Through the process of putting my practicum experience into this worksample, I have learned a lot. I reflected everyday after each lesson, but analyzing the entire unit that I created has enlightened me immensely. It's great to see all that you did come together and to see the results of your efforts pay off. Even if my students hadn't made gains, I still would leave this experience having learned a lot. I'll be honest, this worksample has taken much more time than I had imagined, though, now that I am just about done, I see how it is helpful for me as a teacher to think about all of this. The first thing I will say, that I learned, is that reflecting on what you implement in the classroom is so essential to teaching. It's nice to see all the work you have done in one sample. Below I have sectioned off my areas of learning.

Management

If you don't have control of your class, you won't get to the fun stuff--teaching. I was fortunate to have a difficult class to manage. That sounds strange, and at the beginning there were many days that I wondered what it would be like to commence my teaching experience with a manageable class where I could focus on my instructional strategies and all the fun exciting games I had thought up. But, in reflection, I'm glad I had the opportunity to practice my management skills before I take on my longer student teaching assignment. I was able to try out many different tactics of getting the class to listen. What I found the most effective was going to the same spot every time I wanted their attention, saying can I have your quiet attention, and when it was quiet I would go confidently into my instructions and finish my thought without letting them stop me. It seems so simple now, but it took me awhile to get it just right. The other things about management I learned, was how you have to put the entire class above individual students. This was difficult for me at first. There were many students in my class who I knew would benefit from my undivided individual attention, but as soon as I gave them that attention the noise would go up and I would loose the class. I learned that when talking with an individual student, I must not only keep my eye on the rest of the class, but also to make sure they know I'm still paying attention to them. I also learned that it's okay to act. For me, acting was so helpful. In general, my philosophy is to keep on smiling because when you're smiling, the people around you tend to have better attitudes and that can help the entire atmosphere. As a teacher, it's good to smile. I like to think my students appreciated that, but some took advantage of it. It's as if they could tell it was hard for me to be a disciplinarian. So I acted. When I had to address a behavioral problem, I stopped smiling and acted with no smile, a stern voice and I also stayed in one spot. This was so affective. The first time it worked I wanted to smile so badly because I was so happy that I did it correctly. Through this difficult class to manage, I found out ways in which were comfortable for me to keep control of my class, and for that I am the most grateful.

Teaching and Learning

I love to teach. During the moments when I had the class under control and we had great discussions, or times when my student had a realization about something made me feel that excitement for teaching. The first moment this happened was on my third day. I was brainstorming with the class about events in a story we had read and they were coming up with great insights. It was an amazing feeling. I actually like teaching more than I thought I would previously. I knew I wanted to be a teacher, to help students find confidence in themselves, and to show them how wonderful reading and writing can be, but was not expecting such joy from it. It's also very tiring. My first day that I taught two classes in a row, I was more tired than if I had just been hiking. It's a good kind of tired though--an accomplishing tired. The enjoyment I get from teaching is worth all the exhaustion. It is also good to keep the studetns enjoying the class and not frustrating them.

If you have a fun activity planned, you must think it all the way through. If you do not use simple and clear directions, a fun activity can quickly turn into frustration for the students. I've learned, with the help from my university supervisor, that three is a great number for directions. Giving just three simple instructions at a time can help the students understand what is expected of them. I witnessed a lot of frustration from students before I realized this. I had originally thought that I should be overly clear by giving them tons of examples and options, but that is not the case. Students like to feel like you are setting them up for success. You can still challenge them, but first, you must be clear in your directions. I learned that I am not there to teach them how to understand me. Understanding me should be the easy part. I can challenge them with the ideas and questions I have them think about. My first day I gave them connect the dots to do. They were very simple. I had them connect the idea of outlines for pre-writing essays to them, and they loved it. They stopped asking why they had to first organize their ideas before writing. It was simple and effective. 

Professional Learning Communities

As I have stated previously, at my practicum site we had a lot of PLC meetings. At first, they seemed to get in the way of individual prep time, and they do, but they also help it. In the PLC I was a part of, we all shared ideas and material. For example, they used my graphic organizer for their classes, after tweaking them a bit. It's nice to bounce your ideas off of other people and to get instant feedback. The difficult part is when you have to make sure to voice your opinions, politely of course. You also have to know when it is appropriate to do so. You have to know when you should tweak something for you as an individual and when to keep something because it will help your students. I think it can be a little strange when all ten 9th grade English classes are doing the exact same thing, but also, students got switched around multiple times in the short time I was there. In that sense, it's great.

Staying Positive

Just because others are showing signs of apathy, doesn't mean I have to. Students are very in-tuned to how you're really feeling. I had some days where I was so worn out from night classes and teaching and my personal life, but I made the choice to bring a positive attitude to the classroom and it was effective. I've learned that the environment you give your students can affect their learning ability. When they feel comfortable they are more likely to succeed. Being positive and clear with them shows them that you care and want them to succeed. I've seen a lot of teachers who are worn out and show it in their class. The students respond to this apathy negatively and seem to not care about performing for such a teacher.