Final Blog

Mary Fayta

5-2-21

2 strengths going into FE and now:

 A strength I believe I had going into field experience would be that I am good with working with kids. I think that I am good at talking to kids and making sure they feel heard. A strength that I have gained from field experience would be being able to teach remotely. When starting out in this program I never thought that I would be teaching students through a computer screen. But I think this experience has given me a lot of technology skills that I needed.

2 areas that you improved:

I definitely think my teaching improved this semester. I can tell that my teaching improved a lot since field experience 1 and 2. I really took in the feedback on both my lesson plans and my teaching and I think that Dr. Kelly and Dr. H's feedback really helped me to reflect on my lesson plans and teaching and improve. I also think that I improved in my lesson planning as well. I was impressed with my grades this semester and I am proud of how much I have improved on both creating lesson plans and teaching.

2 areas that you still need to work on:

I think I still need to work on creating in person lesson plans. I am so used to teaching remotely, I think I need to work on finding fun activities to do in person for my lesson plans. In addition, I think I need to work on my time management skills. Managing your time is very important as a teacher and I think I need to work on that. 

One area I still need to work on is:

I think I need to become more knowledgeable on creative ways to make lessons. I also need to look into different programs to use for teaching. I struggle to think of engaging and fun lesson plan ideas. I also do not have any prior teaching experience other than field experience 1 and 2.  So, I am not familiar with the different materials and programs out there. In addition, because I don't have any teaching experience it has been hard to come up with lesson ideas and activities for the students. So, I think I need to do some research to find other ways to teach online (other than Google Slides). To help me with this I have started a list of lesson ideas throughout this semester to help me later in my career.

most fun experience:

The most fun I have had this semester is being with the children in the classroom and having the opportunity to help them with their work. I loved the casual moments in the classroom where a student  needed help with something and I got to talk with them one on one and help them figure out the problem. I also loved the spur of the moment conversations I had with the children.

most challenging experience:

The most challenging part of this experience was creating the lesson plans and preparing to teach. Because of the amount of homework I had this semester, it was a struggle to create each lesson plan especially for a remote setting. The number of activities is so limited when teaching remotely it was hard to come up with engaging and fun lessons. It was especially difficult to come up with an idea for my science lesson. Because science is so hands on I wasn't sure what to do with the kids so that the lesson would be fun and they would learn the content. The lesson went well but it would have been a lot easier to come up with an in-person lesson. It was also hard to find the time to practice each lesson the night before. I need to work on my time management skills.

best lesson taught and why:

I think that my best taught lesson was my social studies lesson. I thought that my activities built off of one another well and they were engaging too. The students really liked the book I read and they interacted with the story a lot. I think that the students really liked my Jamboard activity and I thought that I did a good job of interacting with the students as well as teaching the content throughout this lesson

worst lesson taught and why:

I think that my worst taught lesson was my science lesson. I don't think I practiced this lesson enough so I ended up forgetting a lot of the questions I wanted to ask the students. I also think that my exit ticket was a little difficult for the students. I think that I also could talked more with the students during the craft. I could have talked more about why we see the different moon phases and I could have asked the students more questions.

3 things you learned specifically from your CT

1. Things never go as planned, so just learn to roll with the punches

2. It is best to get your Master's degree when going into teaching

3. To help kids understand why it is important to pay attention in school, my MT taught me a strategy she uses from the first day of the school year. She tells the students that school is their job, just like everyone else goes to work, they have to go to work too. And just like everyone else gets paid they get paid too. But they are not getting paid with money like everyone else, they get paid with knowledge. I thought that was a really great way to teach students why school is important. I know kids are always saying that school doesn't matter and it's not important. But, I think the way my MT explains it helps to put things into perspective for kids.

3 things you learned about yourself

1. I can teach remotely and I do well

2. I need to work on the pacing of my lessons

3. I love working in a school, I love the school environment 

3 things you learned about children/students:

1. They are great with technology

2. They usually know more (or less) than you think they do

3. All students enjoy learning, and if they say they don't you aren't teaching the right way.

3 things you learned about the education field:

1. Things can change at any moment

2. There is so much more that happens before the children arrive

3. Not every day can be super productive

what you wish you had done differently:

I wish I had gotten to know the students more. I really enjoyed the times I got to talk with them and interact with them. But, it is really hard to get to know the students remotely so I wish I had been able to talk with them more and really get to know them. But it's hard when it's not your class too.

what you are excited about in terms of student teaching

I am excited to get more experience in the field before actually finding a job. I'm also excited to really see what it 's like to work as a teacher every single day and to form a bond with my students and with my MT as well. I'm also excited to hopefully teach in person, as I have never actually done that before. 

what you are most anxious about in terms of student teaching: 

Because I have never taught in person before, I am both excited and nervous about that. I am worried that I will not know how to teach in person because I have only taught online. I am also worried that I won't be able to come up with fun and engaging in-person lesson plans. But I'm sure my MT will be there to help me along the way. In addition, even though I am excited, I'm also nervous to teach every single day. I don't know what that's like, and I think it will be a challenge to come up with lessons for each day and to make them fun too. But, again I'm sure my MT will be a huge help!