Below are the 3 most recent journal entries recorded in kvann's LiveJournal:

Wednesday, November 30th, 2005
7:44 pm	The end is near I think I actually skipped to class today. It was my last day of teaching for the semester, and I just feel so relieved. My students will turn in final portfolios Friday and Monday, and my goal is to take a speed demon approach to grading them. I know we'll all be stressed out until next week, but this too shall pass! (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, November 10th, 2005
9:29 am	Starting over I think a lot of my frustration with teaching has stemmed from the fact that I had no prior teaching experience. So like a lot of us GA's, I've just had to learn along the way. I worry a lot about how I am doing as a teacher and if my students are making enough progress. I had one student tell me he was feeling discouraged because he's been working so hard but his grades haven't really been changing. I felt bad because sometimes I think I'm grading too hard -- possibly another result of not knowing what I'm doing. But at the same time, I've learned a lot about the classroom. I've started making a list of things I plan to do differently in the spring. I'm looking forward to putting this semester behind me (!) and getting a fresh start. I don't know what next semester will bring, but I'm trying to be optimistic. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, September 19th, 2005
5:40 pm	Simmer down now (part 2) For those who read my previous entry, I did end up trying the proximity suggestion with the students who can't seem to stop chatting when group work ends. I simply stood next to them while I was talking or while another class member was talking. It had mixed results. For one group of talkers, I made eye contact and barely took a step in their direction, and they immediately stopped talking. For another group, I practicallly sat on their table but they continued to talk. The stare worked better with them. The most surprising part of this experiment was how awkward I felt leaving my front-and-center spot in the classroom. I didn't realize that it had become my comfort zone. I think I'm also learning about class personalities. With my chatty class, I'm going to try less group work and more general class discussion. We did that today and it seemed to create fewer side conversations (or at least less distracting ones). (1 Comment |Comment on this)