If I were asked to describe my student teaching experience in one word that word would be "a blast" (okay, I guess that's two words). I did not come into student teaching expecting to have this much fun, I started the year overwhelmed and feeling like I was just going to be working so hard I wouldn't have time for anything. I am surprised and happy to report that more than anything else this placement has been fun. I am finishing up here at LHUC feeling like teaching is definitely the right field for me. I came into this year all worked up about university expectations and needing to get everything right that I had kind of forgotten how much I love working with kids. This fall has reminded me how much kids energize me and make me want to work hard.
The other huge part of why my experience has been so positive, is Diane. She has been a great mentor for me, because she has pushed me in ways that I don't normally think. She is much more sensitive to students' emotional needs, whereas I tend to focus on academic. Talking about and dealing with feelings has always been a struggle for me and consequently something I avoid, but Diane is the opposite. She's great at connecting with and supporting students emotionally, and I've learned a lot watching her.
As I begin to hand subjects back to Diane this week, there are still a few things that I want to practice/try. I still don't feel like I have had enough experience using data to make decisions--Diane does not do this at all, she makes her groups based on 'knowing the kids'. I did lots of data driven decisions in Reading Corps but I would like to have more practice with how to make those choices on a whole class level. I remember how much time and testing we put into each child's intervention for MRC, and I have trouble imagining how to do this for 30 kids. The fourth grade teachers are supposed to be designing interventions for students in math, but every week we go to the meetings, they talk about it in the abstract and make no movement towards actually implementing anything. It is especially frustrating because every time I try to make materials to get things underway, I've been told to hold off until a decision is made by the group.
I'll start at the end of your post. You should talk to Julie if you want to know more about data-driven decision making at the whole classroom level. Her team is very active in this regard, and she's been an integral part of their work thanks to her knowledge of Excel for recording information. Think about visiting Julie's class as you enter the phase-out stage of your teaching. Maybe you can arrange to be there for a team meeting (see her post in response to this prompt).
ReplyDeleteSecond, I'm interested to read your "long view" thoughts about how you and Diane complement each other's styles. I'll bet that if she responded to this post, she would acknowledge that watching you plan lessons that are academically challenging, but grounded in the motivational principle that learning should be meaningful and memorable, will be an enduring lesson she takes from her work with you.
Finally, yikes! I want students at St. Kate's to NEVER forget that teaching should be "fun" and that having the opportunity to hang out with kids all day is one of the best ways to live a professional life. How can we preserve that feeling during teacher preparation courses? Advice, please!