As I have been working through my student teaching, I am beginning to notice patterns in the feedback that I am getting both from my mentor teacher as well as from my supervisor. There are some areas in which I have grown tremendously since my first observation, however, there are also areas in which I still need to improve.
One of the areas that I still need to work on in the planning process is how to allow more time to prepare students for each step of the process. After my first observation, we discussed planning time for students to conduct more research before beginning their projects, and I have started to plan more days of research at the beginning of projects. With my sculpture class, we discussed how it would have been helpful if I had reviewed more painting techniques before allowing students to move into this specific phase of the project. As students are able to practice different techniques before each stage in the process, their work will become stronger. In future projects I will need to extend projects and incorporate more practice and review days throughout the course of each major project.
I also have been working on walking closer to the students when I am talking. This is a practice that I have started but need tocontinue to grow in consistency. I have also since my previous observations started doing some demonstrations at the student tables with the class gathered around. I noticed that some had a hard time seeing with the number of students crowded around, but overall, most were more engaged and understood the visual demonstration better. I plan to continue this practice with future demonstrations. I have also adjusted the font size on my computer to help students in the back of the room to be able to see the daily agenda.
Another area that I need to grow in is setting expectations and systems for cleaning up messes in the classroom. I am learning different ways to go about efficiently assigning roles and methods of clean-up. I mainly consult my mentor teacher to see how she has previously organized clean-up. There are many situations in this area that I simply have not thought about before. As I encounter new issues or materials, I make sure to check with my mentor teacher to see what suggestions she has to promote effective procedures. As I implement and explain procedures more clearly, the students will become more self-sufficient take ownership of their learning space.
One of the strengths that has helped me become more effective as I grow as a student teacher has been my strong relationship with my mentor teacher. I am able to exchange ideas with her and incorporate her feedback into how I run the classroom. I am also willing to grow as an educator and am willing to listen to feedback and modify my lessons. For example, after talking with my supervisor, she suggested that I try incorporating tracing paper into an assignment that I was teaching. When I followed this suggestion, I noticed that it significantly helped students visualize the layering process for their sculpture. I also have modified how I teach several lessons between 2nd and 3rd hour based on feedback from my mentor teacher.
Another of my strengths is that I strive to be as prepared as I can by practicing techniques on my own before presenting them to the class. In learning and practicing my teaching, I have also found that I have grown personally as an artist. As I have to explain some techniques that I haven’t used in a few years or have used so often that they seem second nature, I am revisiting the foundational skills myself. In explaining how to check proportions or break an object down into its basic shapes, I am recementing these exercises in my own practice. As I continue to grow personally, I will better be able to teach my students.
I really am enjoying the process of learning how to teach. I will continue refining my skills in this area as long as I am still teaching. And I think that as I continue to grow personally and model a positive growth mindset, I will be more successful in convincing my students that all of education and life itself is an opportunity to learn, reflect, and grow.