Week Two

Secondary Methods Student Weekly Reflection Sheet

Sam Houston State University

Name: Katy Wood

Date: 9/10/11

1. The most positive aspect of my field experience (or an area I showed strength) since my last reflection has been: I have begun to develop teacher student relationships with many of the students. Last week, many of the students would approach me to ask for my input on their performance ideas, as well as their performances. The exciting part was when they actually took my input and put it into practice in their final performance of their scene.

2. The aspects of my field experience which most need improvement or adjustment include: I would really like to be more involved in the classroom. I realize I have only been in the classroom twice, but I feel as though I need to be doing more than just assisting students with little details regarding their scenes. Even if I could take role or even start the class with their daily journal entry/class discussion, that would be great.

3. Two important things I have learned about teaching and learning through my field experience since my last reflection include: One thing I learned is that it is very important for every student to participate in what you are teaching. My mentor teacher had a couple of mentally challenged students in her classes this last time I observed, and she was able to keep them involved in the classroom experience, even though their activities were slightly altered to suit them. Another important thing I learned about teaching through my field experience is that visual learning is very effective. At the beginning of class, my mentor teacher would ask the class which was more effective, facial expressions or spoken words, and the class would discuss their opinions. She would then show them a silent film which proved that even though spoken word was important, facial expressions were much more effective at getting the point across.

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.

During the entire morning of my field experience this past week, I was actively thinking about how I would conduct my own classroom. After watching my mentor teacher conduct her classroom and the way she included every student in her class, including those with special needs, it really got me to think about different ways I could include students like that in my classroom. One really interesting thing I learned about autistic students was that getting them to participate involved giving them options as opposed to telling them what they had to do. For example, the class this student was in was performing in groups. My mentor teacher, before class started, asked this student how he felt about performing in groups, and he said he would probably do it. She then asked him if he would rather perform in a group that was acting out bowling or a group that was acting out a snowball fight, and he chose to bowl. I just thought that was in interesting way to keep this student participating in class without forcing him to participate.

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

4. Practices ethical behavior and intellectual honesty.

As far as ethical behavior goes, I practiced this last week when some of the students would ask me personal questions about myself. I explained to them that for the most part, those questions were too personal for me to answer and they should not be discussed in a classroom setting. During the classes, some of the students would ask me about the play that their monologue came from. Some of the plays I knew very well and could easily answer any questions about them. However, some of the plays I had never heard of before, so I had to admit that I did not know much about the play. I encouraged the students to read the play themselves or look up a summary of the play.

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

This past week, I was very conscious about the specific words that I said to the students. Because the oldest students in the class are only four years younger than I am, it would have been easy to just speak to them on their level, as if I were their friend. By keeping that student-teacher distance in mind, I was able to become more thoughtful about what I said to the students as well as how I said what I said. Also, in the various classes, the students were split into two large groups to perform a silent movie. As I bounced back and forth between the two groups, it was obvious to me that different students wanted to perform different things. By keeping this in mind, I helped the group by using those varying voices to create different aspects of the scene, binding the group together using the individual strengths they possessed.

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.

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.