Laney Smith

Standard Eleven: Field Experience Reflection

At this point in the semester, I have only completed a portion of my student observation
time at one of my two assigned locations. The observation time I have completed (roughly 12-
13 hours) has been at Lincoln Middle School. I have worked in the seventh grade writing
classroom with Mrs. Johnson and have been amazed at the diversity present.
In my undergraduate program with UW-River Falls, I had completed a portion of the
education program and had the opportunity to experience some of the middle school
environments present in one of the inner city St. Paul schools. The difference between the
students observed there and locally is incredible. For the St. Paul school to be in a tough area
of town, the students were surprisingly well behaved and many were performing at grade level.
In Lincoln Middle School, it was amazing to see not only the diversity, but also the wide range
of performance, comprehension, and behaviors.
At Lincoln, I have had the opportunity to observe students with varying IEP needs, ESL
barriers, and tiered interventions. In my time in St. Paul I was unable to observe any of this-Im
not sure if it was due to my lack of awareness of them or difference in years (my observations
there were nearly seven years ago). The Lincoln Middle School observation has had a much
greater value and impact on me than the time I spent in the St Paul school many years ago.
Having been in Mrs. Johnsons class several times, I am beginning to form relationships
with some of the students and it has been wonderful. It is such an inspiration to see how hard the
students try, how willing many are to learn, and the personality that I am starting to see. I have
been fortunate to see many situations that I will also see in my own room (classroom
management, disciplinary measures, instructional procedures, etc.) and have had several
enlightening discussion with Mrs. Johnson regarding teaching practices and strategies to use
when working with certain behaviors in the classroom. I have already learned so much and
know that I will learn even more from her in my final 20 hours of observation the next two
weeks. I will begin my second observation with Mrs. Sandy in La Crescent High School on
November 11 and am extremely interested to see the differences in teaching methods from a
middle school to a high school classroom.
Even after completing a quarter of my observation time for the program I am confident
that I have made the right choice to become a teacher. I am excited to observe the students and
enjoy my interactions with them-its extremely rewarding to assist with the learning process and
I cant wait to have my own classroom.

*At this point in my observation, I have not submitted my cooperating teacher evaluations, as I
have not completed enough observation time, Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Sandy will be given these
documents later this month for submission to Val.