Reflections

Reflection: 11/6/17
1. I didn’t really get a chance to interact with the students today, but I got to interact with
my teacher. I thought that this went well. He was able to explain to me his philosophy
on teaching, and I was able to gain deeper knowledge of who he is as a teacher. He was
also able to show me why he loves the curriculum, and somewhat how to use it. ( 1a)
2. I thought another thing that went well was my observation of how the teacher taught
the students. He asked who got the wrong answer, and then asked if they were willing
to share what they did wrong. He didn’t do this to embarrass them, but rather then to
tell them that mistakes is how we learn. (2a)
3. I thought a third thing that went well was that he showed a video and had a green paper
that said Growth Mindset. As they were watching the video, they only watched a short
clip today, they would right down whatever they learned. They would take notes
however they wanted as long as they were learning. (2b)
4. I think that I could improve on breaking out of my shell and interacting with the teacher
and students more. I am a special education major and I feel slightly uncomfortable in a
big group setting. I think that this is good experience and I want to be able to learn to
not be so nervous.
5. My teacher has a seating chart that groups children together in groups of four. As I was
talking to him he called them teams rather than groups. I think that this improves
student’s abilities because they are able to collaborate and learn from each other. I
don’t know the classroom very well yet, and so I am unsure of what I would do
differently.

Reflection 11/7/17

1. I think one thing that went well today was my introduction of myself. I went through a
couples of pictures and things about myself. Before I did this I had a good half hour and I
looked at the seating chart and tried to start learning children’s names. When I asked for
questions I was able to call on most of them by name and they loved it. (1b)
2. I think another thing that went well was when we were in flex hour. We had some
children that weren’t doing so well in math. Their curriculum is different’ than I’ve ever
seen. I went and tried to answer someone’s question and communicate with them. (3b)
3. I think another thing that went well was my overall experience there and how I was able
to get to know the students. We all felt a lot more comfortable after my introduction
and I was able to be more of myself after that. There was also this boy who was quiet
the majority of the time, but then started to joke with me and talk with me. (2a)
4. I think that I can improve by when a certain boy in my class raises his hand not being
afraid to answer. This boy has some interesting comments sometimes and they are
awkward, or he keeps asking why. When doing my introduction he said some interesting
 things to my mentor teacher, and then raised his hand for a question. I feel like I do
know how to handle this but I’m still a little nervous.
5. I think a great thing and important thing that is good is pacing of the curriculum. My
mentor teacher does a great thing where he gives the students two days to do
homework. He does this because he wants the work to be done right and have them
learn rather than rushing through the curriculum. He feels that if we push and push
students than they’re just doing it because we want them to, not because they want to.

11/8/17

1. I think one thing that went well was that there was someone struggling with the content
and I showed her a different way to do something. We don’t all learn the same way and
I think she just needed a different way to do the problem. This helped me build a
different instruction for a diverse learner. (1c)
2. Another thing that I thought went well was I talked with this boy and he started a
conversation with me instead of the other way around. I thought that this went well
because I was able to build up my relationship with him. I know that he feels
comfortable with me and visa versa. (2a)
3. While in the classroom I noticed that there is a lot of student participation which went
well. This is part of the 3rd domain of instruction. I thought this spoke to the level of how
well the student and the teacher know each other. They feel comfortable answering
questions. ( 3b)
4. I think that something I can improve on is being more forward and putting myself out
there more. I do want this to be a good experience but sometimes I am shy. I have come
out of my shell a lot I just need to keep pushing myself.
5. I think a great thing my mentor teacher uses is his activities and assignments. I’m not
sure if everyone in the school uses this curriculum, but he uses it well. The assignments
are very different but they help the children learn better. I have seen how easily they
can get certain topics and I think that’s great.

