Closure Revisited

After weeks of rushing towards the end of the term, things finally screeched to a halt this afternoon. It is a rare day that I have time to sit down at work, and rarer still to have time to actually blog from my office desk. Well well well.

The Challenge
The students I taught this semester have presented me with my biggest teaching challenge, possibly ever. Every single student in the group is absolutely adorable, and I have loved interacting with them. Academically, though, it was an uphill battle. The majority of the students have difficulty communicating in English. Yet they are placed in a level where the requirements are quite advanced. Delivering appropriate learning opportunities to each student was a daily challenge, especially since a small handful of them are extremely gifted, while many can barely get by in class.

Reflection
Considering the demands of this group, I am reasonably satisfied with the way the semester progressed. Reality tends to wreak havoc with the best-laid plans of mice and M, but a number of my grand schemes could be executed with some success. Here are a few of the lows and highs.

Weaknesses
Weak areas in my organization - and students' results - showed up in certain elements of essay writing practice and project design. Unfortunately students tend not to turn in homework, so anything not done in class is a lost opportunity. There was a great deal of essay writing activity, modeling and practice in class, but many students never turned in the end product for correction. Their lack of feedback resulted in lower integration of the essay principles than I envisaged. I was also disappointed in the results of the small, systematic spelling tests we had weekly, although I firmly believe I covered all possible bases in allowing students to shine in this area. In the cases of essays, projects and spelling, those who followed the strategies I suggested and implemented in class did perform well. What is disconcerting is that so many students did not even try. It is painful but vital to consider where I could do better in this respect, and it is something I am contemplating very deeply.

Strengths
What did go well was that integrating writing and project work was effective, allocating marks to each step of the project (sadly the only way to foster timely work) worked well, the classroom environment was a relative success and student rapport was perhaps the best I have ever had. The results of students who made use of the infrastructure I provided were truly stellar, and I hope that it will serve them well, and show their peers what can be done.

Afterthought
Of course there is always the small matter of whether students pass or fail. An attitude I encourage my students to develop is that in life, there is no pass or fail. However, we are accountable for reflecting on our own performance, and of course, we are always confronted with its results. For that reason, I believe I am entitled to a little navelgazing as I plot for the way forward.