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-Bauder Elementary School-
My student teaching experience at Bauder Elementary was extremely informative and transformative for my practice as a teacher. This was my first concentrated time working with elementary aged students in such an intense setting. I have learned extremely valuable things in the areas of classroom management, logistics, and supporting individual students. Additionally I have had many experiences that have illustrated areas that I need to grow in to become more successful as a teacher in my future career efforts.
One of the most eye opening experiences of the elementary placement has been the extreme logistical challenges of running an elementary art room. With six plans a day and over 5oo students the job can be extremely daunting. My cooperating teacher provided me with an extremely proficient role model in the realm of logistics, supply hand out, and clean up that allowed me to build on this already established base and have the flexibility to begin to explore my own style in regards to logistics instruction. Things like labeling tables, utilizing table helpers, and clear and concise instructions have been a key part of my experience at Bauder and will transfer into my teaching career. Additionally, Bauder has an excellent system of para-professionals and administration staff that help to support the various needs of the diverse population of learners at the school. This system helped me to accommodate my lessons to meet the needs of individual learners and realize the importance of this especially in a school that does not have as many resources as Bauder. Over the eight weeks of the placement I have enjoyed getting to know the individual students and appreciate each of them in the context of the larger student body. Relationships are an extremely important part of my teaching philosophy and I have enjoyed getting to know many students in a very short amount of time.
I have also had many challenges and opportunities for growth during my time at Bauder. Working with elementary aged students challenged me to practice very precise and exact language when giving instruction, doing demonstrations, and working with individuals. This was initially a challenge element for me, often talking too long or using too many words and loosing student interest and engagement in the process. Over the weeks of the placement I worked with my teacher to strengthen my ability to speak succinctly and utilize visuals whenever possible to aid my teaching process. An additional area of growth from Bauder was the development and use of my, “teacher voice” utilizing when to talk to students in a way that gains attention and respect without communicating frustration was a key part of my experience. I worked to blend this new tool with my calm approach to teaching and was able to show growth in this area. My experience at Buader helped me to understand the growth that students show from K-8 and gain important perspective on the tasks and expectations we place on students and how I can support this success in my own teaching practice.
One of the most eye opening experiences of the elementary placement has been the extreme logistical challenges of running an elementary art room. With six plans a day and over 5oo students the job can be extremely daunting. My cooperating teacher provided me with an extremely proficient role model in the realm of logistics, supply hand out, and clean up that allowed me to build on this already established base and have the flexibility to begin to explore my own style in regards to logistics instruction. Things like labeling tables, utilizing table helpers, and clear and concise instructions have been a key part of my experience at Bauder and will transfer into my teaching career. Additionally, Bauder has an excellent system of para-professionals and administration staff that help to support the various needs of the diverse population of learners at the school. This system helped me to accommodate my lessons to meet the needs of individual learners and realize the importance of this especially in a school that does not have as many resources as Bauder. Over the eight weeks of the placement I have enjoyed getting to know the individual students and appreciate each of them in the context of the larger student body. Relationships are an extremely important part of my teaching philosophy and I have enjoyed getting to know many students in a very short amount of time.
I have also had many challenges and opportunities for growth during my time at Bauder. Working with elementary aged students challenged me to practice very precise and exact language when giving instruction, doing demonstrations, and working with individuals. This was initially a challenge element for me, often talking too long or using too many words and loosing student interest and engagement in the process. Over the weeks of the placement I worked with my teacher to strengthen my ability to speak succinctly and utilize visuals whenever possible to aid my teaching process. An additional area of growth from Bauder was the development and use of my, “teacher voice” utilizing when to talk to students in a way that gains attention and respect without communicating frustration was a key part of my experience. I worked to blend this new tool with my calm approach to teaching and was able to show growth in this area. My experience at Buader helped me to understand the growth that students show from K-8 and gain important perspective on the tasks and expectations we place on students and how I can support this success in my own teaching practice.
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