Student Practice Reflection - Day 4 (Instructions)

     February 4th was day 4 of my student practice and it was not the best day for me. I felt very bad about myself today, which I will explain later. While it was a difficult day, I feel like I learned a lot about myself and the school environment today, which is always a good thing. Not every experience will be the most pleasant, but I know that it's all a growing experience that will make me a better person and teacher.

    The reason today was difficult for me was because I compared myself to another student teacher in the class a lot. It was our first day observing together, which made the experience much more enjoyable, but I felt very insecure about the way I've been approaching the student practice. I've been very passive, in-the-back, and quiet, but not because I'm lazy or I do not want to engage - I just did not want to disrupt or cross any boundaries. Seeing another student teacher be much more engaged and active made me feel like I've not been acting how I should've and that my mentor teacher could perceive that as laziness or unwillingness to participate. I felt very bad, but I take this as a lesson. Maybe part of it has to do with my personality, being introverted and quiet, or with me being much less experienced than her, but I do want to be more active - I just didn't know if I could and was not comfortable taking that step. I spoke to my mentor about it and luckily he was very understanding and didn't see it as a bad thing. I'm glad this happened and I got to learn not just from the teacher or students, but also my friend. I'm excited to be more hands-on and active from now on. I'm sure it will make the experience even better and I will learn even more from everyone around.

Instructions

    I also observed how class instructions work in this school. What I found really interesting is how attendance is not checking out loud in class. The teacher checks it on their own, quietly, online. It allows to save class time for more important things and the teacher does it when the kids are busy. It's time-efficient, but also requires a lot of focus and familiarity with the group from the teacher, which I appreciate. To grab students' attention, the teacher will usually count down from 5 to 1, which always quiets the children down in fear of a possible punishment. All activities are introduced verbally with a small story or anecdote, which helps lead the students on the path to the new topic. The lessons always include a form of revision of previous concepts, then the new topic is introduced and explained by the teacher, it is tested together with the class, and once the kids understand it, then they test the concept on their own, with a check from the teacher at the end. The explanations are always accompanied by additional resources, such as gestures, a presentation, or a video to help the students understand as easily as possible. The instructions are also always simplified as much as possible to achieve clarity - whatever method is best and explains it easiest or fastest, that one is utilized. Pupils can always raise their hands and ask additional questions during the explanation period. Once the concept is understood, the pupils start working independently to utilize the new concept. Personally, I think this is a very universal and strong way of instructing students. It allows for conversation with the teacher, clarity, and plenty of room to get the meaning of the new topic. I would maybe try to utilize more concept checking questions or other forms of actually making sure the student did understand, but other than that, I think this is a very efficient and clear system of working.

    In conclusion, while this was not the most comfortable-feeling day for me, I got to learn a lot. It left me with a lot of reflections and self-evaluation, but I believe that is a good thing. If we never feel uncomfortable, that means we are not pushing ourselves and experiencing new things. I will take everything I learned today and apply it to the next time I visit the school, which makes me feel very hopeful and excited.