ckutra: Midterm Reflection

Starting my first rotation I was apprehensive, but these nerves soon vanished once I met my SBTE.  She made me realize and learn that third grade does not need to be fear because of the start of standardized test. While observing her I noticed that by making the lesson exciting and providing numerous manipulative, the students are able to grab the concepts being taught. When I had to teach my lessons I followed her footsteps. By doing so I was able to keep the students hooked, and they master my given objective. As I previously mentioned in my first reflective journal I was worried about my technology professional attribute. However, I now feel confident implementing technology in the classroom. In this rotation I let the students use my digital camera, I used a promethean board to teach a writing lesson, and I uploaded documents to the computer to be transfer to the television. I learned helpful techniques to navigate the internet when looking for educational resources. For several of my lessons I employed those sites to help teach my lessons which helped to assist the students in grasping the concepts more easily. Classroom management was a problem I faced at the beginning. The students saw me as a friend, and felt they did not have to always behave their best. To work through this situation I worked on my teacher voice, to give a firmer indication to myself. I also used some of my teacher strategies, as in the “stop and freeze” method. By using strategies my students were used to they then had an easier time following my instructions. I am going to continue to work on my classroom management skills to improve my overall teaching capabilities. A goal of mine is to have a relationship with the students where they feel that I am a friend and there for them, but that they also realize I am their teacher. Another learning goal of mine is to ask higher order thinking questions. I always make a point to make sure my lessons does not go over my students head, but sometimes I forget to challenge them more. I will continue to reflect on myself regularly to see what worked, what bombed, and what could be changed.