School Experience

Reflection Journal
EDUC 250-Educational Psychology
NAME: Landon Guenther
DATE: 20 April, 2016
SCHOOL: East Central High School
TEACHER: Heather Zins
GRADE LEVEL: Various

GENERAL EDUCATION: _____

SPECIAL EDUCATION: X
(Check one)

Once placement is established, you will participate weekly in a 20 hour school experience at an
assigned cooperating school. This journal is a way of keeping track of your experiences for
purposes of developing into a professional teacher.
To fulfill the 20 hour school experience requirement of this course, you will write answers to the
chapter prompt provided. In addition to responding to the topic, please also write a brief
reflection of something that impressed you about your experience of the particular week.
Use this Word document to type your responses and reflection to each prompt. Please use your
discretion and answer the questions when you think you have observed something relevant to the
question. You need to answer half of the questions for each of the two times that the journal is
submitted for grading.
This school experience journal will be handed in two times on dates listed in the calendar of the
syllabus. There 50 possible points for handing in each of the two journal assignments by the
due date. That is a total of 100 points for the entire school experience.
Text: Ormrod, Jeanne Ellis with Brent Jones. Essentials of Educational Psychology: Big
Ideas to Guide Effective Teaching, 4e, with eText. Boston: Pearson, 2015.
Chapter 7-Personal, Social, and Moral Development
Think about the concept sense of self and its implications for teaching and learning. Review
the developmental trends on p. 245 in your textbook. Did you see indications of sense of self
affecting learning of the student(s) with whom you worked? Explain.
What effect did perspective taking have on the teaching and learning environment? Reread p.
255 in your textbook to understand developmental trends.
If you observed aggressive behavior, explain the type of aggressive behavior that you witnessed.
See textbook p. 254-255 for an explanation.

Response:
There were some students in which I saw what seemed like quite a bit of self-esteem, and some
were taking risks in regards to their school work (such as trying to figure out a problem they did
not understand before asking for help). It is more difficult to see the search for ones self that is
common amongst adolescents in only three days, however.
I often found that students this late into the year had become comfortable and developed a
routine of sorts in their classes. The same students would talk and goof off during class, making
it obvious that they valued their friends over their school work. I found that almost everyone in
these classes were polite and outgoing, however. Almost to a fault.
Reflection:
Though hand-holding (walking students through content or other problems) can have its uses
when it comes to first teaching a subject, it is extremely important, especially in the adolescent
years, to have them figure out things on their own. That degree of independence is needed later
in life, and helping students too much can make them rely on others to do their work for them.
The high school years are when the greatest amount of self-esteem is developed in many
students, and may also be when it is most vital.
Though I did not witness any aggressive behavior, I do know it exists in spades in high school.
My hope is that it will be possible to teach such individuals critical thinking skills, so that they
may try more reasonable actions before turning to aggression.

Chapter 8-Instructional Strategies

Many instructional strategies are summarized on p. 312 of your textbook. Describe two of the
ones you used for tutoring or RTI in your school placement. Be sure that you give a rationale for
the instructional strategies that you selected to use.
Response:
One strategy that was used the most was Master and review basic skills. Of the three classes I
worked with, they all used a program called Aleks, which was an online math program which
would teach students how to perform different types of math at their own pace. Some students
were working with basic math level things such as multiplication and fractions, while others
were starting to get into higher-level algebra, like quadratics. I worked a little with both, but I
had more one-on-one time with students who had trouble with the very basics.
Computer literacy skills were also acquired by these classes. Since they used the Aleks program
several times a week, they became fluent with how to use and navigate it.
Reflection:
Although it was very common to see these students on the computer, it is also worth noting that
the classes I was working with were not necessarily courses in their own right, they were more

like a math-focused study hall. In algebra enrichment students who were having trouble in
math were able to get help and work on their Aleks work every week. This sort of setup confused
me at first, as I only saw these students working independently with little help at learning on the
computer, but it was also important to note that this class I sat in on was only half of their work
with algebra. It did show a very good way to integrate technology into the learning process
though, especially in a way that suited the students required skill level without intense use of
resources designing specific lesson plans for each one.
Chapter 9-Strategies for Creating an Effective Classroom Environment
Chapter 9 discusses many ways to enhance the classroom environment. What were some of the
ways that you helped to create an environment that was conducive to learning?
Explain which of the suggestions on p. 347 in your textbook for addressing undesirable
classroom behaviors you utilized in the tutoring or RTI setting of your school experience.
Response:
I tried to keep people on-task and learning. I did little work with small groups of students, but I
did check around the class and kept an eye out for who needed help or was distracted. I usually
did this by simply asking them if they needed any help or what they were working on (cueing).
Reflection:
Though I mostly only saw minor misbehavior, I know it is important to keep students in order
and on task in order to remain productive. There was one instance where the teacher I was
working with had to bring a student to the hall (I am unsure why, but he had an autism-spectrum
disorder so it may have just been in response to some discontent on his part. It did not seem like
major misbehavior, but something private definitely). Knowing how to handle certain situations
is a valuable skill for any teacher, and I would say it is a skill that one acquires with time and
experience rather than studying.
Chapter 10-Assessent Strategies
What types of assessments did you employ with the student(s)? Did you choose to use different
types of assessments? If you did use a variety of assessment tools, explain why different
assessments were necessary?
Response:
Often times, I used a very casual method of explaining how to solve a problem or even showing
an example, then seeing how the students did on their own with it. There were also a few cases of
just telling a student whether or not they solve a problem correctly and let them experiment and
check themselves to see if they could find their mistake on their own or with minimal help.
With students who seemed like they may have a learning disability or were not as strong with the
subject, which admittedly was most of them, I usually used the first mode of assessment.
However, there were a few students who seemed to be doing a bit better or were working faster
than the others, and I felt confident enough in letting them find their issue on their own.

Reflection:
While I understand that different students and different topics will require different types of
assessments, I was not necessarily able to work with a large variety of topics or instruction.
However, I have learned through other tutoring experiences that when it comes to math, both
traditional quiz and homework assessment and more project-based assessment is possible and
effective when it comes to certain subjects, even if the project is just a larger multi-step problem.
When it comes to tutoring however, I do not feel like it would be effective to assign additional
work to the student unless they desperately need the practice.
Final Reflection:
Take some time to think about your responses and reflections in this journal. Respond to the
following questions.
1) In terms of the major concepts presented in this class, how do you think your school
experience and reflections on it has helped prepare you for classroom responsibilities as a
teacher?
I think this experience has given me good insight in how to run my classroom as well as what it
will be like instructing students. I believe at this point I have become decently comfortable
working with students, as well as learned some valuable lessons as a teacher, like how I may not
necessarily be brushed-up on a certain topic if I have not covered it in a while, or I may just not
be able to help a student if I do not study a certain subject. Ive also gained a good knowledge of
how students are likely to think considering their developmental level and how that can affect
their instructional needs.
2) Briefly sum the impact that this school experience has had on your professional
aspirations. You will not be penalized for constructive criticism.
I think this experience has pushed me to consider getting my masters degree and teaching
college more than I was before, however it has not deterred me from wanting to teach for a
living.