Week Four

Secondary Methods Student Weekly Reflection Sheet

Sam Houston State University

Name: Katy Wood

Date: 9/25/2011

1. The most positive aspect of my field experience (or an area I showed strength) since my last reflection has been:

I’ve shown some strength in classroom management. On Monday, my mentor teacher was out, so a substitute was in the class. However, she let me take over the classes and take roll…etc. Because my mentor teacher had told me in advance that she was going to be out, she let me know the activities the students were supposed to be doing during class. Through this experience, I have learned various ways to control the classroom environment by seeing what works and what doesn’t in attempts to keep the students less rowdy. It was a good challenge for me because her 6^th period class is the worst class of the day, as far as rowdiness goes.

2. The aspects of my field experience which most need improvement or adjustment include:

I think I need to work on my speaking voice. I am usually speaking loud enough for people to hear and understand me in a smaller classroom like the one we conduct methods in, but out in my field experience, the classroom is much larger. I just need to work on filling the room with my voice, or just controlling the classroom in such a way where I do not need to speak that loud.

3. Two important things I have learned about teaching and learning through my field experience since my last reflection include:

One thing I have learned is that is very important to have multiple ways of controlling the classroom because speaking louder does not always work. That is definitely something I need to think about in order to effectively manage my classroom. Another important thing I have learned about teaching is it is always good to have multiple backup plans. My mentor teacher was having trouble with her computer the other day, and then she kept locking herself out of her office. She ended up improvising by doing different activities that still related to what she was teaching, even though they were not the original plans.

Secondary Methods: Reflecting on Emerging Dispositions and Diversity Proficiencies

1. Demonstrates ability to be understanding, respectful and inclusive of diverse populations.

2. Demonstrates an attitude of reflection and thoughtfulness about professional growth and instruction.

I reflected a whole lot this week about how I could manage a classroom, as well as how well I taught a lesson to my college class. Many of the comments I received about the lesson I taught in class were very helpful and insightful. A couple of the things mentioned in the comments were things I honestly had no idea I was doing/saying, so it was great for them to be pointed out so I can improve upon them/quit doing them.

3. Demonstrates a commitment to literacy, inquiry, and reflection.

4. Practices ethical behavior and intellectual honesty.

5. Demonstrates thoughtfulness in communication and an awareness and appreciation of varying voices.

6. Demonstrates a commitment to adapting instruction or programs to meet the needs of diverse learners.

7. Demonstrates knowledge of second language acquisition and a commitment to adapting instruction or programs to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse learners.

8. Leads diverse learners to higher level thinking in cognitive, affective and/or psychomotor domains.

During the Theatre 1 classes on Wednesday, I led the class in an activity which required a bit of higher level thinking in order to participate. The class had just taken a quiz over the different areas of the stage and the different directions the actor could be standing on stage. The middle of the classroom was taped off to indicate a stage floor. I would then tell a group of students that they needed to move upstage right with a three quarter left body position. They had to really think about how the stage worked and rely on the information they just learned to stand in the right place the right way.

9. Uses assessment as a tool to evaluate learning and improve instruction for all learners.

10. Demonstrates a commitment to using technology to create an authentic learning environment that promotes problem solving and decision making for diverse learners.

I used technology in the classroom on Monday when the technical theatre class was watching a movie to analyze the costumes of the time period in which the movie was set. The students had to conclude what the items of clothing were and what made them unique to that time period. They had to watch the movie through a different critical lens in order to come up with these conclusions.