Busy Week, Better People: Week 6 Reflections

The deeper into student teaching I get, the more the days fly by.  I continue to enjoy it and I continue to realize the amount of time and planning teaching takes.  This week was FULL from teaching to an IEP meeting to the Curriculum Fair and various student and visitor meetings.  This was  a busy week, but it's the people that make it better. 

This week I was able to attend an IEP meeting for one of the students I have in class.  This was extremely helpful for me right now and will continue to be as I move into a job in the future.  This helped me understand some of the direct instruction on specific skills this specific student receives. I realize there are some techniques I could use to help her even more in my class.  IEP meetings also give teachers a glimpse into the ideas students have for their future career and the thoughts and desires of parents.  I am excited to try some different things to not only help this student but others in my class, as well as continue to interact with the special education faculty. 

Student teaching is hard but the students and faculty at Pequea Valley make it worth it.   This week we had our Curriculum Fair which is similar to parent teacher conferences, but all the teachers are in one room and parents can visit each table.  During this time I was able to meet a few parents, but what made things really neat was the conversations I was able to have with a handful of teachers.  This week I asked a few teachers for help outside of the agriculture department, one who is flipped his classroom and the other about mixing chemistry solutions.   Both stopped and checked in with me, along with the assistant principal.  All wanting to make sure that I am welcomed, growing and desiring to stay in the profession.  Mr. Masser and Ms. VanSant along with the rest of the school make me feel welcome in a place where I am only temporarily. 

Gems:

-       Conversations and time spent talking with other teachers about ideas and receiveing help.

-       Lab- in Foods Unwrapped this week I adapted a pH and foods lab and as picky as I want to be it went well.  It helped me see what is necessary and what is not in a lab, and how I can continue to adapt labs like this in the future.

-       Friday morning a freshman came in to practice the creed.  He mentioned he would come in, but end of the week on a Friday morning, I sort of forgot.  He came in quick and said ‘Ms. Hack’ I have the first few lines down.’ He said the first few and read the rest- Day. Made.

Opps:

-       Conclusions:  I have done well with doing bell works and opening the class, but I have not done as well closing it. This is a habit that I need to get myself and students into, because it provides that ‘cognitive connect’ that we learned about in our methods classes.  

-       Directions:  This is one area that I KNOW I can do, but it slips my mind.  This week I want to be purposeful about writing out directions and slowing down when I say them.  This also goes for labs.  Following a procedure that is lengthy is difficult for some students- heck sometimes even for me! I want to be intentional about finding breaks.