Final Reflection

My observational experiences have been very rewarding this semester. I have gained a lot of
insight in certain areas of teaching. By observing my cooperating teacher, her instructional assistant, and
my peer-partner, I have gained a lot of knowledge on what I would or would not do in my own classroom.
Student engagement and interaction depends on how the teachers routines within his or
her lesson. Student engagement also depends on the instructional strategies implemented in the lesson.

Some strategies may work for one group of students and not the other. Therefore, we should
always be ready to adjust and become proactive in the classroom so that all students needs may
be met.
Ive learned that active learning strategies implemented in a lesson can be the most effective for
retention. It is important to use different active learning strategies in the classroom because as

teachers, we need to be able to teach all students with different learning styles. While student
teaching, I would encourage and facilitate practice in the classroom for my students. I

would be doing think-pair-share activities in the beginning of lessons as a hook. I would

expect my students to complete learning log or journal entries at the end of the period so
that I can track their retention. I would bring in models or manipulatives that they may
have seen before, which is more likely to jog their memory. At the end of a lesson, I
would use the Answer chain active strategy, and that will let me know whether or not
my students retained the information that was taught.
There are times when we as teachers must always be ready if mistakes happen and we
only realize it while in the middle of teaching a lesson. In my experience in making adjustments
to a lesson, I learned what to do and what not to do. I did a lesson on retelling a story, and my

cooperating teacher gave me the wrong version of the book that was supposed to connect to my
activity. After reading the wrong version of the story, I had to read the correct version that had
the matching characters of the activity. I believe I did well in being proactive and thinking on my
feet while teaching.
In the beginning of my lesson, I set my expectations for the class. I made sure I included
what they would be learning during the lesson and what I expect out of them while I carry out
my lesson. I did this because I wanted to set a line of respect between students and instructor. It
is very important to be clear in your expectations as a teacher, especially with kindergartners, so
that they can begin to develop that sense of accountability within themselves. Establishing that
weight of responsibility at such a young age, is much more effective than implementing that
concept in them when they are older because they would not be as open or yielding to the idea.
Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson were the developers of the idea, the Pygmalion Effect,
which asserts that one's expectations about a person can eventually lead that person to behave
and achieve in ways that confirm those expectations (Bruns, McFall, McFall, Persinger, &
Vostal, 2000). In the beginning of my student teaching, I will be very clear in what I expect out
of my students and explain to them why I have these expectations. Students have the right to
know the hows and why so that they can put meaning into the things they do and in their
education as a whole.
Differentiation of instruction is one of the most important elements of the learning in the
classroom. I think that when differentiating, students should be separated into their appropriate
level of learning so that they will be provided different avenues to learning. Differentiation of
instruction exists so that we teachers can meet the individual needs of the students. Sometimes it
is good to mix the different levels of students, but in some instances, it can be upsetting to some

children. When I had a group of kindergartners to read with, one student was very well advance
in his reading and he would constantly correct his classmates that struggled with their reading.
Because of that, his peers had shut down and wasnt as open to reading anymore at that moment.
It can be beneficial to lower level students if they have higher-level classmates in the same group
together, but it can also be intimidating. Even though students levels of learning will change and
fluctuate throughout the year, teachers still need to know when it is the right time to mix the
different levels. When student teaching, I will come up with ways to effectively differentiate my
students that will guarantee a fluctuation in groups. The point of differentiation is not so that
students will stay in their initial level of learning, but so that they will eventually get better and
excel to the absolute highest level that they can reach.
I have appreciated another opportunity for me to observe other educators and to get more
practice in teaching and interacting with different students because I one day, I will have the
chance to make the decisions that will determine the outcome of my students learning.

Bibliography
Bruns, C., McFall, L., McFall, L., Persinger, T., & Vostal, B. (2000, December 6). Great
Expectations? An Investigation of Teacher Expectation Research.