Student Teaching Reflection

Combining student teaching while also running my own 2nd grade classroom was incredible hard and exhausting. It was also insightful, empowering, and eye-opening. I learned so much from my on-site supervisors and professor. I was giving constructive feedback that I accepted and learned from. Instead of becoming defensive, I took all the feedback and used it. I had to watch myself teach and it was horrifying. I don't like to watch videos of myself, however, it was empowering to sit with that uncomfortability, push it aside, and watch. I learned that I tend to rush through directions at times and don't give my students ample time to think through a question. In a teacher's world, a second can feel like an hour. It was incredibly insightful. I learned to mimic what I expect from my students and to dig deep when I am at my wit's end and my patience is gone. If I want my stations to be more quiet, I need to speak in a soft voice EVEN when I am barely keeping it together. I learned that I need to really sit down and pay attention to all assessments. These go a long way and I need to work on time-managing that with a big classroom. It is time consuming and draining, but essential for student growth. Above all else, I learned that it truly takes a village to raise a teacher. You must work together to share ideas, vent about things not going right, and picking each other up when we need it. You can not teach alone.

Student Motivation

I have a tough love approach in my classroom. I am very motivating and helpful, but will also not put up with misbehavior and disrespect. I am there to motivate and teach, but not pull my students' weight for them. I believe motivation is crucial to a successful classroom environment as long as it's partnered with feedback. To elaborate further, I motivate my students by first mentioning a positive thing about their answer. I then follow up with a suggestion or advice to enhance their answer. Even better, I hope to motivate a deeper thinking by having them ask more questions and fix their own answer. This is one way I motivate my students...find the positive, suggest different ideas, and give advice on what will work best. I also motivate by giving them one-on-one time. It's hard to give one child in a class of 25 students ample one-on-one time but even two minutes of direct eye contact and asking about their weekend goes a long way. Every morning, I acknowledge every student that walks in my door, I have them check in, and I strike up a mini-conversation. These few minutes are precious to both of us and builds a positive relationship. This is where true motivation lies...in healthy, positive relationships.