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A Reflection on Student Teaching

By Natalia Moody
This past year (2015-2016) has been one bursting with a plethora of new ideas
and skills to be developed. My original ideas about teaching have morphed as the days
and weeks of being buffeted by the dragon of teaching has made me aware of all the
holes in my teacher armor (forgive the poor analogy). Before 2015 I thought teaching
would be nothing but sweet ambrosia of attentive students who adored me coupled with
smooth days free of stress. My 3-5 day takeover in the fall, and then the full take over in
the spring has since awakened me from my sweet daydreams.
The most important piece mulling around in my swirling brain is that of
classroom management. I had no idea how much work my mentor put forth into
managing her classroom, until she forfeited the responsibility to me during my initial 3-5
day takeover. Wow, students dont naturally want to sit still, listen, ask questions, be
polite, and do as they are told. Big surprise. My mentor worked with me during that week
and then much more during the spring. To my surprised she drew my attention to once
thought insignificant details such as the importance of where I stand, how often I rotate
among the students, the time I wait for silence, the order of presenting an assignment,
making sure students have materials on desks before moving on, how I provide examples
or instructions, etc.
It was rather frustrating, though beneficial, to work my way through some of the
details of management. One day my mentor would tell me, You need to rotate among
the students more. Dutifully the next day I was rotating among the students so much I
felt like I was in a whirlpool. After the lesson when I cheerfully asked my mentor for

feedback, much to my surprise she told me, You need to wait more in front of the class
and watch them as a whole to make sure they are doing what you asked. What?! my
brain shouted, That is the opposite of what you told me yesterday. And so I practiced
the great waiting and rotating see-saw game to find the perfect balance.
Sometimes I would be quite flabbergasted at why very often a direction I gave
was met by 25 blank stares and a continuation of side conversations. Why couldnt
students do a simple thing like answer a warm-up question? My mentor helped me
understand that before I gave any direction I needed to ask students to have supports in
front of them, like their notes or a handout, and then give the question. I also learned the
hard way that this principal is necessary for introducing all activities. I would give
directions, wait, and, well, nothing! They wouldnt do anything. The next time (after
being reminded by my mentor) I had directions written so students could read as well as
hear what was expected, and I had an example of what students needed. This time
students went to work like magic. Breaking down an assignment into small, simple steps,
and presenting them one at a time is such a simple concept, and yet so complex to figure
out how to do smoothly.
Another strategy that I have learned that is very helpful is writing out exactly
what I ought to do each day. It was not uncommon this spring to find myself getting very
sidetracked from my learning goals by taking up way too much time with certain
activities and so never actually getting to the other activities that were more important. I
began (again by advise from my mentor) to write out each days lesson. (I already was
writing down detailed plans for the entire unit, but not then afterward rewriting each
days agenda). I now began my daily plan with setting my learning goals. I would ask

myself, What has to get done no matter what today? That went at the top of my page.
Then I systematically would write each consecutive activity in order. I would print my
plan and go back over it highlighting details, making extra notes, and writing the time I
wanted to finish each activity. This helped me feel much more confident and organized.
One thing that is really come to my attention near the latter end of my student
teaching is my desire to be much more organized with homework assignments. I feel that
I need to be very well planned about what assignments I want students to do, when I will
grade them, and how I will grade them.
As a student teacher, I find my self in a strange hybrid positionhalf student and
half teacher (hence the name student teacher). In adopting another persons class I have
allowed myself to drift into doing things simply because my mentor does them. Of course
I am glad I didnt change much for the sake of the students, but what I could have done
better is be more thoughtful in assigning the assignments my mentor assigned. She knows
why she assigns each assignment, and she knows what she wants from each assignment.
Far too often I have found myself giving homework that I know my mentor gave, but that
I have no real goal for. I end up morphing my goals as I see my mentor is heading in a
different direction. I end up getting confused and frustrated, and so must my students.
Next year I want to have only 1-3 kinds of assignments, have examples of each
available to students, and have them due at a consistent time each week or each two
weeks. This will help lessen my frustration and stress, and, I am sure, my students.
This year I have also learned much about assessing students. Having grown up
with the traditional method of grading, standards based grading was quite foreign to me
the first time I learned about it. In fact, I disliked it when I first was exposed to it.

However, the teacher that I assist a third class with, Brian, lent me a fantastic book on
standards based grading. It fascinated me! It makes so much sense to assess students
based on standards based grading. In fact, reading the book I realized that assessment is
100% as important as planning. Because, if you dont assess, you have no idea if your
planning worked in the first place. Assessment needs to be timely, specific, and preunderstood by students. Students should also have multiple chances to take a test or write
a paper. This way students are forced to correct their mistakes. Correcting mistakes is
how any person learns. The book was so helpful, I read it through once, and then half of
it again.
Overall student teaching has been quite beneficial. I cant imagine having started
my teaching career without the buffer of a mentor. Frustration would soon have given
way to feelings of helplessness. But with the support of my mentor I am coming out of
my student teaching experience excited for the futures prospects. Teaching is a complex,
hard task. But the rewards are great, because the students are great. It is such a privilege
to work with the adults of tomorrow. It is wonderful to develop a plan to help students
think, and then watch and listen as their understanding grows and blossoms. I am so
happy when students share a scientific concept that I had not thought of before! It is quite
exciting! I look forward to growing and developing as a teacher even more in the years to
come.

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