My practicum experience has been a very valuable learning process. I consistently had to adjust and be flexible each day within each lesson. I quickly realized that the time I planned for each lesson did not go exactly how I wanted it to. I knew that the times I estimated when I created my lesson plan would not be 100% accurate, but I did not know that I would misjudge every, single activity. Most activities took way longer than expected and I had to decide either to continue where I left off the next lesson or cut it and move on. The daily adjustment of teaching and actually experiencing it has been very valuable. The most notable example of adjusting my teaching is that I did not start the adding/subtrating and multiplying/dividing decimal unit that I originally thought I would. My supervising teacher and her PLC decided that because of a district assessment the students took and the fact that the students did poorly, they need to re-teach a few different topics and basically put that decimal unit on hold.

Another thing I learned was that some students for some reason or another lack the motivation to put effort into trying to understand a concept or to do the work that will help them understand. There would be instances where students were obviously not understanding a concept, but would not come in before or after school for additional help, even if they knew I was available or students would not turn in homework assignments. Students would actively participate in class and do the things asked of them, but once they were personally held accountable and did not have me nagging them to do work they lacked motivation. This was not something I was completely expecting. I personally turned in all assignments and I have never actually not turned in homework or done work for a class and I assumed that all students had the same basic philosophy. Because of my small class size of 14 (then 15 when HL came) I was able to keep track of who did not turn in work or was not tracking with relative ease so getting on their cases about turning in work was not that difficult. One student I bugged every day for a week until he turned in an assignment, another student I bugged just as long still did not turn in my first worksheet that I assigned (1-10 Practice) on day 1. That student did not receive a stellar grade (60%) on the post-assessment and I think there is a direct correlation. If he received more practice, which I believe homework to be, then he probably would have received a higher grade.

I think showing my students that I was interested to see their work and that I knew who and who did not turn them in really showed them that I cared about their learning which I think helped motivate them to do other work. Although, I did not receive work from all students from my first worksheet, I received work from every student for the PEMDAS quiz practice worksheet and the PEMDAS crossword that was a quiz that became a homework assignment. For the latter two worksheets students did not turn them all in time, but by continuously asking students for them I eventually all got them in. The student that did turn in the 1-10 practice worksheet did turn in the other homework assignments that were assigned. I think that because I indicated that I cared about my students and their learning they became more inclined to do their work and for themselves to care about their own learning and take responsibility for it. I know from this experience, that I will do my best to keep track of every student that walks through my door and help hold them accountable for their work learning and work.