The first week of classes is finished. All the students are registered, the books are in students' hands, course expectations have been passed out, and homework has begun. Very little actual teaching occurred until Wednesday, after all the administrative items were finished.
The students are quickly adjusting to my teaching style, as I also attempt to adjust to their learning styles. With so many students in each class (remember, I'm from a much smaller school system) there are many more learning differences amongst them. It's been enjoyable to get to know each one of the students and discover how they think about math. Some are more visual, so I've found that drawing them a picture of what is happening seems to work best. Others have highly developed abstract thinking skills, and for them, equations and symbols are easier to understand. Still others need to be told orally how to proceed with a given problem. I have been attempting to incorporate all of these styles of teaching into my lessons every day, and I will continue to work on that as the year progresses.
Some of the students are still registering and withdrawing from classes to make their schedules work, so my rosters keep changing. It can be frustrating at times, but then I remember that these students need to have the classes required for them in order to graduate, and it's certainly best to fix the mistakes now. I still have a few empty desks in my largest class, so I can't really complain at all. I'm looking forward to another week, after a rather surprising (but appreciated) three-day weekend.
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