Title: Counselor at UW Stouts STEPS Program

Date: Summer of 2012

Description: The following artifact includes two of my many
reflections as a counselor. The first one I wrote was after my week and
the second is from the last week of my summer as a counselor at
STEPS. STEPS stands for Science Technology and Engineering Preview
Summer camp for girls. At this camp the girls attend classes on
campus and learn about all the opportunities that are open for women
in the engineering field while doing hands-on work creating a boat to
race at the end of camp. I worked as a counselor for four weeks out of
the summer. Each week we would have a set of 40 campers, ages 1213, and I would be in charge of 10 of those girls.
Wisconsin Teacher Standard
I believe this experience best aligns with Standard Nine: Reflection- the
teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the
effects of his or her choices and actions on pupils, parents,
professionals in the learning community and others and who actively
seeks out opportunities to grow professionally.
This artifact best aligns with Standard Nine because during this
experience, I was in charge of 10 different girls every week. At the end
of each week we wrote a reflection on how the week went and what we
could do to improve for the next week. I was very committed to write
down and review what I did every day and how I handled different
situations. In doing this, I was able to see how well certain decisions
work, and those that didnt. In this way I was continually refining my
practices in order to give the best possible experience to each camper
and to each group as a whole. Since this was my first year as a
counselor at STEPS, I received a lot of help with the other more
experienced counselors. We counselors got together every night and
discussed how our days went, and we came up with new ideas on how
to handle things such as home sickness, giving medications, and
dealing with unruly campers. This reflecting, evaluating and discussing
with others really helped me to become a better counselor as the
weeks went on.
I am more competent now in this standard because I learned the value
of reflecting on my work and how that process will allow me to better
both my and the students experience.
UW-Platteville School of Education Knowledge, Skill, and
Disposition Statements

I believe this artifact best aligns with KS4.a: Reflects on Teaching- the
candidate makes an accurate and thoughtful reflection of his/her
teaching effectiveness, is aware of specific elements of his/her
teaching that contributed to successful instructions, and can offer
alternative teacher action to predict the future success of alternate
approaches.
My experience best aligns to this standard because, as I previously
stated, I was very new to the job as a counselor. The best way for me
to improve was to be able to reflect with great detail and accuracy. I
was committed to reflection, assessment, and learning as an ongoing
process throughout the duration of the camp. By doing this, I was able
to see what decisions had or had not worked and change them
accordingly.
I am more competent in this standard because I have personally
experienced the benefits of reflecting and learning about my practices
and myself. This will transfer well into the classroom where reflecting
on lessons, units, and day-to-day interactions with students will help
me continue to improve on my teaching abilities.
Secondary Alignment:
KSD4.b. Maintaining Accurate Records
KSD4.e. Growing and Developing Professionally
What I learned about teaching/learning
I learned the value of reflecting on my experience as a way to improve
myself. Since this was my first time ever being a counselor, I had a lot
of learning to do. I realized that not only are all students different, but
all groups as well. Group dynamic really changed from week to week. I
was able to control and help foster an interest in this camp by
evaluating how I handled certain situations and asking for advice from
those who had gone through this before. This also made me realize
that it is good to provide feedback to the students so they know what
is expected of them in the future. This proved to be very helpful in the
learning process not only for the students, but for me as well.
What I learned about myself as a prospective educator
I learned that I am pretty good at reflecting on the things I may have
not handled so well and changing my practices for the better. This will
really come in handy as an educator. Not every lesson is going to go
smoothly, and if I have the ability to recognize that and change it, it
will make my learning environment all the more helpful and
understandable. I also realized that I am not afraid to ask for help when
I am unsure how to react or deal with certain situations. As an
educator, I know there will be others out there who have a great deal

more experience than I do, and it would be a good idea to get their
feedback on what could be done.

Reflection: Week One

How the week went:
Over all I think my first week went pretty well. I had no idea how taxing
watching over ten girls day and night was going to be. We really have
to keep an eye out for all the girls all the time to make sure they are
doing what they are supposed to. I also had no idea how much
medication I was going to get this week. It was a bit nerve racking for
me making sure all the girls had the right meds at the right time.
Getting the girls names down also proved to be a bit of a challenge at
first. But I played that off well. My girls this week were really quiet. It
was difficult to make them participate in class and the other activities.
My junior counselor this week was really tough. She sat on her phone
more than anything. I wasnt sure how to deal with that. Other than a
few hiccups, my first week went very smoothly.
How can I improve?
I realized that for many of the campers, this is their first time away
from home. I think that I should be more involved in the move in
process and make sure to talk to the parents as well as the campers to
make sure everyone is as comfortable as can be.
At the ropes course I tried not to get involved in many activities,
thinking that the girls would have more fun if the could do more
activities on their own. I dont think I was correct in my thinking here.
When talking to the other counselors and seeing how they get
involved, I realized that the more I do WITH the campers, the more
they will like and respect me. Also, I can see that the more I get
involved, the more outgoing the campers tend to be. I will definitely be
doing more of this, not only at the afternoon events, but in the
classrooms as well.
I did not have too much trouble with homesickness this week at all,
though I saw other counselors having to deal with it a lot. Hearing their
stories, I think I know how I would handle it if ever one of my campers
gets homesick.
In regards to my junior counselor, I think in the following weeks I will
give them more to do. I think if they are more active and participating
with the girls they will be less bored and distant.

Reflection: Week Four

How the week went:
This was by far the greatest week I have had yet! My girls all
participated and were excited to be here. My junior counselor did a
great job helping me with handing out medications and helping the
girls with their boats. I participate in all the events and even taught the
girls how to play some new games. It was really great getting to know
all of them and I think they had a really good time here at camp.
How have I improved over the last four weeks?
There is always room for improvements, and each week I did just that,
improve. I became more active when talking to the parents. I told them
all about the camp and what the campers would be doing during the
week, it really helped put them at ease. This also helped me to get to
know the girls family better and to understand where she was coming
from so I can relate better to her. I became more involved in activities
such as the ropes course, bowling, and even in the classroom. This
helped my girls become more involved and outgoing. I noticed that this
also helped in homesickness. The more I was there helping them, the
less they worried about home. In regards to junior counselors, I think I
improved a lot with them. I gave them more duties and more ways to
help. I also made sure they knew what their roles were so they didnt
overstep their boundaries. This made the experience all the more
enjoyable to the. I also improved greatly when it came to group
dynamics. My second week group was very close knit with each other. I
had to figure out ways to get them to branch out and find friends
among the other groups. Third week was the opposite. My group was
split down the middle into out of control and quiet as can be. It was a
huge challenge trying to bring them together and help us mesh. After
working with my different groups and reflection on how I did with each,
it really made me feel prepared for anything with my last group. And as
I predicted, it was the best week I had so far. I am really looking
forward to doing this again next year and seeing how good I can get at
this!