Student Teaching Experience Reflection
Teaching at the Lab school this semester was a great experience that helped me learn a lot and will help me become a better teacher in my future.
What went well:
Throughout the semester I saw myself improve in many areas including writing lesson plans, more specifically writing objectives, and being confident in front of students. While reflecting after each lesson, it was apparent to me that the students enjoyed our overall theme of superheroes and were able to be more engaged in their work due to their interest. The students were able to connect their art to their lives and relate to what they created. I also learned how much the students enjoyed experimenting with now materials and techniques. While assessing the students comparing both the pre-assessment and the post-assessment I was able to see the students growth and improvement throughout the semester. Knowing that the majority of the students improved in most of the categories that align with state standards and GLE's helped me to see the impact our lessons made on these students and the skills they learned.
What I learned:
This was quite a learning experience. I had never had the opportunity to teach a whole class of elementary school students, usually only working with small groups, and it was eye-opening. Even with a small class of seventeen students learning how to keep students on task, guide them with questioning and assist them when needed can be difficult and stressful at times. Throughout the semester, and of course with the help of my co-teacher, i was able to create a sort of system to calm the chaos a bit. I also learned that planning very thoroughly is very beneficial. Having a detailed lesson helps a teacher be very prepared with materials, information and even possible questions that will be addressed. With each lesson that we taught, I feel that we were able to be more prepared and ready to teach, making the lesson much smoother and successful.
What I would do differently:
If I were to teach this unit again there are some parts that I would change. I would change little things within the lesson plans in order for them to be more successful and create smooth transitions between lessons. During the semester, we struggled with having enough time for the students to work on creating their artworks. I also would like to plan in more time for the students to experiment with new materials and techniques, specifically paint. I could have taught a whole days lesson just on color mixing and the majority of the class would have been engaged and enjoyed it. In the future I hope to have a better way of planning time and organizing a unit plan that is planned for a limited time for art each week. Now that I have a better understanding and practice with classroom management I would use these skills and techniques to help keep students engaged and on task. I plan to use all that I learned from this experience to help become the art teacher that I want to be in my near future.
What went well:
Throughout the semester I saw myself improve in many areas including writing lesson plans, more specifically writing objectives, and being confident in front of students. While reflecting after each lesson, it was apparent to me that the students enjoyed our overall theme of superheroes and were able to be more engaged in their work due to their interest. The students were able to connect their art to their lives and relate to what they created. I also learned how much the students enjoyed experimenting with now materials and techniques. While assessing the students comparing both the pre-assessment and the post-assessment I was able to see the students growth and improvement throughout the semester. Knowing that the majority of the students improved in most of the categories that align with state standards and GLE's helped me to see the impact our lessons made on these students and the skills they learned.
What I learned:
This was quite a learning experience. I had never had the opportunity to teach a whole class of elementary school students, usually only working with small groups, and it was eye-opening. Even with a small class of seventeen students learning how to keep students on task, guide them with questioning and assist them when needed can be difficult and stressful at times. Throughout the semester, and of course with the help of my co-teacher, i was able to create a sort of system to calm the chaos a bit. I also learned that planning very thoroughly is very beneficial. Having a detailed lesson helps a teacher be very prepared with materials, information and even possible questions that will be addressed. With each lesson that we taught, I feel that we were able to be more prepared and ready to teach, making the lesson much smoother and successful.
What I would do differently:
If I were to teach this unit again there are some parts that I would change. I would change little things within the lesson plans in order for them to be more successful and create smooth transitions between lessons. During the semester, we struggled with having enough time for the students to work on creating their artworks. I also would like to plan in more time for the students to experiment with new materials and techniques, specifically paint. I could have taught a whole days lesson just on color mixing and the majority of the class would have been engaged and enjoyed it. In the future I hope to have a better way of planning time and organizing a unit plan that is planned for a limited time for art each week. Now that I have a better understanding and practice with classroom management I would use these skills and techniques to help keep students engaged and on task. I plan to use all that I learned from this experience to help become the art teacher that I want to be in my near future.