~ I feel that I am more of a teacher now then I was at the beginning of the semester because I am more active in the classroom. I feel welcomed and I feel part of a team. My teacher refers to me as an equal and it is no longer her class, but our class. She let me sit down with the other teachers when they were discussing an upcoming event and they asked for my option which made me feel apart of the team. I want to be in the classroom more and am very upset when I am not able to make it in due to schedule or other issues. I feel more involved with the students and feel that I have made a connection with each. I just feel ready to be a teacher, from the information I�ve gained from my classes but the support I am getting from my SBTE, she is really making this time fun and making me prepared for student teaching.
2. What are you doing to support/strengthen communication with your SBTE?
~ Every time I am in the classroom, my SBTE makes sure that we talk for at least 15 mins. When I go in there on Wednesdays I get there early so we can talk and also during lunch we have meetings. I feel comfortable to talk with her and that is good. We also communicate through email. I just feel that communication with her is very important and want to make sure she knows what I need to do, and any concerns I have. I feel comfortable enough to ask if I can teach a lesson that she had planned, which is nice. I really feel that the communication between my SBTE and me is very good and strong. I just make sure she knows where I am and how I feel.
3. What are you doing to support/strengthen communication with the students in your class?
~ I really try to talk to each of my students. When they are at centers in the morning, I really try to go and talk with each of the students see where they are, or just to ask them questions. I really like that my SBTE allows me to assess the students during centers because it really allows me to get to know each student and understand their learning abilities. It also allows for me to communicate with them and have them feel comfortable to communicate with me. I did notice that more of the students are coming and talking with me now which I like.
4. How are you ensuring that the three lessons you�re teaching are engaging and not just practicing skill?
~ Before each of my lessons I talk with my SBTE to see if it�s a good topic and what not. Once we talk about that I send her my lesson plan and she writes me feedback if I need to change anything. When I am done with my lesson, my SBTE and I sit down and she talks with me about what went well, how she felt about it, things that she liked. It really helps me to get feedback before and after the lesson. I also notice that when I am teaching, I get the students more involved then what I wrote in my lessons.
2. I feel that I am still worried about time management, and classroom management. I still have not master time management and fitting everything that I want to fit into one day or one plan. I am starting to observe that sometimes you just do not get to everything you plan and other days you did not plan enough. I feel that one thing I am excited about student teaching in the fall is that I am walking in with these students and will see how my SBTE starts off the year with classroom management. I have never really seen how teachers start their classroom rules and their expectations for their class so I am excited to see that and really work on that my self.
3. One big concern that I have is that I have only been in second grade through my EDI 330 placement, my EDI 408 placement and now this semester and I feel that I am very good at teaching 2nd grade and would love a job in that grade, but I am worried that I am going to struggle in the upper grades for my second student teaching. I just feel that I have not have a lot of experience working in those grades and am worried that I am going to struggle. Other than that I am just excited to teach and get myself in the classroom!
