Final Teaching Blog

I just loved my second rotation. I was assigned to the science lab teacher who had one class each of second thru fifth grade. It was so great to have a variety of grades! I looked forward to our SBTE days and creating lessons for the different grades. I loved having to model everything for the second graders, as well as the independence of the fifth graders. It made planning a long process but it is well worth it.

One important thing I learned is that you have to be very organized to be able to effectively teach a variety of grades. Everything you would need to teach your lessons had to be prepared or you would lose the focus of the class. Another important thing I learned is that good teaching takes practice. At the beginning of the semester I had concerns that I would be a good teacher. After my first observation lesson, I was really worried about the feedback I received. As I taught lessons required by my methods classes I felt more comfortable and found little tricks (thanks to my SBTE) to help me along the way.

I feel like I grew as a teacher. I can see this because I became more independent as the semester went on. At the beginning of the semester I was asking questions about every little thing all the time. Now I feel like I know more so the questions I ask now are more meaningful. I also feel that I grew because my lesson planning became easier. It used to take me forever to create lessons, but now I can write one quickly with the 5E model. As a whole I think my second rotation went much better than my first. Not only did I enjoy the variety of grade levels, but my SBTE was extremely helpful. She gave me constructive criticism and meaningful praise just at the right times.