Student Teaching Experience Reflection

The experience that I have had during my student teaching is

one that I will never forget. I had the pleasure of student teaching
while learning from Victoria Jordan during Spring of 2016. Throughout
the semester, I had the opportunity to understand the type of teacher
that I am and how I will run my classroom.
I taught six different periods of 7th grade science on a block
schedule during this semester. I also assisted with the 7th grade AVID
class, an advisory section, as well as a crafts course. I was able to
become the lead teacher for the majority of this semester, with
assistance from Vicky Jordan. I had an incredible experience this
semester, and learned a great deal. I made immediate connections
with the students, and they accepted me as their teacher from the
start. Throughout the semester, my skills in planning and organization
improved tremendously. I focused on building standards, objectives,
and a variety of learning styles and activities into every lesson. Inquiry
learning was a major piece of the lessons that I planned, and I tried to
implement active participation through labs, cooperative learning
activities, guided learning, and student projects. I believe that a
classroom should be built around student-centered learning and active
engagement.
A major take-away that I received from this semester is the
importance of setting clear expectations for each piece of a lesson.
This allows for students to understand what they need to accomplish,
both academically and behaviorally. Classroom management relies on
having a solid lesson plan in place that will engage and excite
students, while relating back to their life. It is essential to reference
why students should care about what they are being taught and make
the learning relevant to their lives. Also, systems should be set in place
to lessen the chaos that comes from having up to 30 students in a
classroom. One system that I will take on in my career to aide in
classroom management is that of having an interactive notebook that
is kept in the classroom. This will allow students to have a designated
place to keep each activity that is completed, and provide them with a
record of the all of the learning that occurs throughout that class.
I believe that the most important piece of teaching is building
relationships with students. Every student should feel safe and
welcome in my classroom. If I have learning anything about
relationships through my time, it is that you never know what is going
on in another persons life. That is why it is essential to treat others

with respect and demonstrate compassion. Students should have the

chance to share their ideas and engage in collaboration on a regular
basis, and become comfortable in expressing their thoughts with
others. When focusing on relationships with students, it is also
important to realize that each individual student is different. Every one
of them has their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as interests
and passions. I hope to demonstrate to my students that I care about
each of them, and I will strive to inspire students to succeed and
pursue their interests. Each student can succeed, and I will be there to
help them in the process.
Now that I have completed my student teaching experience,
there are a few things that I would do differently. I would have
incorporated more of my own ideas in the beginning of the semester,
in order to try new things and see how they work out. I did this more
often later in the semester, but I was more timid in the beginning.
Another thing that I would have done differently as a student teacher is
to engage in more opportunities that came along. I went to several
student activities, such as wrestling matches and basketball games,
but there is much more of Wellington that I did not partake in. I have
now realized that it is important to take the opportunities that come
along in order to get the most out of each experience. Besides these,
there are skills that I would have liked to utilize and incorporate into
my teaching more often than I did. One of these would be that of
ensuring that students demonstrate deeper level thinking by using
effective questioning. It is my goal to continually work on
implementing this into my lessons in order for students to take charge
of their learning and build their own understanding in the process.
My student teaching experience was greater and more
meaningful than I could have imagined. I learned so much about
myself, as well as the professional that I am pursuing. I gained
confidence in my skills as a teacher, and this semester made me even
more determined to become a teacher. I know that I will always have
more to learn and I will push myself to improve throughout my entire
career. As I graduate, my hope is to become a science teacher in
Poudre School District. Over this last semester, I have fallen in love
with teaching the middle school age. I am excited to continue on in this
career and continue to make a difference in the lives of my students.