Final Reflection:
This past semester during Quest 2, I have been challenged, stressed out, frustrated, anxious, nervous, excited and now relieved. I look forward to student teaching next semester during Quest 3 and the experiences I will have and the many things I will learn. However, I must first reflect on this past semester on the many joys and challenges that I have faced. I will say that I am better with the younger kids than with the older kids.
During my 2nd rotation, I learned to be more flexible with the lessons and adapt them to the teacher's preference. The 2nd rotation was more difficult for me to adapt to the teacher's teaching style and the style of her classroom. I found it more challenging to manage the students behavior in 3rd grade compared to 1st grade.
During this semester, I have learned a great deal and yet I know I have much more to learn. I have learned to be patient and wait for a student to answer a question or complete an activity. I have learned to give the students enough time to think critically about the questions. I have learned many more technology skills this semester than I knew before I started. I have learned how to use a promethean board, create a flip chart and a jumping-off page. I have also learned how to take the initiave. During the semester, I would ask my cooperating teachers if they needed me to do anything. Sometimes, if I saw something that needed to be done, I would go ahead and take the initiative to do it.
I have grown in many ways that I never thought I could over the course of this semester. I have improved my professional attributes from the beginning of the semester such as patience, technology and taking initiative. This semester was a wonderful learning experience, and I am looking forward to all that I will learn in my student teaching next semester as well.
