Week 1 of Student Teaching
Oh my goodness, I can't believe it's already time for student teaching! I never thought this day would come, however when I reflect back on this week and how far I've come in my journey and how much I have learned throughout my whole teaching experience here at GWU I realize how happy I am that I chose this career path. This past week was the first week of student teaching after a much needed Christmas break. The first week went by really fast being only a 4 day week, but I enjoyed every second of it.
Overall, I give this week a 5 out of 5 (Great Week), I assisted my CE with her lessons throughout the week. She would randomly ask me to grade things, pass out papers, help students work out problems, and even walk them to lunch. This really surprised me, but I am also relieved that she is trusting me more and gradually letting me take responsibility for things in the classroom. While I was helping the students solve some of the problems that they had, afterwards I would reflect on how I explained the steps to take to solve the problems (Standard 5), however I came to the conclusion that I need to be more confident in myself and my answers to my students. Next week I will be taking over teaching my 2nd Block, and I am really looking forward to it. My goal next week is to trust my instincts, and be so confident in myself and my knowledge of the content.
My short-term goal for next week is to have all my materials ready and lesson plans for the next week by Wednesday, having to run around everywhere trying to get everything ready for the next week is very stressful and doesn't teach me good organization skills. My long term goal for this semester is to be more organized, proactive, and to not waste time. My steps to make these goals happen are to 1)make a To-Do list and complete it ahead of time 2) and be more proactive and intentional in my observations. I will be more intentional by taking notes and paying more attention during my observation.
For Standard 1, demonstrated leadership in the classroom by taking initiative and helping out the students with the problems that they need help understanding and helping my CE come up with different ideas to incorporate in the next lesson without being asked. For Standard 2, to establish a respectful environment I like to talk to each student in a respectful manner because if I talk to them that way then they know that I expect to receive the same. Regardless, I want them to feel comfortable and safe when they enter my classroom. For Standard 3, I wasn't able to teach any classes this week but I was able to look at the Standards and apply them to the lessons that I'm going to teach next week. For Standard 4, as I was writing my lesson plans and I tried my best to plan instruction that is appropriate to my students and the learning level that they are on but also push them to exceed the expectations that they have for themselves. Lastly, for Standard 5, after each day of observation I reflect on what had happened in the classroom and see what I went good, what went bad, and how can I improve.
For my portfolio I have started talking to my CE about a behavioral plan for a couple of our students and developed an idea that will best benefit them.
So far my CE does not need any support but is she ever does I will let my clinical supervisor know ASAP. The questions that I had for Dr. Parker this week have already been confronted and clarified. I am excited to start teaching the students that I have and never lose sight of why I went into this profession...to enrich the life of kids!
Hope everyone has a great week!
Overall, I give this week a 5 out of 5 (Great Week), I assisted my CE with her lessons throughout the week. She would randomly ask me to grade things, pass out papers, help students work out problems, and even walk them to lunch. This really surprised me, but I am also relieved that she is trusting me more and gradually letting me take responsibility for things in the classroom. While I was helping the students solve some of the problems that they had, afterwards I would reflect on how I explained the steps to take to solve the problems (Standard 5), however I came to the conclusion that I need to be more confident in myself and my answers to my students. Next week I will be taking over teaching my 2nd Block, and I am really looking forward to it. My goal next week is to trust my instincts, and be so confident in myself and my knowledge of the content.
My short-term goal for next week is to have all my materials ready and lesson plans for the next week by Wednesday, having to run around everywhere trying to get everything ready for the next week is very stressful and doesn't teach me good organization skills. My long term goal for this semester is to be more organized, proactive, and to not waste time. My steps to make these goals happen are to 1)make a To-Do list and complete it ahead of time 2) and be more proactive and intentional in my observations. I will be more intentional by taking notes and paying more attention during my observation.
For Standard 1, demonstrated leadership in the classroom by taking initiative and helping out the students with the problems that they need help understanding and helping my CE come up with different ideas to incorporate in the next lesson without being asked. For Standard 2, to establish a respectful environment I like to talk to each student in a respectful manner because if I talk to them that way then they know that I expect to receive the same. Regardless, I want them to feel comfortable and safe when they enter my classroom. For Standard 3, I wasn't able to teach any classes this week but I was able to look at the Standards and apply them to the lessons that I'm going to teach next week. For Standard 4, as I was writing my lesson plans and I tried my best to plan instruction that is appropriate to my students and the learning level that they are on but also push them to exceed the expectations that they have for themselves. Lastly, for Standard 5, after each day of observation I reflect on what had happened in the classroom and see what I went good, what went bad, and how can I improve.
For my portfolio I have started talking to my CE about a behavioral plan for a couple of our students and developed an idea that will best benefit them.
So far my CE does not need any support but is she ever does I will let my clinical supervisor know ASAP. The questions that I had for Dr. Parker this week have already been confronted and clarified. I am excited to start teaching the students that I have and never lose sight of why I went into this profession...to enrich the life of kids!
Hope everyone has a great week!
Alana, I'm so glad you had a great first week! It really is so exciting to finally be at this milestone in our college careers! Your goals for next week sound like great ideas! Yes, always trust yourself and be confident. You have been preparing for this for 4(ish) years. You got this!
ReplyDeleteThat's right - keep your goal in mind! I am proud of your efforts to be intentional to be planned in advanced so you can anticipate as much as you can, plan for it, and be more effective in your instruction.
ReplyDelete