Student Teaching Reflection free essay sample

As I participated in the CWT I learned that if used effectively, it can improve instruction, increase student’s performance, and provide teachers with data to identify professional development needs. For example, after the process was over, each team member when over what they specifically observed. My responsibility was looking for RTI documents and assessments. In my report I stated that overall teachers were indeed documenting student performance, however, a vast majority of those documents were incomplete or confusing. Some teachers were using different ways to document student growth. Some suggestions included that teachers should consider using one best practice to document student performance. This makes it easier for the team to look for specific documentation. After debriefing with the team, we brought we gathered to grade level meeting. In the meeting we shared the overall strengths and weakness. We also highlighted certain teachers who seemed to have best practices in their classroom. This student is only in the classroom for Social Studies/Science and at times for Math. He does join the students for P. E. , music, lunch, recess, T. V. programming, computer, and counseling. There is, also, another student who is ADHD and he is currently taking medication. There are three students who leave to go to the Title I room for reading and there are five students that leave on occasion for math, depending on how much they are struggling. Three students leave once a week for speech therapy. Once I started teaching the whole day, my days went by very quickly. Within an elementary classroom there is always so much going on and with very energetic 1st  graders I never had a chance to stop moving. I did learn quickly that no matter what you plan in your lesson plans, they change and the teacher needs to adapt to the change. I have found that organization, time and classroom management, flexibility, and communication with other teachers and administration are a must for teachers. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend parent/teacher conferences and teacher in-services meetings. I felt that attending these activities helped me better prepare myself as a future teacher. The teacher in-service provided me with wonderful information that I will continue with and take into my classroom. The in-service informed us about the unfamiliar disability, a learning disability. The in-service did not just give me information about LD, it gave me a chance to know and feel what it is like have a learning disability. It really opened my eyes and my heart to the LD students. Before going into my student teaching experience, I was unsure of how I felt about the No Child Left Behind Act. After being in the classroom and viewing the guided reading groups, I think it is a great way to keep students reading at their level. It benefits all children to achieve and succeed in their reading skills, abilities, and levels. If there was only one reading texts for all of the children, it would only benefit a handful of students. The more advanced students and the less advanced students would be at a great disadvantage and not be able to succeed at their highest potential. I also believe that there should be separate groups for math. I had students who could have excelled at higher levels in math, but were held back because of the less advanced students. No Child Left Behind Act is very hard for one teacher in the classroom to handle, if they want to be able to get to all of the groups of students and to have them excel. I feel that teachers need an aide within the classroom to assist during the guided reading time. My experience in the 1st  grade classroom has taught me a tremendous amount about being a teacher, organization, time and classroom management, flexibility, and communication. I learned many effective ways to run a classroom, classroom management, and teaching strategies. I feel that I am prepared for a teaching position in a regular education classroom. I am looking forward to the challenges, rewards, and positive benefits to teaching children.