These past few months have positively flown by… I have been head first into my student teaching and have spent nearly everyday at school! I have learned more being in the thick of it than any coursework, and I am still learning everyday even after almost three months.
The biggest adjustment is the age group; I have always preferred older students but taking on elementary certification, I have found myself with 1st and 2nd graders. Having young children of my own, I am familiar with the emotional and skill development of under 6’s, but having a room full of them has been next level. One of my biggest learning curves has been to scale lessons and objectives down. This age group still needs very detailed step-by-step instruction and this takes up a lot of time. Simplifying learning goals, providing plenty of modeling, and making activities bite sized has helped immensely.
Another amazing tool I have experienced is Daily5. My mentor teacher has implemented this stem into her class and the results are amazing. Students not only work independently, but the literacy level of the class has improved every term. Rotations are definitely something I wish to implement in my own classroom someday, and being that they are so flexible, changeable, differentiated, and manageable with adequate set up and training, I think they are a great design for mixed grades, ability, and large classes.
These rotations came into play when I covered for my mentor teacher the week she unexpectedly was out. I offered to jump in and cover her full schedule (as I had already been teaching her full class twice a week and assisting the others) and it was intense. Having students trained to jump into rotations during the time period and work without needing directions was so helpful. I could focus on my small group and not have to prep for those times. It was a lot of prep, a lot of behavior management, but if it wasn’t the greatest learning event so far.
My favorite part so far has been lesson planning and creating presentations and activities. However, these things are very time consuming and I admit I get carried away perfecting something that students will only see a few minutes of the day. One skill I will continue to work on is becoming fast and efficient with lesson planning and prep. Keeping it clear and simple and having an allotted period of time for me to work on a lesson has been key to keeping my personal time mine. Maybe in the future, as I continue to improve my method, I will be able to create lessons and activities for other teachers.
As I come to the end of student teaching (it’s already June!) I am excited and nervous at the prospect of being licensed educator. My last Praxis exams are scheduled for July, and then I will be able to submit for my certification. It seems like a million years ago I started this program, then the great Covid debacle derailed me, but now I can’t believe it’s almost at a close! I am so excited to be so close to beginning my career and life as a teacher.