The last sixteen weeks have been challenging, exhausting and exciting. I have taken a great deal away from the experience and would like to share a few things I believe will help future student teachers. I will point out a few things you should do and a few things you shouldn't do.
Do:
1. Take notes when your cooperative teacher gives you constructive criticism. Remember you are a guest, do whatever you can to appease him or her.
2. Work first, nap later. As the semester moves on you become exhausted, try to finish your work before you decide to take a nap, trying to sleep with a great deal on your mind often times does not work.
3. Keep your grade book up to date. Students get upset when they finish work and their grade is not posted immediately. Do your best to keep all current and make up grades posted.
Don't:
1. Let the little things get to you. As a teacher letting all the little things get to you causes a build up in unnecessary stress. Try to brush the little things off and focus on what you can do to improve your overall situation. You can not please everyone and you will always be your biggest critique.
2. Assume your cooperative teacher knows what you will be doing. You and your cooperative teacher will be busy during your sixteen week experience. Do not just assume that your cooperative teacher will remember what you told him or her. Write things down and give your cooperative teacher your future schedule.
3. Loose focus. As the weeks wind down it is easy to loose focus. Do your best to not loose site of your final grade. Think of your sixteen weeks as a boxing match, if you give up in round four you will most likely get knocked out.
Follow these few tips and your experience should go relatively smooth. Good luck and remember this too shall pass.
Apr 29, 2009
Apr 25, 2009
Week Fifteen
Aspects of the week I found most valuable:
This week was very valuable for my professional growth. I was able to teach Wednesday and Thursday without my co-op. She had too leave early Wednesday due to her daughter being sick and Thursday she was away. This gave me the opportunity to face the challenges all teachers face everyday. I enjoyed the challenges and feel as if I am prepared to have my own classroom. I was also able to relax a little this week considering I had finished all my lesson plans for the upcoming week early. I was able to catch up on some much needed sleep.
If given the opportunity to start the week over I would:
After my co-op left on Wednesday I was unable to use her computer because she forgot to log me on. This forced me to have to think on my feet and demonstrate materials differently. Overall my demonstrations went well however, if I could start the week over I would have demonstrated one thing the students were doing by having them complete the task while I talked them through it. I did this later in the day with my sixth period Computer Applications class and it worked well. Sometimes it is nice to have to think on our feet, in my case a good lesson was learned.
Hope you all had a great week. Three days left! : )
This week was very valuable for my professional growth. I was able to teach Wednesday and Thursday without my co-op. She had too leave early Wednesday due to her daughter being sick and Thursday she was away. This gave me the opportunity to face the challenges all teachers face everyday. I enjoyed the challenges and feel as if I am prepared to have my own classroom. I was also able to relax a little this week considering I had finished all my lesson plans for the upcoming week early. I was able to catch up on some much needed sleep.
If given the opportunity to start the week over I would:
After my co-op left on Wednesday I was unable to use her computer because she forgot to log me on. This forced me to have to think on my feet and demonstrate materials differently. Overall my demonstrations went well however, if I could start the week over I would have demonstrated one thing the students were doing by having them complete the task while I talked them through it. I did this later in the day with my sixth period Computer Applications class and it worked well. Sometimes it is nice to have to think on our feet, in my case a good lesson was learned.
Hope you all had a great week. Three days left! : )
Apr 18, 2009
Week Fourteen
Aspects of the week I found most valuable:
This week flew bye just like many others. This past week was very valuable. I planned a group activity Tuesday for the Computer Applications classes. I found out second period that the students would have been much better off doing the assignment by themselves. I changed my plans for third period and the activity went very well. Sometimes little changes can make a world of difference. Over the last few weeks, I have been watching the students and I am really proud of what they have accomplished. It is nice to see things work so well when you put your heart into something.
If given the opportunity to start the week over I would:
If I could start the week over I would have put more thought into the group activity that didn't go as I planned. I have had group activities that worked well in the past. I believe some activities should just been done individually. At least I learned not to do this activity in groups when I use it in the future.
Hope you all had a great week! See you Monday.
This week flew bye just like many others. This past week was very valuable. I planned a group activity Tuesday for the Computer Applications classes. I found out second period that the students would have been much better off doing the assignment by themselves. I changed my plans for third period and the activity went very well. Sometimes little changes can make a world of difference. Over the last few weeks, I have been watching the students and I am really proud of what they have accomplished. It is nice to see things work so well when you put your heart into something.
If given the opportunity to start the week over I would:
If I could start the week over I would have put more thought into the group activity that didn't go as I planned. I have had group activities that worked well in the past. I believe some activities should just been done individually. At least I learned not to do this activity in groups when I use it in the future.
Hope you all had a great week! See you Monday.
