Like many first-time teachers, I walked into the classroom with a clear vision and high hopes for every project. I imagined students would be equally excited about each lesson, inspired by the materials, and immediately invested in the big ideas I had planned (I can hear the veteran teachers laughing here). But reality doesn't always match expectations. Some students were deeply engaged for most projects, while others sometimes seemed unsure or uninspired, especially during my earlier lessons. At first, I took this personally and worried that maybe I hadn’t designed the “right” project. But after reflecting, I realized the issue wasn’t the content, it was ownership.
What the students really needed was more choice. So, I made space for them to personalize their work. Whether that meant choosing the subject of their landscape, reinterpreting a place from memory, or even using colors that had symbolic meaning to them. One student, "Josh", became a perfect example of this shift. He insisted on including a cat in every single artwork, regardless of the theme. At first, I found it frustrating; I felt like it was pulling him off track from the learning objectives. But when I stopped resisting and gave him the space to include his cats as part of his visual storytelling, something changed. It became an overarching motif in his work, something that tied together different lessons, and he became noticeably more focused, invested, and proud of what he created. The shift was subtle, but powerful. Engagement improved across the board, and students started to light up when talking about their work. It reminded me that even the best-designed lessons need to leave room for students to connect on their own terms.
Another major challenge I faced was time management. As a new teacher, estimating how long each step would take students was tricky. Sometimes what I thought would take 15 minutes took 40, and other times, students breezed through a task much faster than expected. The unpredictability made pacing difficult, especially when trying to balance instruction, work time, and reflection. One strategy that helped immensely was building in Extension Challenge Activities. These gave early finishers something meaningful to explore (like creating a second landscape from a new perspective), while I continued supporting those who needed more time. It helped the flow of the classroom feel more balanced and prevented students from feeling rushed or left behind.
Both of these challenges taught me to plan with more flexibility and to think of my role less as a project deliverer and more as a guide. By trusting the students, making room for their voices, and designing with layered entry points, I’ve started to understand how to better support a room full of different learners, each working at their own pace, with their own vision.
