Final Reflections

Final Reflections on Whole Experience

            It is daunting to try to begin writing a reflection on my entire experience in Mrs. L’s class.  It was only five weeks, and part of me feels like it flew by, while another part of me feels as if I’ve always been there.  I have learned a lot in these few weeks, and have had a wonderful experience being a part of the community at this school.

            The attention I paid to individual students taught me so much about the differences in each of them, and how their learning is affected by their unique selves.  This started with my case study students.  As I worked with each of them one-on-one and made sure to observe them throughout the days, I realized just how fascinating each of them was.  I am certain that no matter what student I’d randomly chosen at the beginning of my experience, I’d have been just as fascinated with them.  Students are complex, and unraveling them just a little can take their education to a whole new level.  It is daunting to think of this as a teacher, but there are many strategies to achieve this with each and every student.   This relates to some of the Annenberg videos I watched, especially the most recent about assessing students individually and concentrating on five or so at a time, as well as the video about beginning the year.  Getting to know students early on is crucial, and having time set aside to do so at the beginning of the year will make the task less daunting.  Personalizing each relationship also strongly relates to management.  Mr. T, one of the fourth grade teachers I observed made a strong point with this.  He spoke of classroom management as being based primarily on the relationship between teacher and student, and between student and the classroom as a whole.  He made very strong points that align with my own beliefs.  Knowing a student impacts their whole experience in school in a positive way, making them feel safe and comfortable, and enhancing their learning and school experience significantly.

            I also learned the impact of individual attention during my last week in the classroom.  The students have a bucket filler system in the room where they write the name of a student on a slip of paper and add it to that student’s bucket.  They take their slips home once a week.  On Friday, my last day, we took home bucket filler slips as usual.  I had written one for every student, and had added a personal note to each.  As I sat down to do so, I was a little concerned that my comments would be repetitive for some students and boring.  I had no trouble thinking of something for each individual.  When we passed these out, quite a few of the students made a point of coming up to me and commenting on what I’d written.  Some of my comments were silly, some sincere, some appreciative and some encouraging.  The students were sharing what I’d written and why I’d written it with each other.  It was wonderful to hear their responses and to just see how excited they got from a few simple sentences on my part.  They were even more excited when I followed up my notes with crayon rings. 

Bucket filler slips were given out right after we addressed student math homework.  I had been correcting piles of math homework throughout my five weeks there, and nothing had been done with it yet.  Instead of writing the simple +correct at the top of the page, I had written individual comments on many papers.  On student papers where comments weren’t as in-depth, I often added pictures or doodles along with a small comment.  Finally, on the last day in the room, we had a massive homework give-back party.  The students all got their assignments back.  The students with the most homework pages got to choose a prize.  This was a big deal to them, of course, because stuffed animals and playing cards are a big deal.  Only four students were able to receive a prize though.  While passing out homework, I had so many students comment on what I’d written or on the silly drawings I’d added.  I was most glad to see students who had struggled on the homework reading my comments.  Even though the lesson will not be retaught and they are still probably confused, they have some idea what they did wrong, and many students may remember those comments in the future. 

            This brings me to the assessment I had planned for the class.  I briefly discussed this in previous posts or updates on my classroom experience.  I had planned to have each student make a booklet using compound sentences.  I shared this idea with Mrs. L, and she adapted it into an activity rather than an assessment without much discussion with me.  Although my plans for this assessment were not carried out as I’d hoped, I came up with a plan for my ideal anyway, and hope to use it or something similar in the future. 

            I was going to have students use a four page booklet made out of one sheet of paper (something I learned in Lit lab-the pocket poetry book we did with our case studies).  In this booklet, they would write down the steps to changing two simple sentences into one compound sentence.  These would be given to them by Mrs. L or myself.  Each page would contain one step.  In addition, they would need to show a sentence of their own going through the steps on each page.  The last page (back cover) would be saved for examples of sentences.  I created a rubric to supplement this assessment. 

	1	2	3
FANBOYS	Doesn’t use FANBOYS or does not use as conjunction	Uses incorrect FANBOYS as conjunction (i.e. ‘but’ instead of ‘and’)	Uses FANBOYS correctly and as conjunction
Comma Use	No commas are used	Commas are present, but not before the conjunction when joining two simple sentences	Commas are used before the conjunction when joining two simple sentences
Simple Sentences	No complete simple sentences (complete=subject and predicate)	One complete simple sentence	Two complete simple sentences
Writing Mechanics	Inconsistent or random spelling, capitals, and punctuation	Some correct capitals and end punctuation; third grade spelling with some consistency	Correct capitals and end punctuation; consistent third grade spelling

            Assessment and checking for understanding have truly shown their importance to me through this placement.  In the past, writing and executing the lesson, especially the instruction plan, was my main focus.  This placement made me see how integral assessment is in everyday instruction.  As I gain more experience, I see how interrelated they are during every moment of a lesson.  I’ve learned that checking for understanding is crucial; if students aren’t understanding what I’ve taught them, there’s no way to move on and hope for desirable results or for students to meet the objectives of the whole lesson.  In addition, I’ve learned that it is far better to check for understanding and take time to readdress information rather than moving on for the sake of getting through the lesson.

            In terms of management, I’ve gathered countless tactics and pieces of information.  The point that impacted me the greatest was made by Mr. T, the fourth grade teacher.  The teacher student relationship is the most important thing in behavior management.  I’ve also learned many ways to work with students.  Focusing on motivation is something I will do in my future classroom.  Making a lesson engaging by switching instructional strategies often goes a long way, and trying to stay away from extended direct instruction is vital.  I’ve also learned from a few specific students that it is okay and appropriate to go to other officials in the school if a student needs help.  This is not a failure to management; it is contacting a resource the student needs to enhance their learning and educational experience.  In addition, incentives can go a long way for some students.  For the students it works with, it is always wise to do it.  However, I also learned that students are unique, and making goals or keeping track of charts is not how every student is motivated.  It takes an individual relationship to decide on the best way to keep students engaged, motivated, and essential to the classroom.  With these things, behavior management is far less daunting.  The final aspect of behavior management I’d like to comment on is consistency.  Students need to understand their expectations, and need to be held to them.  I think concrete consequences should be communicated to students beforehand, and those cannot be waivered based on individual circumstances.  Consistency is crucial, and students who are aware of how they should act and why are far less likely to misbehave for attention.

            I have greatly enjoyed being in Mrs. L’s room.  I will be going back a few times before they begin summer to help Mrs. L with testing and to help out around the room.  I already miss the students, and I am grateful for all they have given me over the past five weeks.  Mrs. L has been a joy to work with, and has shown me a lot in our time together.  I have learned quite a bit, and have added much to my existing repertoire for the classroom.  I feel more prepared, and I am excited to start my next chapter in my journey to becoming a teacher.