Student Practice Reflection - Self-Evaluation #2

2A) ATTITUDE TOWARDS PUPILS 

Can I maintain classroom discipline? Am I respectful and kind towards all pupils? Do I correctly recognise and assess pupils’ skills and needs? Do I differentiate instruction according to pupils’ individual profiles?

The area of classroom discipline is probably the aspect of teaching that I still need to work on the most. I am naturally quite soft-spoken and relaxed, which means that I sometimes do not have the biggest presence. I also care a lot about how comfortable and happy my students feel, that connection with them is my number one priority, which means that I create quite a relaxed atmosphere. That unfortunately means that students can sometimes start acting up, talking over one another, and I need to bring the peace back into the classroom. My mentor has mentioned this as the area where I am still lacking and I absolutely agree with him. It's a tough line to walk. My priority is rapport, understanding, and mutual respect, which often means that I do not have the strongest control over the classroom. I am still learning how to find the perfect balance between the two and I think this might take me a while to figure out. I do not want to jeopardize the positivity and love I am able to establish in the environment to be able to have perfect order. I prefer when my students are too excited or too comfortable than when they are quiet, uncomfortable, or do not feel like they want to participate. However, I do recognize the necessity of a teacher being able to have control and I am ready to grow in this aspect. As far as respect and kindness goes, I don't think I lack in this area. I would actually say this is my number one strength as a teacher - I am very positive, give a lot of reinforcement, and create a comfortable atmosphere for my students. Assessment and personalized instructions are areas that I still feel like I can improve in. I think my softness sometimes gets in the way of being critical and giving strong feedback. It's all about balance and I am still trying to figure out how to land closest to the line. I believe it isn't necessary to point of mistakes or make students feel bad about themselves and I prefer correcting them by giving a more precise answer. I think that still signals that they were not fully correct and gives them the right answer, but it doesn't feel as negative or discouraging. Individual needs are also something I am still trying to work on. I find it difficult to focus on singular learners in large classrooms. When the group is smaller, I believe I am able to focus on individual needs, but when the group is larger, I find it hard to find the time to do so. I think as far as getting to know the students as individuals and treating them as such, I am really good at that, but I can still work on personalizing their instructions or needs in the lesson. Clearly, I still have a lot of work to do, but I believe that knowing your own weaknesses is an important first step to grow. I've been able to completely transform as a teacher in just two months of my practicum and I am excited to challenge myself to use this self-evaluation to keep getting better. 

2B) ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE PRACTICUM EXPERIENCE (ME AS A LEARNER) 

Am I open and willing to learn and accept constructive feedback? How easy it is for me to analyse and reflect on the learning and teaching process? What have I learnt during this year? How have I changed?

I believe that as far as willingness to learn and grow, this is another strength of mine. I am not a very prideful person and I realize that I am still a rookie teacher. I have plenty of room to grow and I appreciate any feedback I can get. As I previously mentioned, I am actually my own worst critic. I always look for ways to improve and become better. I believe I am always analyzing myself and reflecting on what worked and what I could do better with. Sometimes I can be too harsh on myself and go down a dark path of self-doubt, but luckily I am able to separate that from my teaching and not let that affect my lessons. I think I sometimes need to give myself more credit. As a beginner I am very happy with how my practice went. Everyone, even the most experienced teachers, make mistakes, so I shouldn't scrutinize myself for them as much as I do. Realize what you could've done better, reflect, implement that and move on. That is my advice to myself. I think that the practicum has enabled me to not just learn or change as a teacher, but completely transform. I've gained so much confidence as a teacher and been able to realize that I belong in this profession. My lesson planning skills have improved and I've been very happy with how I can make different topics engaging for my students. Through observing my brilliant mentor and then implementing his ideas in my own teaching, I've been able to broaden my repertoire of techniques and become a flexible educator. I might've walked into the practice unskilled and nervous, but I am walking out confident and with a lot of tricks up my sleeve. Seeing how fast I've been able to grow makes me excited for the future. I still have a lot of weaknesses and things to work on, but I believe I will be able to overcome them very soon with how passionate and driven I have been.