Reflecting on Student Teaching

Date: July 28-August 22 2014

Artifact Description:
This document is my weekly reflection from when I was, student teacher in an early
childhood setting. The cooperating teacher and I would both reflect on how I was doing each
week and would document my experiences. There are a total of four reflections from the four
weeks I was in the classroom.
Wisconsin Teacher Licensure Standard Alignment:
This artifact best aligns with Standard Nine from the Wisconsin Teacher Licensure
Standard Alignment. Standard Nine states that, The teacher understands methods of inquiry that
provide him/her with a variety of self-assessments and problem-solving strategies for reflecting
of his/her practice, influences of students growth and learning, and the complex interactions
between them. During my four weeks of student teaching, I was able to reflect on the lessons I
taught and how well I could manage a classroom. I was placed in a two to three year old room,
and I have never worked with kids that young. After each day, I would really have to reflect on
myself and how I handled different situations. I have mostly worked with students who are in the
elementary setting. Going into a classroom where students are not yet forming sentences, was
very different for me. The first week being in the classroom, I was able to keep records as well as
observe what other teachers were doing. I would take that information and apply it to address
different situation in a classroom. Also, how I managed the students took a lot of reflection
because it was a whole new setting. With the weekly reflection, I was able to improve on
classroom management because I could see the comments the teacher made and look at how I
thought things went. I liked being able to take critiques from the teacher and sometimes my
professors to make improvements. Another tool that helped me is that my teacher and I would
have discussions every couple of days about my lessons and how they went or what I could
improve on. In my last week of student teaching, I was able to excel very well because I had
reflected on all my lesson plans, classroom management strategies, notes I had about the
students, and what was the right zone of proximal development.
UW-Platteville Knowledge, Skill, Disposition Alignment:
This experience best aligns with KSD4.a Reflects on Teaching, The candidate makes a accurate
ad thoughtful reflection of his/her teaching effectiveness, is aware of specific elements of his/her
teaching that contributed to successful instruction, can offer alternative teacher action to predict
the future successes of alternate approaches. With keeping records and evaluating myself after
teaching, I was able to change my approaches to how I taught the students. I was also able to
change lessons to make them more developmental appropriate for two to three year old students.
The main part of my reflection was making sure the activities I had plan were not too hard. Since
at that age students are just learning the basic skills for their fine motor skills, it took me a lot of
reflection and observing of the students to see what skills they could really do, as well as what
skills they needed teacher assistance with.
I also think that I had to change my way of instruction because the students were not able
to sit still for a while. The directions and how I taught lessons had to be very exciting and quick
moving. When I first started teaching, I didnt know what to expect from two to three year old
students, but I soon realized I had to have be entertaining and exciting if I wanted the students to
stay focused. I think I had to really step out of my comfort zone to be a great teacher. Without
my reflections I wouldnt know how to be a better teacher for my students.
Secondary Alignment:
KSD4.e Grows and develops professionally
KSD4.f- Shows professionalism
KSD3.e Engages students in learning
Personal Reflection:
What I learned about teaching/ learning from this experience
I learned that all great teachers reflect on their lessons and how well they can manage their
classrooms. I realized how important it is to make changes based on the students knowledge and
skills. I also think that by reflecting on myself, I was able to become better because I could write
down a list of skills that I need improvements on and I could excel in the skills I was doing well
in. It was also interesting to have my cooperating teacher write reflections about me too. I
learned that I am a very hard critic on myself, it was eye-opening to see someone in the
professional field pick out great qualities I have as a teacher. I also like getting back feedback
because it gave me something to really think on and step out of my comfort zone to improve
myself for the students. I used to think that reflections on lessons were pointless, but now that I
have taught in a real classroom with students, I realize how important reflections are to being a
great teacher.
What I learned about myself as a prospective educator as a result of this experience
I learned many things about myself, as a prospective educator, as a result of this experience. One
idea that really stands out to me is that I am now aware of how upbeat and interesting lessons
have to be for students, especially the younger ones. Students become very distracted and do not
learn the material if they are not engaged in the lesson. I think that by looking at different lessons
I taught and reflecting on how I can keep their attention, when to give them brain breaks, and
what material should be taught is how I really improved from my first to fourth week of student
teaching. By reflecting on my work, it made it easier for me to predict how to plan for future
lessons and how to manage the classroom.