Yoonah Oh ELE301- Dr.

Pan Unit Reflection 01 May 2014

Student teaching was one of the most rewarding and challenging experiences I have ever taken on throughout my undergraduate career. My experience in a first grade bilingual classroom at Carroll Robbins has broadened my ideas and knowledge in creating engaging lessons. I have also found that my efforts in building an effective unit guided me in becoming a successful educator. Although much success came about my experience, there were pitfalls and various learning opportunities for me as a future teacher. Not only did I learn from my mistakes but also gained new teaching styles and methods to effectively teach my students. During the process of creating lesson plans for my unit, I came to the realization that a play-by-play of what will happen during each lesson is and always will be somewhat inaccurate. Additionally, I have found that creating the perfect lesson is nearly useless unless I am able to meet my students and adjust to their needs. It has happened that there were times when I planned to spend 20 minutes on an activity and ended up taking close to 35 minutes. These mistakes will happen because teachers are humans. Although teachers try their best to perfect lessons and meet their students needs, it is nearly impossible to be on target every time. So, what have I gained from this realization? I have gained new knowledge and impeccable skills in differentiated instruction and time management. Being that I spent my student teaching experience in a bilingual first grade classroom, differentiated instruction was a crucial aspect of each lesson. As I built relationships with my students, I was able to figure out which students needed what and how much guidance they each needed. Fortunately, my novice level of Spanish

speaking and understanding helped me to understand some of the things the co-operating teacher and students conversed about. With this, I was able to use some of the same skills that my cooperating teacher used when instructing the students. I figured an effective way in differentiating instruction was by using consistent management skills. For every lesson made, I made sure there were challenging aspects for the higher-level students, provided minimal scaffolding for the mid-level students, and managed to keep the lower-level students motivated at an appropriate pace. As a result, all 23 students were able to achieve key objectives of each lesson in the unit and successfully completed all tasks and assignments. As I gain more experience, I will be able to manage time sufficiently and plan correctly more often. With that being said, my student teaching experiences have also taught me the importance of evaluation and reflection as a teacher throughout each day. Evaluating my students moods, attention span, and ability to participate and answer questions helped me to make adjustments so that my lessons would best suit my students. Also, after every lesson and day of practicum, reflecting on my teaching and myself was undeniably helpful. Reviewing what had gone right and what had gone wrong allowed me to determine what needed to be done the following day. Sometimes, these adjustments were minimal and didnt require too much review or work. However, a reflective teacher who evaluates his/her progress is essential to being an effective teacher. I intend to continue to be a learner as I teach my students during my entire career. Only then will I believe I am on the right path to becoming a successful educator.