-What went well? What did you learn?
When reflecting upon my learning experience working with 4th and 5th grade students at the lab school, I can easily say there are many areas in which I have grown. I have seen great personal growth in my experience as a teacher, in building relationships with students and understanding the learning methods that best suit each individual, as well as, understanding the importance of thorough lesson planning and documentation. As this experience was one of my first times taking full charge in a classroom environment, everyday and every lesson became a learning experience, where I continued to grow throughout the semester and began to find strength and weaknesses that helped me find my ground.
Building relationships with students has been the most prominent factor in my experience at the lab school. Even on the first day of walking into the classroom, I could feel the excitement students had to create art, and from there, I knew teaching art was the right place for me. I remember on our first day at the lab school, we got to observe the students and get to know them a little bit. One of the first things that I really enjoyed was being able to experience the students’ “me bags,” which was an ongoing assignment where students had to bring in objects that represented them and their personalities (which ended up tying into our unit very well.) Instantly, I got to learn about a few of the students based on the objects they chose to share with the class. The second class we had students prepare quick drawings for the Drawn Out show, where we had them draw symbols of themselves and their personalities (we reminded them of their “me bags” and how they could think in similar terms for the project.) Yet again, I continued to get to know each student. As the semester progressed, I learned a lot about each individual and the ways that they learn best. This became the most important thing to me as a teacher because it allowed for me to make the connection to each student and understand them in a way that I could fulfill my goals as a teacher in providing them with the best instruction and direction to better suit their growth and learning.
At the beginning of the semester, building lesson plans, organizing website/blog documentation and reflection on my teaching had not come so easily at first. However, once I gained more confidence in creating lesson plans with thorough objectives that related to standards, GLEs, and any other curricular information, I began to understand the means of being a more organized teacher. With undergoing many corrections to my lesson planning and organization, I began to learn how to create successful plans and focus on how I needed to instruct/direct my students towards achieving the objectives/goals I had set for them. Although the work takes a lot of time, thought, and especially practice, I was on the path of ease in the classroom when I was able to refer to my lesson plans as guides for greater and better learning. Differentiation became a term in my lesson plans that I had not originally understood, but became an essential part to a successful and productive class. It was a learning experience when I was fronted with issues of students not being on task, not being interested in the activities we were introducing, or simply not understanding our instruction. This is when differentiation became a lesson savior, and helped keep students on the track of productivity and learning. Here is a segment of one of my journal entries and my reaction to understanding the importance of differentiation: “It is really difficult to foresee what actions to consider when planning a lesson if a student will grasp what is being introduced. However, in Student 14’s case, it all depended on how he stands in terms of complexity and willingness. Introducing the same idea to a student, but in a different way that’ll challenge and inspire them is hard because you are not sure what is going to actually happen. I notice that (especially in this case) the situation may depend on that moment in time, and the judgment you will have to make on the spot if you are confronted with the issue. But being prepared and knowing that differentiation may occur is important.”
Lastly, one learning theory/methodology that I became extremely comfortable with in my instruction and believe had very successful results was Choice-Based Learning, where centers were set up in the classroom for students to choose to work. Arranging the classroom environment into “centers” was extremely beneficial to not only my students but to me as well. For them, they became familiar with each center, which in reality was a “center” for each specific media, which they then were able to become familiar with the materials and applicable techniques of each media. For me, I was able to view learning happen per center, where I could see students working with each material at different points in the lesson, as well as, have small one-on-one discussions or larger group discussions with students according to which center they were working at. It was also beneficial to me in the realm of clean-up, where I could instruct students by station to clean specific things at each center, which eventually became routine to students and asking them to clean, along with them knowing how certain materials are handled, was not a difficult task on my part.
From all of this, I learned that discovering my own teaching methods was/is an exponential process. It took several positive and negative situations to fully grasp how I can apply my teaching skills and knowledge to that given situation. For example, it took a situation where a student was unwilling to participate and lacked motivation to understand the importance and means of differentiation and how I can apply different approaches to motivate this student to work with willingness and enthusiasm. I learned that it is essential to understand each individual student, in and outside of the learning environment, to become a teacher who can fully apply myself to assist in the growth and learning of that student. I learned the means of creating a thorough and organized lesson plan and how objectives/standards/GLEs,PGCs/etc. all relate to benefit the teaching experience. The extra work and compassion to teach and understand each student makes all the difference.
-What would you do differently?
As far as my weaknesses, struggles and difficulties in my teaching experience I believe that I would need to approach assessment and documentation of learning differently.
Assessment is something I need to push in my classroom to fully examine whether or not each student has achieved or reached the objectives I had set out for them. There were many instances where I believe I implemented very good assessment instruments that students did not recognize as assessments, however, many of these activities were group based and not put into hard-copy documentation. My class revolved mostly around the process of working, creating, and reflecting on work. I realize now that I need to work on evaluating my students and the outcomes of their work in its entirety (work ethic, results, etc.)
Documentation of learning is also an area where my effort to document the student’s progress and learning declined rapidly throughout the summer. I understand the struggle of being distracted by other factors that play into being a teacher, but it is crucial to stay committed to all aspects of being a teacher. Especially in this day in age, where the arts are often put on a backburner as far as their importance in education, so, documenting student learning and proving its worth is essential.
