Tws Reflection and Critique

Reflection and Critique:

What did teaching in general do for you? What are you discovering about
your style in front of students? Your choice of instructional methodology
for your lessons? Your instructional planning and delivery? Your style with
different types of lessons?
Going into this semester, I was more nervous than usual, for I was
venturing into unfamiliar territory. High school was something I wanted to
steer clear of, mainly because of my age, and not having a very good grasp
on classroom management. I had no idea how to earn their respect while
still being a fun teacher who builds relationships with their students. By
teaching various lessons to both my 10th grade Pre-AP World Lit class and my
11th grade American Lit class I got a better feel for not only how to interact
with the students but also how to explain and prepare lessons for them. From
these experiences I discovered a lot about my teaching style including
strategies and techniques that I have added to and improved. For example, I
love having dialogue with my students, but I learned that in order to have
more in-depth discussion requires students to do warm-up activities and
prewriting. I really like being personable and flexible in my style in front of
students because they seem to be more responsive to my lessons and
instructions. In fact, one of the best teaching experiences I had ever had
was when my cooperating teacher was gone. I was able to be more of
myself in front of the students for an entire 90-minute class period, and the
results surpassed my expectations. The students were so well behaved and
put effort into the assignment I gave them because I was clear in my
directions and personable with my responses. I believe it was because of
these types of interactions, flexibility, and confidence that my students
behaved so well and really put the time and effort in for me.
I can also attribute to the fact that the amount of time and effort I put
into creating and composing a lesson, appeared to correlate with the
effectiveness of my delivery and the students receptiveness. The more
physical time I put in devising a lesson the smoother, and more efficient it

typically went. Over the course of my practicum, I observed and learned

that it helps to have some notes on your lecture if you dont have a
presentation displayed. Even if it was just a sticky note, I was able to
remember all of the questions I wanted to ask the class, as well as the order I
wanted to talk about things in. I used to think this was an amateur strategy
because I didnt want to be teaching and lecturing off of a note card, or come
across as unprofessional. But having something to reference, especially
when youre teaching multiple courses, and sometimes with 90 minutes of
material cover, you need a cheat sheet! By doing this youre doing yourself,
your lesson, and your students a favor.
My lesson style varies with different types of topics and concepts, but
overall I try to incorporate peer collaboration whenever there is an
opportunity. I love collaborative-based classrooms because I feel like there is
a lot we can all learn from one another, therefore, I try to make most of my
lessons discussion based. Whether its just sharing with a partner, writing
blog entries, or having Socratic Seminars, almost any lesson can be
collaborative-based. It is my philosophy that each and every student has a
voice and experiences that needs to be shared with the rest of the world
because they are important and mean something. I want my students to see
and know that everyday when they walk into my class that theyre voice
matters, and I want them to be able to use it beyond my classroom.
What have you learned about yourself over this semester? Include
thoughts about your philosophy, your personal and professional goals,
and your evolving belief about students, classroom management,
planning and assessment?
This semester held some of the most beneficial learning experiences
aiding to my education career. I learned that I need to be very specific in my
directions and instruction, because high school students wont do anything
unless you explicitly tell them. For example, I was giving a lecture and I
wanted the students to take note, but I did not explicitly tell them to take
notes, so naturally they just starred at me for half of the lecture until I finally
told them to take out a piece of paper and to write down what I was saying.
It was a wrong assumption on my part that they would just naturally start
taking notes if I didnt actually tell them to do so, because not all of their
teachers have them take notes, nor do they have to take notes on everything
thats put on the board. I also learned that I need to deliver all of my
instructions regarding an assignment or activity before I release them.
Once I released them I would try to catch and bring them back for
instruction, but this just lead to mass chaos because no one listened once I
moved them. All of these were crucial techniques to learn because they can
lead to mistakes that can cost you your entire lesson or assignment, if
students do not know what theyre doing.
I learned that my teaching philosophy of creating a collaborative-based
space is a reality for most English Language Arts instructors, but you have to
first cultivate the climate amongst you and your students before you can
effectively have that. Some classes might be more talkative than others, but
it is my job as their instructor to help create that by working on building
relationships. Its human nature that we only want to share things and
interact with people whom we know really well, and feel the most
comfortable with. Which is why that is one of my main goals for my
classroom. This is both a personal and professional goal for me because I
know that building relationships with your students is the only way youre
going to earn their respect and them earn yours. Along with this is another
professional goal of mine, and that is to find the balance between friend,
teacher, and authoritative figure. Since I am so young in comparison to
my students, I can often times relate to them too well, and might take some
of their behavior and comments more lightly due to the fact that they might
not be far off from ones I demonstrate in my personal life. At the same time,
I dont want to be this young and uptight teacher either, because thats not
who I am at all. All of this being said, I dont want to become overly focused
on building relationship and not do my job. So finding those balances and
being a focused dedicated teacher are going to be both my challenges and

goals. I also want to work on becoming a more technological based teacher,
as well as one who takes the time to discuss current world events and issues.
It is important to me along with my teaching philosophy that my students
know what is going on in the world and how to function within it.
My evolving beliefs about students, classroom management, planning
and assessment have definitely changed working within the high school
realm and with different types of students and courses. Prior to my
practicum experience, I had always been on the track to teaching middle
school, but now with my experience and student teaching placement at
Boulder High School, I am starting to see the perks of being a high school
educator. My beliefs about my students are different in the fact that they
should have more of a say in their classroom and in their education. You
have to be honest with them, and give them more of a say in what they want
their classroom norms and expectations should be. By doing this, students
are more apt to do work for you, ask questions, and feel more included in
their education overall. My beliefs surrounding classroom management have
drastically changed because high school is not middle school. High school
students drive, have jobs, are applying to colleges, and legally become
adults; therefore, you must treat them more like one. They know how to
school at this point in their education career; they know how to act and
what is expected of them, so any disciplinary action will just help strengthen
their existing morals and values. I mostly just want my students to be
respectful, and when theyre not, we will have a discussion about what better
behavior looks like and the cause for their actions. I want to have a fun and
safe classroom, and it starts with respect. Planning and assessment also
changed for me because I feel like planning for high school lessons requires
more advanced preparation, due to the fact that their assignments and
assessments are more in depth and lengthy. Assessment is also very
different for high school education because middle schools use a completely
different grading system. Grades six through eighth use the Standards
Based grading system, in comparison to high school, which still uses the
traditional A-F grading system. This is a challenge working with 9th graders
especially because they are used to an easier form of grading that is
completely different in high school. All of these changes result in making and
explaining rubrics and assignment sheets in more detail.
Overall, my experience in this practicum was much better more helpful
and eye opening than I was anticipating. I feel better prepared to teach high
school students next semester, and like a well-rounded, diverse teacher. I
am more confident going into any classroom and know how to plan, manage,
and interact with staff and students.

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Reflection and Critique:

typically went. Over the course of my practicum, I observed and learned

being a focused dedicated teacher are going to be both my challenges and

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