Reflection
My experience in 450 was a learning experience. Up to this point, working with high school students was intimidating. Throught the help of my match-up teachers, I was able to overcome this fear and be comfortable in the classroom. I was fortunate to spend my time in 2 differetn classes with 2 match-up teachers. My first quarter was spent in a Videography class with Ron Clark. This subject was foreign to me but he was gracious enough to teach me about the subject and allow me to interject with my art background. Videography is a subject that is often overlooked in an art department but after spending a quarter in the classroom, I now understand how important technology is becoming in our schools including art. The students in this class were typically very quiet and engaged in their work so interacting with them was scarce but it was a great opportunity to learn for myself and put myself in the student’s shoes. The second quarter, I spent in a pottery class with Darlene Meeker-Kalawe. I was very excited to be apart of this class because this area of art is my concentration. My mentor teacher was very welcoming and always allowed my input. She shared with me many important tips and ideas that I can see myself using in the future. The students in this class were very friendly and often asked for my help or ideas.
Through designing lessons, I have learned a lot about how to teach particulary to high school students. Unfortunatley my lessons were taight in 2 content areas so it was hard to see a lot of growth but I was able to pull out a few particular things I need to work on. As far as designing my lessons, I need to make sure that every student is accommodated for and that every student is engaged. I’ve noticed that although a good amount of students were interested in my lessons, there are always those few that are indifferent and do not want to participate. When delivering my lessons, I need to focus on slowing down. I am confident of my knowledge in the area of art and need to make sure that I am calm and relaxed while giving demonstrations and presentations. The 2 lessons I taught included assessments but they were presented in 2 different ways. For the videography class, I used a website called “Socrative” which allowed the students to take an online quiz after my presentation. This gave me direct scores for all the students and allowed the students to have immediate feedback. I included explanations for each answer on the quiz as well in case students got this wrong and wanted to understadn why. My second assessment in Pottery was a rubric that I created for a hand-building project. I assessed the students based off of the requirements I gave them before they began building. The results from this assessment were clear and concise. These findings are elaborated in my data analysis.
My classroom management philosophies have changed through my experience in these classes. I have seen many great things in the classroom that I had never thought of using. In my videography class, the students typically work along on a computer for the majority of class. Students are often engaged in projects but there are also some students in that class that play games and are off task on their computer. To manage this problem, my mentor teacher used a program that allowed him to monitor the student’s computer screens and block them from certain sites that help keep them on task. He also used this tool to freeze their computers during presentations or while he was talking so that they did not have any distractions. In pottery, there are many responsibilities that the students are held accountable for. My mentor teacher has a chart in the room that assigns each table a weekly job in order to keep the classroom clean and in working condition. These jobs change every week so that everyone has the opportunity for each job. I really liked this method because often times, the teacher gets stuck with these tasks and by using this chart, it takes that off of the teacher and keeps students accountable.
I have been fortunate enough to stay at Rocky Mountain High School for the first quarter of my student teaching. I will be teaching under Ron Clark in videography and short film. I noticed that he has great relationships with his students and that is something that I want to work on. In a class that’s filled with computers, it will be difficult for both myself and the students to build a relationship which is why I want to focus on this. I think that if I build a strong foundation with these students, they will be more likely to trust what I have to say and will also be more engaged in the class. Overall, my experience at Rocky is one I will remember and one that I will look back on for years to come.
Through designing lessons, I have learned a lot about how to teach particulary to high school students. Unfortunatley my lessons were taight in 2 content areas so it was hard to see a lot of growth but I was able to pull out a few particular things I need to work on. As far as designing my lessons, I need to make sure that every student is accommodated for and that every student is engaged. I’ve noticed that although a good amount of students were interested in my lessons, there are always those few that are indifferent and do not want to participate. When delivering my lessons, I need to focus on slowing down. I am confident of my knowledge in the area of art and need to make sure that I am calm and relaxed while giving demonstrations and presentations. The 2 lessons I taught included assessments but they were presented in 2 different ways. For the videography class, I used a website called “Socrative” which allowed the students to take an online quiz after my presentation. This gave me direct scores for all the students and allowed the students to have immediate feedback. I included explanations for each answer on the quiz as well in case students got this wrong and wanted to understadn why. My second assessment in Pottery was a rubric that I created for a hand-building project. I assessed the students based off of the requirements I gave them before they began building. The results from this assessment were clear and concise. These findings are elaborated in my data analysis.
My classroom management philosophies have changed through my experience in these classes. I have seen many great things in the classroom that I had never thought of using. In my videography class, the students typically work along on a computer for the majority of class. Students are often engaged in projects but there are also some students in that class that play games and are off task on their computer. To manage this problem, my mentor teacher used a program that allowed him to monitor the student’s computer screens and block them from certain sites that help keep them on task. He also used this tool to freeze their computers during presentations or while he was talking so that they did not have any distractions. In pottery, there are many responsibilities that the students are held accountable for. My mentor teacher has a chart in the room that assigns each table a weekly job in order to keep the classroom clean and in working condition. These jobs change every week so that everyone has the opportunity for each job. I really liked this method because often times, the teacher gets stuck with these tasks and by using this chart, it takes that off of the teacher and keeps students accountable.
I have been fortunate enough to stay at Rocky Mountain High School for the first quarter of my student teaching. I will be teaching under Ron Clark in videography and short film. I noticed that he has great relationships with his students and that is something that I want to work on. In a class that’s filled with computers, it will be difficult for both myself and the students to build a relationship which is why I want to focus on this. I think that if I build a strong foundation with these students, they will be more likely to trust what I have to say and will also be more engaged in the class. Overall, my experience at Rocky is one I will remember and one that I will look back on for years to come.
