Overall Clinical Experience Reflection
I absolutely loved my clinical experience. I think I was paired with the perfect teacher and that made a huge difference. My coordinating teacher and I got along unbelievably well and she loved me and I loved her. We were both very upset when it all ended. I plan on going back often, even now that my required time is over. We worked great together and I couldn't have asked for a better placement. To top it all off my group of students was phenomenal. My coordinating teacher, Ms. Orr, said this was the best class she has ever had. Going into this class was a wonderful first experience to my times in the classroom.
It started off on the right foot and I think that really helped. When I went into my first interview I was prepared with a lot of questions and asked for lots of details about her class and how it ran. She told me, later on, that she really appreciated that and it showed I cared and was actually interested in doing a good job. At the first meeting we planned out the dates I was coming and doing my IMB actives. We had to change the schedule many times and I had to stay an extra couple days at the school after the actual IMB time was over. However, I liked being able to stay with the class and my teacher for a longer period of time. Due to the fact we have a limited time in the classroom during your IMB I felt it was important to see and be involved in as many things in the classroom as I could right from the start.
Some of the things I learned from this experience I will carry over to other clinicals and student teaching. One of the major attributes my teacher appreciated was that I was willing to be apart of the class from day one. I wanted to help and be involved in everything the class did. I hope my future coordinating teachers are as willing to let me be apart of their classroom as Ms. Orr was. I learned that I would rather have a teacher tell me to tone it down than ask me to do more. Ms. Orr never told me I needed to tone it down but in general that is what I would like to have happen if one or the other had to occur. I also learned that you take whatever it is your coordinating teacher gives you. I was given assessments, lesson plans, worksheets, books, and apps for my ipad. No mater if that is the grade you want to teach or an activity you think you will never do, take it anyway. You never know when you will need a quick idea later on.
With the items I learned I also have advice for students coming into the program. One of those items is to go with the flow and roll with the punches. Don't go into this thinking that everything is going to go as planned originally. Things change and you need to be flexible; it is not your classroom. You are a guest and need to do what is necessary to make it easy on your coordinating teacher. The next piece of advice is think of this as an interview from the moment you step on the school grounds. Meet administration and show them you are thankful for this opportunity. Showing you are wanting to be there and involved makes the best impression. Another piece of advice would be go into this and think of it as a learning experience. Learn as much as you can. Either that be things you like or dislike about the class you are in. Also, let the teacher teach you as much as she can. My teacher always had pieces of advice and new ways of teacher. I took notes on those and kept a journal of the advice she gave me. This will be very helpful when I go to student teach and/or have my own classroom. Lastly, because this is a learning experience don't be nervous. The coordinating teachers are not there to tear you down, they are there to help you grow as an educator. Also, remember that the students will respect you no mater what, they understand you are a student just like them and students make mistakes.
I was surprised at how I wasn't nervous to go into the schools. This was probably because the first day I went into Ms. Orr's classroom she introduced me to the students and gave them time to ask me questions and really get to know me; from then on I felt like I was already a part of the class. I thought I would be nervous about giving lessons but surprisingly, it came very easily and I absolutely loved it. I couldn't believe how much the students enjoyed the lessons I taught and how engaged they were. I thought I would have to actively keep them engaged the whole time but that was not the case. Due to the fact my lesson were interactive and kept the students moving I had no problem with the students what so ever. From this learning experience I want to make sure, to the best of my ability, I make lessons in my classroom and student teaching to be interactive and engaging for the students. Every single student in the class said that they hated social studies when I first came to the class. After doing my lesson, which included them doing short skits, they said they loved it and wished they did more activities like that.
The only downside I really had to this IMB clinical experience was that I couldn't get it done in the two weeks. The first week I got a stomach bug and had to miss a day and the schedule kept changing all the time because of testing and meetings. It made it a bit more stressful when I had to do clinicals, clinical assignments and regular classes. I had to keep changing my lessons because the days kept changing but that is the life of a teacher and you have to be able to roll with the punches.
