What a journey student-teaching has been! I have learned so much and experienced a wide variety of situations. I had the opportunity to work with an incredible mentor teacher and a wonderful classroom of students. While there were a few rough patches, it was an overall great experience that has given me real insight into running a classroom. The best strategies and resources that I currently use in my classroom are those than engage students and help them enjoy learning, as well as respect students for the intelligent human beings that they are.
Second-grade students are easily persuaded to do their work. I have noticed that all it really takes is excitement on my part to get them energized about something. However, maintaining that interest requires a learning experience that is engaging and relevant to each student. The best resources I have used during my internship have been those that make learning fun – for example, the F.O.S.S. science kits that allow constructive, hands-on discovery or the Math Expressions math songs that make challenges like skip-counting so much more fun by adding music and dance moves. These curriculums have little additions that make them much more fun for students than a simple teacher-talk, student-listen curriculum. Engaging students in learning is essential for knowledge-building that will last. The best resources I have used are those that seek to engage students.
The second part of classroom teaching is maintaining a certain level of discipline and order in the classroom. This was something I came into student-teaching rather wary of. I had very little experience with classroom management and was a bit nervous. I quickly found out, however, that it is really not as tough as it seems. The key to classroom management is to treat my students like the smart human beings that they are. Knowing who they are, as real people – what interests them, how they learn, etc – helps me to keep the classroom in order. These students know that I respect them and am interested in their well-being and that respect goes both ways. Now, that is not to say that I have not had to use stronger discipline from time to time, but I believe that once I have my own classroom and can build even closer relationships with my students that a majority of the time, classroom management will not be a significant problem.
Overall, student-teaching has been an incredible experience that has truly prepared me to be in the classroom. I have learned the importance of mutual respect for classroom management (as well as other techniques). I have learned that the best way to get students learning is to engage them and teach lessons that they find enjoyable. I know that I am walking away from this experience with some very valuable strategies and resources.
Chelsea Hasenpflug's bPortfolio 