When reflecting upon my learning experience working with 4th and 5th grade students at the lab school, I can easily say there are many areas in which I have grown. I have seen great personal growth in my experience as a teacher, in building relationships with students and understanding the learning methods that best suit each individual, as well as, understanding the importance of thorough lesson planning and documentation. As this experience was one of my first times taking full charge in a classroom environment, everyday and every lesson became a learning experience, where I continued to grow throughout the semester and began to find strength and weaknesses that helped me find my ground.
Building relationships with students has been the most prominent factor in my experience at the lab school. Even on the first day of walking into the classroom, I could feel the excitement students had to create art, and from there, I knew teaching art was the right place for me. I remember on our first day at the lab school, we got to observe the students and get to know them a little bit. One of the first things that I really enjoyed was being able to experience the students’ “me bags,” which was an ongoing assignment where students had to bring in objects that represented them and their personalities (which ended up tying into our unit very well.) Instantly, I got to learn about a few of the students based on the objects they chose to share with the class. The second class we had students prepare quick drawings for the Drawn Out show, where we had them draw symbols of themselves and their personalities (we reminded them of their “me bags” and how they could think in similar terms for the project.) Yet again, I continued to get to know each student. As the semester progressed, I learned a lot about each individual and the ways that they learn best. This became the most important thing to me as a teacher because it allowed for me to make the connection to each student and understand them in a way that I could fulfill my goals as a teacher in providing them with the best instruction and direction to better suit their growth and learning.
At the beginning of the semester, building lesson plans, organizing website/blog documentation and reflection on my teaching had not come so easily at first. However, once I gained more confidence in creating lesson plans with thorough objectives that related to standards, GLEs, and any other curricular information, I began to understand the means of being a more organized teacher. With undergoing many corrections to my lesson planning and organization, I began to learn how to create successful plans and focus on how I needed to instruct/direct my students towards achieving the objectives/goals I had set for them. Although the work takes a lot of time, thought, and especially practice, I was on the path of ease in the classroom when I was able to refer to my lesson plans as guides for greater and better learning. Differentiation became a term in my lesson plans that I had not originally understood, but became an essential part to a successful and productive class. It was a learning experience when I was fronted with issues of students not being on task, not being interested in the activities we were introducing, or simply not understanding our instruction. This is when differentiation became a lesson savior, and helped keep students on the track of productivity and learning. Here is a segment of one of my journal entries and my reaction to understanding the importance of differentiation: “It is really difficult to foresee what actions to consider when planning a lesson if a student will grasp what is being introduced. However, in Student 14’s case, it all depended on how he stands in terms of complexity and willingness. Introducing the same idea to a student, but in a different way that’ll challenge and inspire them is hard because you are not sure what is going to actually happen. I notice that (especially in this case) the situation may depend on that moment in time, and the judgment you will have to make on the spot if you are confronted with the issue. But being prepared and knowing that differentiation may occur is important.”
Lastly, one learning theory/methodology that I became extremely comfortable with in my instruction and believe had very successful results was Choice-Based Learning, where centers were set up in the classroom for students to choose to work. Arranging the classroom environment into “centers” was extremely beneficial to not only my students but to me as well. For them, they became familiar with each center, which in reality was a “center” for each specific media, which they then were able to become familiar with the materials and applicable techniques of each media. For me, I was able to view learning happen per center, where I could see students working with each material at different points in the lesson, as well as, have small one-on-one discussions or larger group discussions with students according to which center they were working at. It was also beneficial to me in the realm of clean-up, where I could instruct students by station to clean specific things at each center, which eventually became routine to students and asking them to clean, along with them knowing how certain materials are handled, was not a difficult task on my part.
From all of this, I learned that discovering my own teaching methods was/is an exponential process. It took several positive and negative situations to fully grasp how I can apply my teaching skills and knowledge to that given situation. For example, it took a situation where a student was unwilling to participate and lacked motivation to understand the importance and means of differentiation and how I can apply different approaches to motivate this student to work with willingness and enthusiasm. I learned that it is essential to understand each individual student, in and outside of the learning environment, to become a teacher who can fully apply myself to assist in the growth and learning of that student. I learned the means of creating a thorough and organized lesson plan and how objectives/standards/GLEs,PGCs/etc. all relate to benefit the teaching experience. The extra work and compassion to teach and understand each student makes all the difference.
-What would you do differently?
As far as my weaknesses, struggles and difficulties in my teaching experience I believe that I would need to approach assessment and documentation of learning differently.
Assessment is something I need to push in my classroom to fully examine whether or not each student has achieved or reached the objectives I had set out for them. There were many instances where I believe I implemented very good assessment instruments that students did not recognize as assessments, however, many of these activities were group based and not put into hard-copy documentation. My class revolved mostly around the process of working, creating, and reflecting on work. I realize now that I need to work on evaluating my students and the outcomes of their work in its entirety (work ethic, results, etc.)
Documentation of learning is also an area where my effort to document the student’s progress and learning declined rapidly throughout the summer. I understand the struggle of being distracted by other factors that play into being a teacher, but it is crucial to stay committed to all aspects of being a teacher. Especially in this day in age, where the arts are often put on a backburner as far as their importance in education, so, documenting student learning and proving its worth is essential.