Entry 5 Overall Reflection

Avery Cornatzer Entry 5: Overall Reflection The time that I spent within my classroom was a time that I will never forget. With that being said, there are so many things that I learned and took away from my time during my two-week clinicals. The first of these is time management. As a teacher, it is critical that students stay on a routine schedule and deviate from that schedule as little as possible. The students in the classroom I observed had an easy time remembering where they needed to be and when. They were very well behaved because of this, too! Their behavior leads me into my second largest learning experience: classroom management. The teacher I observed had such a wonderful group of students that listened to her and knew exactly what was expected of them throughout the day. The teacher was able to walk behind them in the hallway because they knew how to act in the hallway. I have learned that setting up strong classroom procedures at the beginning of the school year is the key to a successful classroom. You have to let the students know that you are able to have fun and enjoy yourself in the classroom, but that you also mean business. I also learned that when students stray from the procedures, the teacher should revisit the classroom procedures for a refresher each time. This is extremely effective, from what I viewed in my clinical placement. Third, I learned the importance of classroom relationships. Teachers have to respect their students in the same way that students should respect teachers. I believe that this is one of the main reasons why my cooperating teacher had such a good relationship with her students. The teacher was able to show her students respect, which they gave back to her in turn. This was done through the teacher not embarrassing students that are acting out in front of the entire class, but discreetly pulling the student aside and talking to them as an equal about how their day is going and what she can do to help them have a better day and correct their behavior. This was such a fascinating process to me, I will be adopting it!

Avery Cornatzer Fourth, I learned how to conduct writing conferences effectively. Before conducting the conferences in the classroom, I was extremely nervous, because I could not figure out the right questions to ask the students. I like the idea of going over the rubric with the students and talking it out with them, letting them prove to me why they deserve a high score. I think this was helpful for the students that weren’t quite sure how to write an opinion piece because I could see the light bulb turn on on top of their head when they finally understood what they needed to do next to improve their paper. Lastly, I learned professionalism. I learned how important your dress is, how you act, when you show up, and when you leave is when entering this career. I dressed my best each day I entered the classroom, and this was so great at helping me to feel like a real teacher instead of a classroom visitor. I also noticed that getting to the school early and staying for the entire day was helpful in my looking like a professional, and I know that my cooperating teacher appreciated my timeliness. The way you present yourself is very important to being a productive and effective teacher, gaining the respect that you deserve! Overall, I am so happy with the time that I spent in the classroom. I felt like a real teacher! I am even more excited to begin student teaching in the fall. I am looking forward to feeling the way I did during IMB for an entire year, then, for the rest of my career!