Running Head: FINAL PORTFOLIO REFLECTION

Final Portfolio Reflection

David B. Acdol
International Teachers College
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Reflection

From making single lesson plans to teaching in a two-week practicum, I have

definitely learned a whole lot from these experiences. Although I am lightyears away from

becoming a great teacher, I sure do hope that I am in the right track of becoming so. These

past few months have not only taught me new ideas and concepts, but more importantly,

taught me about myself my strengths and weaknesses.

I first experienced personal growth in lesson delivery. Having been an introvert for

most of my life, standing in front of an audience was never my comfort zone in the first

place. How much more for delivering lessons? This is where I have grown the most. I

somehow managed to beat my stage fright and build confidence up front. Furthermore, I

found out that I am a very concrete-based type of speaker. I had a really hard time speaking

or teaching about abstract concepts and thought this to be my handicap. Thus, I tried to shift

my lesson plans and turned them more practical and concrete. The first opportunity to test if

this worked or not was during my very first lesson in Bible class during the practicum. I made

sure that the characters and setting were visually displayed throughout the lesson. Then, I

concluded with a practical, modern-day example to help the students contextualize with the

scripture; the lessons turned out well! Therefore, I turned this handicap to my advantage. I

made a unit plan based on Physical Education! There was nothing more concrete than that!

Next, I learned how to improve relations with others around me. Although it might not

be directly academic-related, I still found it very important and helpful, especially as a

teacher. I read from chapter 4-5 of Entry Points by Mackenzie that building relationships

with the students should not only be limited to the classroom. I proved this very helpful

during my practicum. During the first two days, I took some time to go out with the students
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during breaks to play and talk with them. This helped me gain their trust. As a result, I easily

earned their respect and attention inside the classroom. My cooperating teacher, Mrs. Sarah,

even remarked that by building a good rapport with the students, I had the easiest and fastest

time gaining the their respect compared to other practicum students that she had handled in

the past. She was even impressed that I never used any attention-calling routines during my

lessons! In Dispositions class, this is called commitment to others. I am very glad that I can

now take initiative to get out of my introvert comfort zone and actively build relationships

with others around me.

As I am still a work on progress, thus, I have a lot of flaws as well. The most urgent

area that I need to improve on now is time-management. In other words, I am a very good

procrastinator. Honestly, I always have always felt guilty and unsatisfied after every

assignment submission because I know that I could have done better had I put more effort

and time in the process instead of just cramming it all up in one night, as I usually do. This is

true for most of the lesson plans I have already submitted in the past. I could have developed

them better to show more organization and clarity. Also, procrastination is the biggest reason

why I am sleep-deprived most of the time. Instead of finishing my assignments with the free

time in the afternoons, I wait until the very last moment to work on them and usually end up

with unsatisfying results. However, I tend to do it for the next assignment and again, the next.

This, I can confirm is my biggest handicap.

How do I fix this? It all goes back to time-management. I should make a schedule that

helps me separate leisure from work time. More so, I will need a way to reinforce that

schedule, like a reminder (most probably a friend; someone who will be strict with me). I

predict that this will not be easy for the first few tries due to the countless temptations and

potentials to procrastinate, but I will have to do my best in focusing on my work when it is

work time. Only then will I be able to improve my time-management.

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This, I envision, will hopefully be the next area of my life, with which I can proudly

say that I have grew up on. Otherwise, I will have to keep growing in other areas because

there are always chances to grow and take the next step on that track of becoming a great

teacher.
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Citations

MacKenzie, P., Farnell, A., Holt, A., & Smith, D. (1997). Entry points for Christian reflection

within education. London: CARE.