Like I said, I enjoyed this experience more than I ever thought I would. The day I left all the students were hugging me and wanted me to come back. My teacher started to cry and told me to come back anytime. It was great to feel appreciated and boost my confidence as a future teacher. It was so wonderful to have such a great first real experience in a class and I hope all of my experiences to come live up to this one.
It started off on the right foot and I think that really helped. When I went into my first interview I was prepared with a lot of questions and asked for lots of details about her class and how it ran. She told me, later on, that she really appreciated that and it showed I cared and was actually interested in doing a good job. At the first meeting we planned out the dates I was coming and doing my IMB actives. We had to change the schedule many times and I had to stay an extra couple days at the school after the actual IMB time was over. However, I liked being able to stay with the class and my teacher for a longer period of time. Due to the fact we have a limited time in the classroom during your IMB I felt it was important to see and be involved in as many things in the classroom as I could right from the start.
Some of the things I learned from this experience I will carry over to other clinicals and student teaching. One of the major attributes my teacher appreciated was that I was willing to be apart of the class from day one. I wanted to help and be involved in everything the class did. I hope my future coordinating teachers are as willing to let me be apart of their classroom as Ms. Orr was. I learned that I would rather have a teacher tell me to tone it down than ask me to do more. Ms. Orr never told me I needed to tone it down but in general that is what I would like to have happen if one or the other had to occur. I also learned that you take whatever it is your coordinating teacher gives you. I was given assessments, lesson plans, worksheets, books, and apps for my ipad. No mater if that is the grade you want to teach or an activity you think you will never do, take it anyway. You never know when you will need a quick idea later on.
With the items I learned I also have advice for students coming into the program. One of those items is to go with the flow and roll with the punches. Don't go into this thinking that everything is going to go as planned originally. Things change and you need to be flexible; it is not your classroom. You are a guest and need to do what is necessary to make it easy on your coordinating teacher. The next piece of advice is think of this as an interview from the moment you step on the school grounds. Meet administration and show them you are thankful for this opportunity. Showing you are wanting to be there and involved makes the best impression. Another piece of advice would be go into this and think of it as a learning experience. Learn as much as you can. Either that be things you like or dislike about the class you are in. Also, let the teacher teach you as much as she can. My teacher always had pieces of advice and new ways of teacher. I took notes on those and kept a journal of the advice she gave me. This will be very helpful when I go to student teach and/or have my own classroom. Lastly, because this is a learning experience don't be nervous. The coordinating teachers are not there to tear you down, they are there to help you grow as an educator. Also, remember that the students will respect you no mater what, they understand you are a student just like them and students make mistakes.
I was surprised at how I wasn't nervous to go into the schools. This was probably because the first day I went into Ms. Orr's classroom she introduced me to the students and gave them time to ask me questions and really get to know me; from then on I felt like I was already a part of the class. I thought I would be nervous about giving lessons but surprisingly, it came very easily and I absolutely loved it. I couldn't believe how much the students enjoyed the lessons I taught and how engaged they were. I thought I would have to actively keep them engaged the whole time but that was not the case. Due to the fact my lesson were interactive and kept the students moving I had no problem with the students what so ever. From this learning experience I want to make sure, to the best of my ability, I make lessons in my classroom and student teaching to be interactive and engaging for the students. Every single student in the class said that they hated social studies when I first came to the class. After doing my lesson, which included them doing short skits, they said they loved it and wished they did more activities like that.
The only downside I really had to this IMB clinical experience was that I couldn't get it done in the two weeks. The first week I got a stomach bug and had to miss a day and the schedule kept changing all the time because of testing and meetings. It made it a bit more stressful when I had to do clinicals, clinical assignments and regular classes. I had to keep changing my lessons because the days kept changing but that is the life of a teacher and you have to be able to roll with the punches.
Like I said, I enjoyed this experience more than I ever thought I would. The day I left all the students were hugging me and wanted me to come back. My teacher started to cry and told me to come back anytime. It was great to feel appreciated and boost my confidence as a future teacher. It was so wonderful to have such a great first real experience in a class and I hope all of my experiences to come live up to this one.