My first year of teaching had its ups and downs, but I’m looking forward to next year. As the school year ends, do you have any suggestions for how I can prepare for next year? I’ll be teaching the same subjects in the same lab.
—Monica, South Carolina.
Congratulations for completing your first year, and for having a job next year! You’ll find the end of the year is as hectic as the beginning, with final exams, grades and other reports, inventory updates, and clean-up. You also may be looking forward to graduate courses, home improvements, a summer job, family time, or some much-needed R&R. But the end of the school year is a good time to review, reflect on, and learn from your experiences while your memory is fresh and plan for next year
You probably had some great lessons, as well as a few that went over like a lead balloon, and you can learn from both kinds. What made them successful? What did you do when things didn’t go as planned? How effective were your classroom management routines and procedures? Did your students seem to enjoy learning science? Did you enjoy teaching and learning with them? How did you deal with disruptive students? What were your interactions with parents like? Are there any strategies you would like to add to your repertoire, in terms of instruction, classroom management, or communications?

Consider your course curriculum. Were you surprised by any misconceptions or lack of experience your students had? 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? Do you have 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. 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, or will you have to recreate them? Based on your assessment data, what instructional strategies should you change (or keep)? How well were your assignments and projects 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 keep your lab equipment and technology in locked cabinets or store rooms. Take valuable or irreplaceable personal belongings home or lock them in a cabinet. Label any large personal items you brought in, such as a desk chair or stool, with your name in case they wander off over the break. If you have personal documents, tests, grades, or other sensitive information on an unsecured hard drive, transfer them to a network drive or to a flash drive. Some schools allow teachers to take their school-assigned computer home for the summer, but don’t take any school equipment home without permission.
Update equipment inventories and note if anything needs to be repaired or replaced. Keep your requisition list for next year handy so you can check in the new materials. If any textbooks are in need of repair, take care of them now. Make sure items such as glassware, cages, aquariums, sinks, or tabletops are clean and ready for next year.
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, organizing, and planning, you’ll have more time in the fall to get your second year off to a good start.