You're almost there...you've almost made it. Hopefully you've found your student teaching experience to be an incredibly rewarding one. I'd like you to take some time to reflect on how you've developed over the course of the past several weeks. Please share with us:
1. What about you has changed the most during this experience?
2. What is an area you feel you still have to work on?
3. How are you feeling about the fact that you'll be in charge of your own classroom in the near future?
My student teaching experience has been incredibly rewarding, more so than I ever could have imagined. I have not only learned so much about all the aspects of being a successful teacher, but I have learned a lot about myself as well. I think the most that has changed about me through this experience is just my overall attitude. I do not really view myself as a student anymore. I now feel like I can be part of and contribute to a professional school environment. I feel like I am much better able to connect with students. There are several areas that I will constantly have to be working on. This includes classroom management and finding new and different ways to meet all of my students learning needs.
ReplyDeleteI definitely feel that the school district and building that we were a part of showed us a good representation of a professional school environment. We were provided many opportunities to participate in school-wide activities that prepared us for such programs that we will be required to attend as professionals. I thoroughly enjoyed our school building and district and the people within the school that we were able to work with.
DeleteI agree! I think it's interesting how much our perspectives can change for being on the "teaching side of the fence" for only a few months now. To be viewed as a professional with purposeful involvement within the school setting, it's quite the feeling. It's a combination of pride, achievement, and joy!
DeleteGoing into this experience I had so many expectations of what my student teaching would be like or what I wanted it to be like. Now comparing my views in the beginning to what has happened, it has been completely different than what I was expecting. Yes, student teaching has been hard work and I have been constantly busy, but I learned so much during this time. I have learned so much about myself from teaching and grown immensely because of it. I feel that I have improved upon my lesson planning techniques, but I could still work on my differentiation techniques. I have improved on including higher level questions within my lessons throughout this experience, and feel that I have strengthened this aspect within my teaching. I am very excited and looking forward to having a classroom of my very own. I intend on applying what I have learned throughout this experience to the decisions that I will make in my one day classroom.
ReplyDeleteIt has been such a busy time! Differentiation takes a lot of consideration and planning, and I'm sure you'll continue to make strides in the area.
DeleteI had always seen the student teaching experience as the light at the end of the tunnel for my college experience, but I had no idea what I was getting myself into. My student teaching experience has been incredible and leaving in two weeks will be more bitter than sweet. Through this experience, I have learned that I can handle so much more than even I imagined. Last year in my methods block placement, I struggled with coming up with my own lesson plans, because I thought the ones my co-op gave me to teach were perfect. In student teaching, however, I have been creating all of my own lessons from the very first day. I started the semester spending four days laying out a five-week government unit, because I felt so incredibly clueless. Creating that unit from scratch was one of the best things my cooperating teacher could have done for me, because now everything seems so much simpler in comparison. I created my own unit plan, lesson plans, activities, and assessments. It was a downward slope from there and although I was stressed at the time, I could not be more grateful for it now. I have a much better understanding now of the requirements for each lesson, the curriculum, and aligning everything with the Common Core standards. I still have to work on the integration of lessons across different subjects, because it's easy to get in a habit of math-related content only in math and so on for each subject area. I integrate in small amounts, but I still have a lot of room to improve in that area.
ReplyDeleteAs for having my own classroom in the near future, I am both nervous and excited. I feel much more confident that I will be able to manage a classroom of my own. I do truly enjoy sharing the teaching experience with another teacher though. I will miss the aspect of co-teaching because I find it to be extremely beneficial to have more adults than just me in the classroom so that each student can get the attention that s/he needs. The next chapter will come soon enough I suppose and I am beyond excited to see what the teaching world has in store for me.
I agree, I will miss the comfort of having other adults in the room to bounce ideas of off and what not. Can't believe we are finished this experience!
DeleteGoing into this student teaching experience, I had no idea what to expect! The only thing I really had to go off of was the stories previous student teachers had told me and the student teachers I had when I was in elementary school. I feel like I have grown immensely in this past semester. My views on becoming a teaching have also changed. I always knew that being a teaching was a lot of extra work, but I didn’t realize it was this much, although I wouldn’t have changed any of it for this experience. I feel that I still need to work on making adaptations for students with IEPs. I have had plenty of experience with that this semester, but it is still something that I could improve on because of the in depth work it requires. It is a strange feeling thinking that I will be in charge of my own classroom in the near future. I am still coming to terms with the fact that we are all at a point where graduation is around the corner and we will be applying for jobs and having our own classrooms. I never saw myself as being ready to be in charge of my classroom, but after this experience I feel a little more prepared. It will be very weird not being in a classroom next semester and not seeing my students every day. I will miss seeing them and their growth throughout the year tremendously.