11/9/17

1. I got put into a new class today, and I thought what went well was I was able to
communicate with some of the students. I was able to help a couple shy students with
their homework. I think as we worked on the homework they opened up more to me.
(2a)
2. I think another thing that went well was my teacher put me to work. Even though I was
only observing today she gave me time to observe, then let me help out. I like this
because whenever I go in a new classroom I’m always unsure of what to do. (2c)
3. I think another thing that went well was the teacher responded to the students very
well. I think that when I was asked questions I also responded. The students felt
comfortable in that classroom and you could tell. (2a)
 4. I think something that I can improve on is my confidence that I have in myself. I always
get nervous going into a new classroom, but I always end up having a good time. I need
to remember it’s ok to be nervous but to push through it the best I can.
5. I think a great thing that my teacher uses in her classroom is iPad, and kahoot. They use
IPad at the beginning of each lesson to do some math review. I think this is great
because she is implementing technology but not overloading them.

11/13/17

1. I think one thing that went well today was my introduction. The class is a little bit rowdy
but for the most part they were quiet during my presentation. I would say that this is a
good thing, and a success on my part. (3a)
2. I think another thing that went well was Mrs. Carpenter asked me to help keep some of
the students on task. They were trying to make me laugh and be funny but I was able to
keep them on task. They weren’t a big fan at first and tried to test me, but I think it
ended up good. (2d)
3. I think another thing that went well was on my way home I was able to review why I
liked and disliked about different aspects of different classrooms. I’ve realized that I’m
laid back, but I do not want to talk over students. I feel that if the students want me to
respect them then they should do the same. (4a)
4. I think something I can improve on is when I see something that the students shouldn’t
be doing, stopping it. I get nervous because I don’t know what consequence to give, but
I think if I am firm with them they will understand. I think this is one of my biggest
weaknesses.
5. I think a great resource my teacher uses are tiles to learn how to solve bigger equations.
At first I didn’t understand it because it’s not the way I learned it. After a while I
understood it and it’s a lot simpler then the way we used to learn it. I think since it was
hands-on and technology based they paid a little bit more attention, and were less able
to mess around then with actual tiles. I think one thing I would do differently is setting
more attention getters.

11/14/17

1. I think one thing that went well today was my brain break. It’s called fast find and I call
out a color, or object, or shape and they have to find something in the room with that
characteristics. I was able to engage them in learning and test them on what shapes
they already know. (3c)
2. I think another thing that went well was I was able to put my foot down and follow up
with my consequences. Some of the students were inappropriately using the Ipad. I told
them if they didn’t stop then I would take it away, and then I did. ( 2c)
3. I think another thing that went well was I was able to help a student try and understand
the math. He was struggling with some certain concepts, and I tried to scaffold with him.
 I helped him with a problem, and explained it, then I had him do a couple by himself
once I felt like he knew. ( 1c)
4. One thing that I feel I can do better is learning the math material better. I haven’t taken
math in a while and so I have forgotten a lot of what these students are learning. This
makes it hard to explain to them how to do it if I have to figure it out first.
5. I think a good thing that goes on in my class is the way that my teacher groups the
students. Before today she had them in groups of four but they were talking and
weren’t paying attention. Today they walked in and she rearranged them into rows
somewhat away from their friends.

11/15/17

1. I think one thing that went well was that I was able to ask my teacher for help. I haven’t
taken this type of math class in a while. I have forgotten a lot of the material and how to
do it, but I asked so I could help other students. (4e)
2. I think another thing that went well today was that a student was struggling with her
work, and wasn’t quite understanding it. I helped her and asked questions as I was
showing her a problem. I then had her work with me on the next problem, and on the
third problem I had her try it by herself. After this she understood it better, and had
more pride in her work. (2b)
3. I think another thing that I did well today was monitoring a child and his learning. The
teacher was instructing and the child was playing on an Ipad. I knelt down next to him
and asked him if he needed to write it down he said no. I told him as long as he felt
comfortable without the information that was his choice. (3d)
4. I think one thing I can improve on is getting out of my comfort zone. I am very shy and
have some anxiety being around people that I don’t know. I don’t want to shy away
from it because of this though. This is part of being a teacher so I need to do it.
5. I think a good think that my teacher does is the tools she uses for her students. She uses
notecards and has information that the students need to know. It doesn’t give them
answer, but they were able to have them on their final.

