Reflection On Student Observation

For this artifact that addresses NJPTS #11, I had to complete thirty hours of student observation at the corresponding school at which I was placed. During these observation hours, it was encouraged that I become as actively involved in the classroom as I could, working with both corresponding teachers and students in order to gain meaningful pre-professional experience. Additionally, at the end of my thirty hours, it was required that my corresponding teachers fill out evaluation forms which would assess my professionality during my time spent in their classrooms. Specifically, due to the fact that I treated my corresponding teachers with the utmost respect and viewed students as students and not peers, this artifact is in compliance with …show more content…
For example, while completing my observation hours, I provided my assistance to one of my corresponding teachers when it came to helping students with their essays on Beowulf. Specifically, when students needed general help regarding their essays or needed someone to brainstorm with, I worked with them one-on-one, leaving more complicated or specific issues and questions in the hands of my corresponding teacher. During the one-hour class period, my corresponding teacher and I were bombarded with questions coming from various students. Working separately, we tried our best to give every student the attention they deserved in order to ensure that their questions were answered and they could successfully work on and complete their essays. However, during this time, I was a bit frazzled because often times when I would work with one student, another would come up and ask me questions as well. During this time, I also quickly learned that, as a teacher, I need to learn how to handle addressing multiple questions at once without neglecting either student or their questions, specifically because it is imperative to try to help every single student to help make sure they succeed. Furthermore, at the end of the one-hour class period, there were still students left who both I and my corresponding teacher couldn’t get around to helping. …show more content…
Specifically, I can draw on my experiences that I had while completing this artifact to help me through situations I may have to confront. By remembering what I had observed during my time at my corresponding school, I can work my way through various problems by modeling my response or behavior after that of the corresponding teachers that I worked with. This way, in certain situations, I won’t be “stuck” or left without a clue of what to do—I can refer to what I experienced while completing this artifact in order to provide myself with possible solutions or responses to potential situations. Furthermore, I may also utilize specific class activities, projects, and practices that I observed students working on during my time at my corresponding school. For example, one of my corresponding teachers habitually made Friday’s “Free-Write Day,” which students enjoyed, while another made journal writing and independent reading common components of class time. Both of these are practices that I may consider utilizing in my own classroom in the future, which is another way that I can use my experiences while completing this artifact further along in my career. Additionally, I plan on using the assessments found in my evaluation forms as a model for how I should behave at my future pre-professional observation