My teacher has been sick and out of
school three days over the past week. We had two different substitute teachers,
and there was a wide difference in their control over the classroom. One had never
been a substitute teacher (or a classroom teacher) before, and he had no idea how to gain the students' attention. The other had been a classroom/special education teacher, and he was
much more proficient at keeping the classes; attention and attempting to make
the lessons interesting. However, not much work occurred during any of the
classes that the substitute teachers taught.
I’m wondering if it is possible to
have a productive day with a substitute teacher. I realize that the substitutes
are not as knowledgeable about those students and so the class won’t be as
productive as when the teacher is there; but I wonder how much I can expect
students to accomplish when I am the teacher that is gone for the day,
especially when I might not know what level of experience the substitute will
have when they come to my classroom.
It's definitely a less productive day with a substitute, but I do think it is possible to be productive, it just depends on the classroom and the work going on at the time. Being departmentalized helped with this, and when my teacher had a sub (the same one), we were able to continue on with the project we were doing. I think if the teacher is well prepared, activities can be left to keep students working. We had been working on a writing activity and when she was absent we just spent our 90-minute block typing and having individual conferences. I think have one substitute in the classroom for a whole day is a different scenario, but I still think there are ways to balance effective lessons with time-fillers. I saw how important it was to leave clear and detailed notes for the sub to follow, regardless of the sub's level of experience. I certainly don't think we can expect a day with a substitute to a day at a typical level of productivity, but I do think that with good planning and organization, we can still expect students to make progress on certain tasks and lessons.
ReplyDeleteSubstitute days can be a challenge. I think it is key to leave as detailed of plans as possible and prepare for every minute.
ReplyDeleteAnother key to making days with substitutes productive is choosing the right sub! If you have any say over who your sub will be...(1) Choose someone who has been to your school, if not your classroom before. This will prevent miscommunication about school and classroom norms and will make the tough parts like transitions and classroom culture and expectations easier. (2) Choose a parent, tutor, community coach, or someone else who is already a small part of the school community. The more teachers and students that the substitute knows, the more likely the students are to respect their authority as a teacher, not just a substitute who they'll never see again.
ReplyDeleteSubs, as we know from my previous posts, are something I also struggled with this semester. After reflecting on those days I realized some things I would put in my sub plan that my teacher didn't. These things are important and caused a lot of drama that day in my classroom. First, I would define your behavior system and ask for them to use it. Many times students act out when their is a sub, but ensuring that they behavior system is in place will help keep children in line. Next, I would describe how activities should go, not just simply write worksheet. I would describe how I would like her to distribute it and how she should go over it. This will help keep the classroom running as similar to your everyday operations as possible. In addition, I would add extra activities. This will ensure students won't have any down time to get in trouble or create problems. They will be working hard. Also have the sub collect those activities, this way students will feel accountable and will make sure to do their work. Lastly, I would leave a description of the class. I would highlight problem students, and ideal students. I would give them a day-by-day idea of what normally happens, and would highlight any future concerns. This will help the sub identify the types of learners in the classroom. There is no way to make a day completely productive how you would like, with out you being there but I feel these ideas would help. These are things you could write in a sub folder and keep for the entire year that way no matter what comes up the sub will always know what to do.
ReplyDelete