Apr 12, 2009
Apr 11, 2009
Week Thirteen
Aspects of the week I found most valuable:
Although this past week flew by, I felt it was a great learning experience for me. Over the past few weeks I have been putting a great deal of time and energy into teaching Accounting I. Because of this, I expected my lessons to run smoothly. I have been getting anxious when I don't finish what I want to finish or if the lesson doesn't go the way I want it to. I don't get anxious in my other classes, as I know that being flexible and willing to change at the spur of the moment is part of teaching. Over the next few weeks, I am going to try not to sweat the little things and I am going to try to be more realistic about my daily teaching goals. I believe this will reduce anxiety and make me a better teacher in the end!
If given the opportunity to start the week over I would:
If I could start the week over, I would stress less over the little things. The past thirteen weeks have been stressful for all of us and I want to start looking at things more positively. It has been getting harder to be the energetic little guy I usually am. I hope that I can regain this enthusiasm and utilize it to make the next few weeks great!
Hope you all had a great week! See you all Monday.
Although this past week flew by, I felt it was a great learning experience for me. Over the past few weeks I have been putting a great deal of time and energy into teaching Accounting I. Because of this, I expected my lessons to run smoothly. I have been getting anxious when I don't finish what I want to finish or if the lesson doesn't go the way I want it to. I don't get anxious in my other classes, as I know that being flexible and willing to change at the spur of the moment is part of teaching. Over the next few weeks, I am going to try not to sweat the little things and I am going to try to be more realistic about my daily teaching goals. I believe this will reduce anxiety and make me a better teacher in the end!
If given the opportunity to start the week over I would:
If I could start the week over, I would stress less over the little things. The past thirteen weeks have been stressful for all of us and I want to start looking at things more positively. It has been getting harder to be the energetic little guy I usually am. I hope that I can regain this enthusiasm and utilize it to make the next few weeks great!
Hope you all had a great week! See you all Monday.
Apr 3, 2009
Week Twelve
Aspects of the week I found most valuable:
This week proved to be very valuable in that I learned about the challenges a teacher faces while attending a conference. These challenges include staying focused on work from home, writing good lesson plans, and being fully prepared after a long break. The conference proved to be both challenging and a great experience. Being able to talk with other student teachers made me understand fully how we are all having our difficulties in one area or another. I was also able to learn about some things that worked and didn't work in other teachers' classrooms. Overall, this week has been a truly valuable learning experience.
If given the opportunity to start the week over I would:
If I could take a step back this week I would change my plans for the days I returned to teaching. I believe it may have been beneficial to plan some interesting activities for the students upon my return. This could have helped me engage the students and prepare them for learning new material. I hope you all had a great week at the conference and a stress free return to school.
Good luck with week 13! See you all Monday.
This week proved to be very valuable in that I learned about the challenges a teacher faces while attending a conference. These challenges include staying focused on work from home, writing good lesson plans, and being fully prepared after a long break. The conference proved to be both challenging and a great experience. Being able to talk with other student teachers made me understand fully how we are all having our difficulties in one area or another. I was also able to learn about some things that worked and didn't work in other teachers' classrooms. Overall, this week has been a truly valuable learning experience.
If given the opportunity to start the week over I would:
If I could take a step back this week I would change my plans for the days I returned to teaching. I believe it may have been beneficial to plan some interesting activities for the students upon my return. This could have helped me engage the students and prepare them for learning new material. I hope you all had a great week at the conference and a stress free return to school.
Good luck with week 13! See you all Monday.
Mar 27, 2009
Week Eleven
Aspects of the week I found most valuable:
This week has been very valuable in that I found that writing lesson plans far in advance is quite difficult. I am used to writing my lesson plans well before the 48 hour deadline, however this week due to the FBLA conference I am attending, I had so many lessons to write that I had to do them far in advance. Trying to stay focused on current lessons while writing seven others proved to be a challenge. I found that by the end of the week I was starting to get the hang of it a little better. Other than this, this week went relatively smooth.
If given the opportunity to start the week over I would:
If given the opportunity to start the week over I would have incorporated projects for the week I attend the FBLA conference. This could have made my planning a little less hectic and kept me focused on the task at hand, teaching.
Hope you all have had a great week eleven. See you all at the FBLA conference!
This week has been very valuable in that I found that writing lesson plans far in advance is quite difficult. I am used to writing my lesson plans well before the 48 hour deadline, however this week due to the FBLA conference I am attending, I had so many lessons to write that I had to do them far in advance. Trying to stay focused on current lessons while writing seven others proved to be a challenge. I found that by the end of the week I was starting to get the hang of it a little better. Other than this, this week went relatively smooth.
If given the opportunity to start the week over I would:
If given the opportunity to start the week over I would have incorporated projects for the week I attend the FBLA conference. This could have made my planning a little less hectic and kept me focused on the task at hand, teaching.
Hope you all have had a great week eleven. See you all at the FBLA conference!
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