Reflections from Student Teaching
Key discoveries for me during my student teaching include becoming knowledgeable on (1) my self-confidence and readiness to be a full-time teacher, (2) curriculum alignment for school improvement and its significance, (3) accountability of and responsibility for my student’s learning, not my teaching, (4) how to make sense of information through understandings of historical contexts of information, experiences, interpretations, ideas have feedback for testing and revision of those accounts (i.e., using, adapting, customizing), and (5) gaps in achievement or test scores reported 30 years ago remains in debate that results in changing rules for teachers and principals, with minimal effect on increasing learning or test scores.
As I learned more and more, I gained self-confidence and enthusiasm to be a full-time teacher, rather than a substitute as I am now. Since my goal is for my student’s to learn from me, I looked at characteristics of myself that are transparent and unspoken in regard to “what do I bring to the classroom to benefit my student’s learning”. I include my perception of myself in this reflection as findings gave me self-confidence and knowledge that I am ready to be a teacher. I want to teach in Waxahachie where I was a student, now substitute teach, and have family and friends. I am family-oriented, “wonderfully interested-in and nerdy-smart” in Science and Math, well-informed in general, well-educated, caring, respectful, responsible, honest, ethical, hard-working, dependable, and easy-going yet persistent and consistent. Hopefully, I will be a full-time teacher next year. I am excited and looking forward to the opportunity of using information I learned from this past school year as a student teacher and long term substitute. I have an even greater appreciation of educators who share their work, time, and knowledge to support and encourage learning, as I watched and learned from my mentor teacher. In my view from the student’s side of the desk, prior to my student teaching, I lacked the knowledge as to why I learned best with teachers who encouraged me to be responsible for my own learning.
During this time, I gained a true understanding that “learning is behavior after instruction has taken place”. To assess this transfer of learning or knowledge, students must be doing authentic performance-based tasks, and then after it, ask for their perceptions of their performance. Learning how adults use information that they learned in school in real jobs may make their lessons more meaningful. I learned teachers can actively change many activities to connect with what students view as supporting their learning. Teacher awareness of student commitments, study habits, and preferences can impact teaching innovations. Teachers must determine what students need to be able to know and do, then align course activities to support those needs. Students must have the capability to understand information, and have an organized process of information input into their brain for memory, recall, retrieval, use, and transfer of knowledge and skill effectively. Above all, I discovered new self-confidence, feel motivated, knowledgeable, and ready for my classroom of learners.
Key discoveries for me during my student teaching include becoming knowledgeable on (1) my self-confidence and readiness to be a full-time teacher, (2) curriculum alignment for school improvement and its significance, (3) accountability of and responsibility for my student’s learning, not my teaching, (4) how to make sense of information through understandings of historical contexts of information, experiences, interpretations, ideas have feedback for testing and revision of those accounts (i.e., using, adapting, customizing), and (5) gaps in achievement or test scores reported 30 years ago remains in debate that results in changing rules for teachers and principals, with minimal effect on increasing learning or test scores.
As I learned more and more, I gained self-confidence and enthusiasm to be a full-time teacher, rather than a substitute as I am now. Since my goal is for my student’s to learn from me, I looked at characteristics of myself that are transparent and unspoken in regard to “what do I bring to the classroom to benefit my student’s learning”. I include my perception of myself in this reflection as findings gave me self-confidence and knowledge that I am ready to be a teacher. I want to teach in Waxahachie where I was a student, now substitute teach, and have family and friends. I am family-oriented, “wonderfully interested-in and nerdy-smart” in Science and Math, well-informed in general, well-educated, caring, respectful, responsible, honest, ethical, hard-working, dependable, and easy-going yet persistent and consistent. Hopefully, I will be a full-time teacher next year. I am excited and looking forward to the opportunity of using information I learned from this past school year as a student teacher and long term substitute. I have an even greater appreciation of educators who share their work, time, and knowledge to support and encourage learning, as I watched and learned from my mentor teacher. In my view from the student’s side of the desk, prior to my student teaching, I lacked the knowledge as to why I learned best with teachers who encouraged me to be responsible for my own learning.
During this time, I gained a true understanding that “learning is behavior after instruction has taken place”. To assess this transfer of learning or knowledge, students must be doing authentic performance-based tasks, and then after it, ask for their perceptions of their performance. Learning how adults use information that they learned in school in real jobs may make their lessons more meaningful. I learned teachers can actively change many activities to connect with what students view as supporting their learning. Teacher awareness of student commitments, study habits, and preferences can impact teaching innovations. Teachers must determine what students need to be able to know and do, then align course activities to support those needs. Students must have the capability to understand information, and have an organized process of information input into their brain for memory, recall, retrieval, use, and transfer of knowledge and skill effectively. Above all, I discovered new self-confidence, feel motivated, knowledgeable, and ready for my classroom of learners.