Reflection
My first placement during student teaching was in a kindergarten classroom. This was an amazing experience and I learned so much about establishing a good classroom environment, maintaining classroom management, and building real relationships with these amazing kids I got to see every day! I really enjoyed teaching my Apples Unit where we dissected an apple to learn about the different parts, discussed which apple was our favorite, and even cooked apple sauce!
Glows and Grows
Some Glows:
1. During this placement, I successfully created and executed a variety of lessons that included interactional and engaging activities. My students loved to sing different songs with me, try a wide range of different art projects, and even tried some cooking with me. 2. One thing that I found pride in during this placement was my ability to create a classroom management system that included an in-class lunch on Fridays. My students were so excited to eat lunch with the teacher and worked hard to keep Sparkle (our class octopus) happy. Some Grows: 1. One thing that I will continue to work on is my ability to establish negative reinforcements with my positive reinforcements. I find it difficult to play the "bad guy" in circumstances even when it can be necessary. I want to improve on this so that my classroom environment will be established and so my students will learn to respect my authority. 2. Another improvement that I wish to work on is my ability to explain directions in very small, simple details. I significantly improved this ability throughout the placement but I know I can do better still. I found that as simple as I explained my directions, some of my students were still confused and required additional help. It is my goal to work on my language so that my directions are easy to comprehend at all levels and so that my students' individual needs are met. |
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