ReplyDeleteIt's great that you had so much experience with the IEPs. That is something I wish I had more of in any of my placements. While some of my students had them, they were not readily available for me to see, nor could I attend the meetings since I was teaching full time.
DeleteStarting student teaching, I knew there would be a lot of work, but I figured, I can write lesson plans, the work won't be terrible. Working through the semester, it's so much more than just whole class lesson plans. I'm now thinking about differentiation, flexible groupings, IEPs, higher-order questioning, assessment techniques, and so much more.
ReplyDeleteI believe I grew most in the area of differentiation. My class had so many different needs, and each lesson needed to be adapted in some way. While I still have a great deal of room to grow in this area, I've come a long way from the beginning.
One area I am still working on is changing strategies in the middle of a lesson. While I don't always stick to my lesson plan, I like to have an idea in mind of what I am doing and follow that sequence. When students aren't getting somthing, it's hard for me to stop and completely start from scratch with something new. This is something I've been trying to focus on throughout the past two weeks.
It's hard to believe the semester is almost over. While it will be nice at first to have a break, I feel like I won't know what to do with myself each day. I'm looking forward to having my own classroom and fully transitioning into the teacher position that I already see myself in now, but it will be a whole new experience being alone in the classroom from the start.
My student teaching experience was in turns challenging, but always incredible. Coming in I had no idea what to expect, and now that my time is almost up I wish that I could go back to the beginning again (but with all the experience I have now!).
ReplyDeleteI don't know how to pick just one area of growth, as I feel that Student Teaching has been nothing but growth and change for me. I've really grown in my ability to run a classroom, as I hadn't had much experience with that in the past. The little things add up- keeping records, daily routines, tracking down homework, contacting parents, etc. It's so tiring! But I will gladly do it everyday because that's part of the job, and I will continue to grow as I have my own classroom.
One area I'm still working on is trusting my gut when it comes to those in-the-moment decisions. My co-op and I both are a little type A and like things done our own way, but early on in the semester I was panicked to make sure I was making the correct choices and it would show. Since then I've made much improvement, but that confidence is something I need to build even further.
I am extremely impatient to get my own classroom. Leaving my class now just seems like such a hassle, I have so much to teach them! I can't view myself as a student anymore, and while a break will be appreciated, but I'm looking forward to the day I have my own classroom.
Knowing that student teaching is so close to being over is very, very bittersweet. I am so looking forward to a nice long break, but don't know what I will do not being with my teacher and kids everyday. Like many of you, I didn't really know what to expect. I had heard the typical horror stories, but thought like Nicolle, I love it and I can write lesson plans. Was I wrong or what? I think the part that was the hardest was being on your A-game the entire day. You could be sick, in a bad mood, or just not really feeling it that day, but you had to have a huge smile on your face. I have never slept so well in my life because I just come home and am mentally and physically exhausted. That being said, I wouldn't have it any other way. I couldn't have asked for a better experience, and this far surpassed any expectations I had. I know these last two weeks are going to fly by, and I am already getting anxious about that last day.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though I have really grown in just better managing things, differentiating students, and just thinking at an overall level. I am able to look at plans for the week and see what things I can incorporate into other lessons in case there is no time, fun activities to get the students more engaged, and ways to support those students needing a little extra. I am able to focus on SO many more things at a time, and I find it entertaining how many conversations I can be involved in at any given moment. I know that even though there isn't a huge academic gap between my students, they all have needs that need to be addressed. I group effectively and am better able to manage. I am still struggling with good old Bloom's Taxonomy, and feel like it is something I am going to be working on for quite some time.
I cannot wait till I have my own classroom and students! I feel like this experience just solidified everything we have all been working for and it's been an amazing one!
I found my student teaching experience extremely rewarding and educational. I formed an amazing bond with my Co-Operating Teacher as well as my students and I have enjoyed each and every day in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that has changed the most with me the most this semester was my confidence. Starting the semester I stepped into the room feeling uncertain that I truly had what it takes to be a teacher. However, I pushed myself to my best and work my hardest and found that, while there were some speed bumps in the road, I was able to perservere and come out feeling more comfortable in the classroom than I have ever felt. I harnessed my inner actress and learned how to be silly, and have fun and put on a show.
An area that I still need to work on is my time management both inside and outside of the classroom. I need to learn how to balance life with school without letting the scales tip more one way than the other. I also need to be more mindful of keeping things moving in the classroom without being too rushed.
I am feeling much more confident and truly excited about the prospect of having my own classroom one day. I feel that I have learned so much about how to work with students and families, differentiate lessons, incorporate technology into the classroom and how to make learning fun and engaging. I can't wait to put all that I have learned into good use.