{ WEEK 10 } ~ Focus on Learning Journal Entry

so it's week 10 in Focus on Learning.
I had certainly hoped to be more productive in journal entries but the priorities of a semester teaching eventually forced the practice of Journaling to the bottom of my 'to-do' list.

"I give a Kahoot"
In my previous journal report, I had set as a goal to start using Kahoot as a learning tool/activity within my curriculum.  This met with great success.  My students, as advertised, immediately enjoyed the 'competitive' game nature of the activity.  A bag of Smarties and Skittles proved an ample reward for the winner to do with as they pleased.  It also brought to those less successful that they may not know as much as they had thought and work to be done.

"Safe Talk: you can talk to me"
We were trained in Focus on Learning to be alert within our student population [but also in society as a whole] for the possibility of suicide and how to successfully prevent that occurrence.  My training was put into practice and the contrast between my first encounter with a student whom expressed 'suicidal' thoughts and this more recent case was study in contrast.

"Co-teaching and the challenges"
Due to SWF and new faculty hire policies which require I attend FOL each week, my schedule this semester proved challenging: A course I had taught in previous years now required me to co-teach to make my SWF hours {Full time first Year teachers cannot go into overtime}.  This has proved challenging but mostly rewarding.  It's been great to have another teacher in the classroom to provide comfort and support - even if it is to laugh at my poor jokes - but in all seriousness, the dual teaching method has many benefits: 1. 'Sober Second Thought' - everything from evaluation to reflection made this process a winner.  It was great sitting in the office and going through the projects together.  I found it especially helpful when marking some projects which I just 'didn't get' and having an instructor who was in the classroom as a sounding board was especially helpful.  2. 'Two Heads Are Better Than One' - the students had the benefit of two perspectives which offered more insight.  As in many instances the strengths were also the weaknesses.  One instructor would offer one perspective which may contradict what another had offered.  One strategy was to divide the marking/comments between the instructors so there was consistency between students in each section.  Marking/commenting on major projects together helped ensure consistency between the two sections.  3.  'Double the Service' - it was really effective during Demonstrations when students had two artists showing how they do their thing.  Students enjoyed this.  If a student gravitated to one instructor's style/approach/method then this only increased the likelihood of student satisfaction.  It was a more enriched intake.  4.  'Servicing the students' - it was much much easier to offer consults and give students one-on-one feedback for each class.  'struggling' students could have more time with one while the other instructor 'picked up the slack' with the rest of the class. 5. 'He Ain't Heavy; he's my....'- frequently teaching can be an isolating experience and the stresses and strains of a semester can create a roller-coaster ride of emotions in the students which rubs off on the instructor. It was nice to have the support - even if it was someone who just laughed at some of my corny jokes - and if one of us was on an 'off' day or low on energy there was another on hand which was a huge psychological comfort. 6. Moral suasion -  Perhaps the greatest highlight from a teaching perspective is to hear someone from Industry whom you greatly admire and who is now a co-teacher turn to you and say: "wow, I've learned so much from you this term!"  That was a very very special experience.
This is mandated by The Professor of the 21st Century 1. Modelling professional practice within the discipline of teaching by 1. Identifying your own learning style and how it affects your teaching; 2. Locating and using resources that support teaching practice; 3. Engaging in ongoing development to remain current in your own subject area and in the discipline of teaching; 4. Identifying the impact of your won teaching on student learning; 5. Contributing to a learning culture that encourages continous learning, reflective practice and peer support