Practicum Experience

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This paper will discuss the practicum II experience I encountered at Atlantis Elementary School. An overview of the specifics of the placement, initial emotions and thoughts and how they have changed. Additionally, analysis of the understanding of S.T.E.M and of partnerships of early childhood education. Furthermore, it will cover three major insights, personal areas of strength, and with areas to grow.
My practicum II experience was fulfilled at Atlantis Elementary School, in a first-grade inclusion classroom. There were 20 students between the ages of six and seven years old. The majority of this 120-hour practicum was completed in the classroom on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s from 8:30am to 2:00pm, though there were a few sporadic days and
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I was able to see first hand teachers reaching out to others to gain knowledge and strategies to help them work through problems that they were having in their classrooms. This willingness to lend a hand to a fellow teacher and to reach out when help is needed can only benefit not only the teachers, but also the students. The second thing I came to understand through this practicum experience is that reflection is a valuable learning tool. While a lesson can be written perfectly the implementation may not always go as smoothly. However, it is what you do with this experience that ultimately decides how other will go. If reflection is used, knowledge is gained. The third thing that I have come to understand through this practicum experience is that children are forgiving. While I kind of knew this before, I did not exactly remember it in the beginning. I was filled with nervousness that if a lesson did not go well that the students would not take me seriously during future lessons. However, this was not the case in stead the students rolled with it and they understood that sometimes things don’t go as planned even when you are a teacher. I think part of their positive attitude was due to my mentor teachers attitude that even adults make mistakes. The students know that sometimes things do not go as planned and when things don’t go right we can …show more content…
I have always been one to participate in give and take relationships with my peers, as I know that it is through collaboration of knowledge that best practices can be achieved. This was exemplified when I not only shared ideas that were used within the classroom, but also with other grade level teachers to use in theirs. When it comes to students, I understand each one on an individual level and I tailor my interactions to reflect their personality. I know that the approach you take with one student may not always work with the next. There was one girl who I knew to have great ability, but she just needed the extra confidence boost to get her to see her own ability. I used my knowledge of her taking pride in her accomplishments to pull more of her abilities out for her to see. Encouraging her to do a drawing on her own with my guidance in steps, she beamed with delight as she created a picture she did not originally have the confidence

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