I just finished my first year in the classroom. It was a challenge, but I learned a lot. With the end of the school year approaching, do you have any tips for what should I think about or prepare for next year?
—Rene, South Bend, Indiana
Congratulations for completing your first year! You’ll find the end of the year is as hectic as the beginning, with exams, grades, inventories, and lab clean-up. You’re also looking forward to vacation time, graduate courses, home improvements, a summer job, or some much-needed rest. But while your memory is fresh, take some time now to review, reflect on, and learn from your experiences. Record your thinking in a journal or in your planning files.
As you go back over your class list(s), ask yourself which students seemed to improve through the year. What did you do to encourage this improvement? Did some students regress during the year? What could you do if this happens again? What strategies did you use to connect with your students? Are there any new strategies you would like to try next year? How effective were your classroom management routines and procedures? Did your students seem to enjoy learning?
Consider your course curriculum. Did some units have different results than you anticipated? Should you change the amount of time or emphasis you put on some units? Did you have an effective combination of science content, skills, and processes? Identify any gaps in your own knowledge base that could be supplemented this summer with online courses, readings, websites, or visits to local informal science institutions (museums, zoos, planetariums, etc.). How well were you able to access and use the technologies available in your school? What kinds of interdisciplinary connections did you make?
As you complete final evaluations/grades for students, ask yourself how well the grades reflect student learning. Or did you factor in things not related to course content? How well did your assessments align with the unit goals and lesson objectives? Did you provide opportunities for students to reflect on their own learning (e.g., through a science notebook, rubrics)?
Although some schools do not require detailed written lesson plans, there are advantages of having plans that can be revisited and adapted the following year. Were your lesson plans detailed enough to be adapted for next year, or will you have to recreate them? Based on your assessment data, what instructional strategies should you change (or keep)? How well were your in-class and homework activities aligned to the unit goals and lesson objectives? Did your lab activities help students to develop their inquiry skills?
On a practical note, check with your principal or department chair for any end-of-year checkout procedures. Your classroom may not be secure during the summer months, so stow your lab equipment in locking cabinets or storage rooms. Take valuable or irreplaceable personal belongings home or lock them in a cabinet. Label any large personal items such as a desk chair or stool with your name. If you have personal documents, tests, grades, or other sensitive information on an unsecured hard drive, transfer them to a network drive or transfer them to a flash drive. Some schools allow teachers to take their assigned computer home for the summer, but don’t take any school equipment home without permission.
Update any equipment inventories and note if anything needs to be repaired. Keep your requisition list for next year handy so you can check in the new materials arriving over the summer. Inventory textbooks, if you keep them in your classroom, so you’ll know if you have enough when you get your new class list. If any books need repair, take care of them now. Make sure items such as glassware, cages, aquariums, sinks, or table tops are clean and ready for next year. If you can, turn off the gas and water in your lab.
Based on your reflections, this might also be a good time to formulate your goals for next year. It’s tempting to say, “I’ll think about this in August.” But if you take some time now for thinking, reflecting, and planning, you’ll have more time in the fall for getting your second year off to a good start.