11/16/17

1. I think one thing that went well was I talked to my mentor teacher. I looked at the
student’s IEP and figured out what they have a hard time with. I was able to figure out a
little bit more about the students (2a)
2. As I was talking to my teacher we will able to collaborate and figure out different ways
to teach the children. I told her that I wasn’t sure but I would do my best to practice and
remember. I think this was good because I mentioned I wasn’t sure but I took initiative
to learn the material again. (2b)
3. I think another thing that went well is that I was able to talk to my students more, and I
think seem less strict. I don’t mean to be strict it just comes out that way. I tried to
loosen up more today and I think they noticed. ( 2a)
 4. I think one thing I can improve on is initiating conversation with the students. I think this
could also make me seem less scary and less strict. As I tried today I noticed that they
seemed more open to me.
5. I think a good thing that my teacher and I are going to use is tools. We are going to use a
flipchart or a foldable to help them learn equation of the line. They are struggling with
this subject and materials, and we want to see if this will help.

11/27/17

1. One thing that went well today was that my teacher and I collaborated for my lesson
this Thursday, and next Tuesday. We talked about what would be best for the students,
and what method they would learn better with. They are trying to understand slope
intercept form. ( 1c)
2. Another thing that my teacher and I thought would be a good resource would be a
foldable with information about slope intercept form. This can be used as a tool for the
students to refer back to. I think that this is a good hands-on tool. (1e)
3. Another thing that I thought went well was I had the opportunity to use close proximity
to get some of the students to focus on their work. There are a lot of students who get
off task easily. I was able to stand in-between some of them so they were able to focus
and not talk as much. (2d)
4. I think one thing I can work on is getting to know my student personal lives better.
Sometimes I don’t know how to relate to students of this age and so I get nervous about
talking to them. I am able to talk to the quitter students a little better than some of the
louder students.
5. A good resource that my teacher used today in class was a video of slope intercept
form. She knew the students weren’t getting it that well, or picking up on it. She found a
video over the break and was able to show this to the students.

11/28/17

1. I think one thing that went well today was I was able to help a student figure out a
problem. She was frustrated because she didn’t understand each step. I was able to help
her slowly go through each step and at the end she said, “Ahhh, Now I get it!” ( 2b)
2. I think another thing that went well was able to deal with misbehavior. These two boys
were goofing off during the lesson and weren’t paying attention. I was able to give them
a consequence but did not need to follow through. ( 2d)
3. I think another thing that went well today was able to talk to and joke with some
students I haven’t talked to before. I thought that this went well because it really
brought me out of my shell. I think that they kind of realize I wasn’t as harsh as I come
off. (2a)
4. I think one thing I can work on is still breaking out with those students that have
stronger personalities. I think that I feel intimidated by them because they really good
make me or break me as a teacher. Other’s will take me seriously if they do.
 5. I noticed the pacing in my classroom today. My teacher was talking over some students
and then they didn’t understand the lesson. I would slow down my pacing so that I
wasn’t just showing the students how to do every problem, or giving them the answers
before they’re ready.

11/30/17

1. I think one thing that went really well today was my foldable that I brought to do with
my students. I wasn’t sure how they were going to react because they are a couple
grades older than those I usually use it with. All but one was engaged and loved it. (3c)
2. I think another thing that went well today was I was able to teach a couple students
some different methods to remember the distributive property. I used scaffolding in
order to help them. The first problem I walked through it with them and by the end they
could do it by themselves. (3d)
3. One last thing I think went well was I was able to talk to some more popular students
that somewhat make me nervous. I asked them questions about their lives. I think they
really enjoyed talking about their lives. (2a)
4. One thing that I think I can work on is classroom management. I think that I know the
methods for this but I don’t want to overstep the teacher. I think she would be ok and
grateful to know about these methods, but it still makes me a bit nervous.
5. I thought one thing that went well today was the foldable activity. They are going to be
able to use it as tool and their test. These students always want to know the why to
everything they do.

