VII: Student Teaching Experience Reflection

During my student teaching semester I very quickly found my strengths and weaknesses in
teaching. Ive always been fairly confident in my ability to enthusiastically convey scientific
information. My loud voice and fairly commanding presence has allowed for a straight forward
and easy time managing a classroom, however I always usually have a smile on my face which
keeps the atmosphere exciting and fun. I love to teach in a passionate and curiosity-based way
and I feel that this is conducive to garnering interest in the sciences. I feel like the kids really
captured that spirit of curiosity with good questioning and a general excitement to learn new
concepts.
It was during this semester that I was able to practice relationship building and differentiation
techniques. I also gathered new ideas and methods for teaching various concepts and grading
strategies. While I didnt quite take the opportunity to truly make the classroom my own, I like
the teamwork Elizabeth and I had, both in class and out. There was a good balance of each
teaching style and I think the kids really benefitted from having both presences in the room. This
also allowed for extended opportunities involving Science Olympiad, including coaching an
event.
One of the greatest skills a teacher can have is being flexible in lessons. Each class is different,
and really learning from one and applying what you learned to another can help adapt a really
good lesson. We tried project-based learning for the first half of my semester based entirely
around rocketry and forces and motion. While we still arent convinced it was the best way to
teach the concepts, we feel that the students gained a better real-world understanding of the unit
and skills necessary to continue in their educational growth.
A glaring weakness that Ive really tried working on has been trying to get a good balance
between rote school learning, projects and teamwork activities, and hands-on active lessons. I
believe that this is a lesson that only comes from time and practice. When I came in at the
beginning I really had to work on keeping the language simple and effective versus what Ive
been used to, which was college-level thinking. While these skills are good to learn at an early
age, Middle Schoolers tend to focus solely on their misunderstandings, rather than the lessons
being taught. This resulted in some apathy and attitudes about giving up, rather than trying and
succeeding. This was a tough lesson to learn.
How did my student teaching go? The individual will always be harder on themselves than
others. I am leaving my student teaching always thinking I couldve done more. This semester
has not only cemented my resolve to being an effective teacher, but it has also helped me realize
how much I still have to learn. Even the best teachers always have things to learn, and being a
lifelong learner is a goal I strive for in my life.