Last Day!

Obeservations are officially over and I feel pretty good about the experience. Since I have been in the classroom before, I can compare the two. After going through a rough patch with my teacher here, I feel I left her classroom on a positive note. I tried to be more vocal and communicate more with her. I built more relationships with the students and genuinely had fun! Which is what teaching is all about. Im glad that things improved with my teacher, but I still feel like they could have been better. I have learned from this experience that from day one I need to be more communicative. I sensed that things did not get off on the right foot, and I should have asked my teacher about it. I have learned a variety of teaching techniques that involve the students. My teacher is also very good at relating to the students and incorporating pop culture and such into lessons so that the students have a better understanding. This is a great technique that MUST be used in the classroom. Althought there were dark periods during this experience, I can with me the good and bad, and learn from both.

In comparisson to the third grade class I was in over the summer, I feel like I was able to take on more responsibility. My teacher here sent me and email before observations stating her expectations for me and well as her. I was excited to see that she was so professional and that I would be greatly involved in the classroom, but it kind of fell through. Over the summer, I met with my teacher each morning to discuss which part of the lesson I would be able to teacher. I had no such opportunity here because I never knew where my teacher was in the morning! She never mentioned me teaching a lesson. This also became more dificult once the ISU student teacher was around because we were all fying for lessons (ha ha). It was nice to be able to actually teach, and I was hoping for more of that in Bloomington, but hopefully next semester will be an even better experience.

Nevertheless, I have gained experiencve and knowledge that I will carry with me throughout my teaching career.