12/4/17

1. I think one thing that went well today was that I was able to help a student that didn’t
like me at first. I was worried when my mentor teacher asked me to work with him, but
it turned out ok. He listened to me and picked it up quickly and was kind. (2a)
2. Another thing that went well today was I was able to help out a student and work him
through a problem he was having. He was having trouble figuring what he was doing
wrong in his problem. Instead of telling him or showing him how to do it I asked him the
steps to do the problem. He then was able to figure out for himself what he needed to
do. (4b)
3. I think another thing that went well today, that I’ve been working on for a couple of
days, was that I was able to put a plan into action for the “class clown.” This student is
always up, walking around, and distracting others with his comments. I’ve noticed that if
no one responds or looks at him he’ll focus on his work. (2d)
4. I think one thing I can work on is using an attention getter in my lessons. I think that I
can model this for my mentor teacher and my students. I want to do one that they think
is cool but not make them feel like their little kids.
5. I thought one thing that went well today was the teacher pacing for her students. That is
one thing I really admire about Mrs. Carpenter is that she gives her students as much
 time as she can. She allowed her students to finish up their quizzes and assignments
today.
12/5/17

1. I think one thing that went well today was I was able to set my expectations for my
lesson. I told them that I expected them to write the information down and if they
didn’t want to listen that’s fine, but this will be on the test. I think this is good because it
gives them a choice. (3a)
2. I think another thing that went well today was I was able to follow through with my
punishment. I told a student if he kept talking with his friends I would move him. He
continued talking and I moved him. (2d)
3. I think one last thing that went well was I asked the students questions about their lives.
I asked them what they liked about math, and tried to get to know them. I thought this
was good because they can open up and tell me what they like and dislike about math.
(2a)
4. I think one thing I can work on is listening and watching for behaviors around me during
my lesson or while the students are working. I get so focused on my lesson that
sometimes I forget to look for these things. I also feel a little bit overwhelmed
sometimes from everything I have to do.
5. I think that one thing that went well today was the pacing of today’s lesson. I think this
is one thing I’ve struggled with. I was able to listen and look instead of rushing through
my lesson.

12/6/17

1. One thing that went well today was I learned more about a pre-test that the students
do. This test includes information that could be on the ISAT. This test is to see where the
students are at before the ISAT.(1e)
2. Another thing that went well today was I was able to supervise a student who raised his
hand for help. This student, I know, can do things on his own but needs reassurance. He
did it all by himself and I just watched him. ( 3e)
3. One last thing that went well today was I was able to individually teach a student who
got lost in the content. Instead of beginning at the beginning I asked him where he got
confused. He told me and after that we started it off and I asked him questions instead
of telling him. (2b)
4. One thing that I think I can do better is taking initiative and using consequences. I have
trouble of thinking of good consequences that fit with the crime especially when it’s
another teacher classroom. I think in my next practicum I should ask the teacher in one
of the first few days what to do.
5. I think one thing that benefitted the children today was the way the groups were
formed. Although they were talkative they do benefit from learning from each other.
One thing that I would do differently would be to not put everyone by their friends.
12/7/16

1. My last day went really well, and has been on of the best so far. There’s this girl who
doesn’t have many friends and while they were taking a test on the computer she was
by herself. I kept coming and checking on her and she verbally expressed her
thankfulness to me for doing this. (4f)
2. Another thing that went well today was I was able to encourage a more shy student to
participate in his group. He was not wanting to do it because he said he wasn’t good at
math and didn’t know how. I said that he could do it and gave him positive
reinforcement and he did it. (3b)
3. The last thing that went well today was I was able to interact more with my students. I
was able to joke around with everyone, and laugh. A lot of them said they wished that I
was their regular teacher and they didn’t want me to leave. (2a)
4. One thing that I think I can work on is taking initiative when I get into my practicums. I
take a while to warm up to people and get comfortable enough to bring my true-self
out. I want to be my best self from the first second I walk into every classroom I go into
and not be shy.
5. One thing that I think that helped with today’s activities is that the students did a
practice ISAT. This helped my mentor teacher show what she needs to focus on more
for her students. They were able to try their best without being worried about a grade.