I was a little confused when I began this assignment and decidedly, I didn't do my annotation exactly like Dr. Anderson suggested it be done, so I hope you can decipher my ideas and thoughts. In this post, I hope to clarify and illuminate a bit more in depth. Please note that the green arrows indicate a realization about my practice, and red are to show emotions or feelings.
Initially I noticed how much I was talking about being "rushed" and running out of time. It occurred to me this is a recurring theme in my work and would do me a service if I would spend more time in planning ways of not over-planning. Little of the time I use to write or amend lesson plans, is spent thinking about time management. I really didn't think about this before reading my notes.
Another "noticing" was how I had overlooked bias in my practice. I realized that I often think boys are more physical in their work and acknowledge that this is biased thinking. It will help me concentrate on viewing work in a gender neutral way.
I also am now more aware of what scaffolding I need to provide. Why did I think that kindergartners would be able to stand their letters up on end in a 3D way? These are students who are just learning to write and therefore, the way they think about letters is flat on the page, and that is developmentally appropriate. If I want them to start thinking in levels, that is when I should begin to introduce the idea of making the letters stand up like sculptures.
In addition to aha moments about how to adapt my curriculum was that of how to reflect on my work. I do think that I will need to find ways of recording those observations and one of the ways that might work, was gleaned from my orthopedic surgeon. At the end of my appointments with him, he concludes by recording his thoughts and observations in front of me and checks with me to be certain he is typifying what I am actually experiencing, which has been quite empowering. How could I use and adapt this method?
Much to think about, worry about, ruminate over and rethink as a result of this assignment. Thanks Dr. Anderson!