Goals Reflection Paper

By: Kathryn Morehouse

Student teaching has provided me with the opportunity to improve my effectiveness as a
teacher and my ability to implement strategic interventions for students with disabilities. Over
the course of twelve weeks I was able to observe and work with students who have a variety of
disabilities. These consisted of cognitive disability, autism, ADHD, Jacobsen syndrome,
emotional disabilities and learning disabilities. In special education Ive found that each
students unique needs require a teacher who is well-prepared, adaptable, empathetic, and
respectful of the students, teachers, and parents needs and wishes.
Effective communication is vital when working with students with disabilities. Many
times your tone of voice can add to or take away from a lesson. My goal for knowledge of self is
to use an appropriate tone of voice when working with a variety of students. There were often
times where I was working one-on-one with a student. This did not require me to use a loud
projecting voice. In groups of two or more, the sound level often increased and students tended
to get off topic. In these situations I used a strategy where I got their attention using a stern
voice, then brought the level down to a comfortable one. I found that some situations it was
useful to whisper when trying to get the students attention. They would quiet down because they
wanted to hear what the secret was. Naturally after each lesson, I asked for feedback from my
cooperating teachers or other professionals in the room. Their suggestions helped improve my
tone of voice when working with different levels of students and aided me in understanding the
types of learners the children were.
Professional development is crucial in any profession. Professional development for
teachers can provide opportunities to grow as an individual, bring new ideas into the classroom,
and to deeply understand the content. My goal for knowledge of content was to attend at least
three in-services. At the school I was placed at, I was given the opportunity to attend three in-
services. The first in-service I got a wealth of information about iPad applications to use in the
classroom. There were application about reading, mathematics, project ideas, and many more. I
hope to one day put to use the many ideas I received and that they will benefit my students.
During the second in-service I had the opportunity to attend the smarter balance training. My
future school will be using this test so it was very intriguing to learn more about it. The
technology director provided us with information on websites that many teachers use for their
classroom websites. The last in-service consisted of playing Badminton and discussing the
possibility of implementing Academic ICU. From badminton I learned that being a teacher is
much more than just working with the students. The activity was used to continue building the
learning community. Teachers working together are crucial to the success of the students. In the
high school I have seen the teachers communicate clearly to help students meet with them to be
successful in school. They would often talk amongst each other to help students and not to
complain about them, which was very reassuring to see. During each in-service, I took a lot of
notes. As I was reflecting on each, it was helpful to read through my thoughts that came out
during the day. I look forward to continuing my professional development through taking classes
and attending conferences. A great teacher is always growing and learning more about their field.
My goal for knowledge of the learner is encourage and maintain student involvement
and participation in specific learning tasks. To meet this goal I asked my cooperating teachers
what techniques they use to signal what students should be doing and the different types of
reinforcement being implemented. I accomplish this goal by using the suggested specific queues
to signal what students should be doing and positive reinforcement for appropriate behaviors. In
the elementary school I used verbal prompts consisting of time to work, good job, take a
break, eyes on me, and stay on task. Nonverbal prompts I used were gently tapping on the
students desk to get their attention and directing the student physically where to place tiles. In
the high school, I had to observe if my students were learning the material as we went along. I
pre-made questions for each lesson that I asked as we completed different tasks. This kept me
focused and helped the students tune in to what we were learning about. During instruction I will
use verbal and non-verbal prompts to keep students engaged in the lessons. Understanding and
successfully implementing strategies to keep different students engaged in lessons is crucial to
the success of the objectives being met. If a student did not answer a question appropriately, I
would repeat the question. Then if the student still did not respond correctly, I reworded the
question. If at this point the student still did not answer appropriately, we would review where it
came from. I would then ask the question again. Doing this was beneficial for my two math
students because they were finding answers on their own and the level of engagement helped
concepts stick when it came time for independent work.
My goal for knowledge of pedagogy is I will use positive and specific reinforcement for
responses and give specific feedback. I found that this goal can be evaluated from student
response and from observations by my cooperating teacher and university supervisors. When
working in math class with two students, I would assign each of them a separate word problem.
This allowed me to note what each student was completing successfully and what they still
needed help with. I was conscious about thanking the students for working hard on days you
could tell they were not up for school. There was an instance I was working with a student on
reading fluency and she had a difficult time staying in her seat. I specifically directed her to sit in
her chair. I took every opportunity to applaud her for staying in her seat during class. She
received a token for shopping if she stayed on task and stayed in her seat. The positive
reinforcement of the desired behavior caused her to perform it consistently. For specific feedback
for responses I took note of what students did correctly on assignments and looked for the cause
of any mistakes. Once I found them I tried to guide the students to help them find where they
went wrong and the student corrected their errors. In life students will need to correct their own
mistakes and this starts them on that path.
My last goal for knowledge of self as a teacher and member of a learning community was
I will be positive, dependable, and reliable. Being on time is a large part of being a
professional teacher. I kept a log in my planner of what time I arrived to school each day which
fell typically between 7:45-7:55 am. My log motivated me to have materials and lessons
prepared in advance because I knew I only had so much time in the day to get tasks
accomplished. Having a positive attitude makes the day more enjoyable for not only yourself, but
also for those you work with. Even when I had a terrible cold, I kept a smile on my face and held
on that it would be over soon and better days were coming. I learned that a positive attitude also
motivates the students to work for you! If they see that I enjoy what Im doing and that Im
excited about activities, they also became excited for those activities. I felt I accomplished this
goal from the feedback I received from my cooperating teachers and other staff members who I
interacted with.
There are many lessons that I learned while student teaching. I was given a large variety
of ideas, strategies, and interventions that I hope to use in my classroom one day. One of the
biggest lessons I learned is simply that life happens. I had many lessons that were planned that
did not work because students were gone or we did not get through the previous days material
because of their learning speed. This resulted in adapting the schedule to meet the students
needs. If a students basic needs are not being met, school is the last thing on their mind. It was
important for me to check in with my students and ask them how they were doing. If a student
was feeling sick or exhausted I took that into account when I paced my lessons to cover the
material. Being well-prepared and adaptable allowed my students time to explore ideas in-depth
and discover abilities they may not have known they had. The greatest reward for me was
watching the students I worked with do their best and succeed in accomplishing their own goals.