If I were asked to give one word to describe my experience at my three-week practicum at Van Bien Elementary, I would say, AWESOME. I was treated as a member of the Van Bien family, given excellent mentorship, and formed bonds with many of the students.
I learned a lot about the importance of preparing oneself well in advance for a day of teaching. There is no such thing as “winging it” when it comes to teaching elementary age students (or any age students). Of course, I over-prepared for my lessons, but the process of preparing for classes taught me how much work goes on behind the scenes. By preparing days in advance, I was able to consider and reconsider my lesson plans. I gave myself time to reflect and synthesize what I was learning. While teaching, I was confident in my lessons because I knew what I was building towards as I had the week already planned out.
Day and Night Science Lesson
I learned that pre-assessment was very important in respect to understanding the needs of each student. By observing, asking questions, and working closely with the students, I realized that a student’s school life and home life are linked. Each student needs something different from the teacher. One of my students needed a lot of attention, redirection, and one-on-one help. Another one of my students worked well with teammates, whereas another student worked best quietly, by herself. Based on my practicum experiences, as a teacher, I think it is important to be empathetic, adaptable, and highly observant of each student’s needs.
One thing that I need to work on is taking my time at the start of a lesson. I learned the need to slow down, repeat, and practice patience. Many students need repeated instructions, reminders, and redirections. I found that by having the lesson prepared, I was able to notice my mistakes and adapt as I taught. I learned that managing the classroom well involves making sure that every student understands what is expected of him or her. I am learning to slow down by taking breathes and leaving room for silence: students need time to process what the teacher says.
I learned that a teacher needs to be adaptable: I had to think on the fly, and being positive, calm, and collected helps the students feel the same. I learned the importance of mentorship. A student teacher gains invaluable information from a mentor—information that cannot be learned in a classroom. For example, how do I deal with a student who is low energy? How do I deal with an instance of bad behaviour? What is the process for getting a student extra help? How do I talk to parents about student issues? I how do I apply for funding? It is not just lesson plans and theory: there are systems for student success that need to be learned. The mentor is a guide to so much more than just information delivery.
I am looking forward to unit planning. I am already looking forward to getting back into the classroom. I love the process of preparing for classes, teaching, and reflecting on my process. I am eager to teach more, and I think it will be interesting to see students learn a whole unit. My experiences at Van Bien were useful in showing me in real time how the work that goes into teaching can produce wonderful results.
