teacher's Assistant to come to the front of the room so that we could model how to edit each other's work. This turned the entire lesson around, thankfully, and the students successfully edited each other's work and the lesson wasn't wasted.
Contextual variables arise in every lesson. You may assume that all 30 of your students will show up and plan for a full classroom, but it turns out to be a snow day and you have 10 students; or you could plan to use a really cool feature on the SmartBoard but it refuses to turn on in front of your class. To be able to adapt and change your lesson is extremely important for teachers, and thus we must be able to respond to these contextual variables!
"Melissa has a great ability to adapt/change a lesson." - PS2 Teacher Associate