Excerpt from "Reflection 1"

1.            Comment on your overall experience (e.g., lesson preparation, practice, implementation, students’ responses, your realizations, etc.) Your well-written response should be 2-5 paragraphs.

2.            Rate your confidence level as a teacher on a 1 to 5 scale with 1 being terrified and 5 being confident. Elaborate in 3 sentences or less. 

1.             My first experience in teaching with the Sky Teach program went better than expected, however I still have a lot to learn. The part I worried the most with (the actual teaching/classroom management) went smooth and seemed to be the quickest part of the process. Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of bumps and roadblocks with time/participation...yet I feel it was an overall success. 

                The planning of the lesson and putting our ideas together to get the main objective required most of our time and focus. A lot goes into what few minutes we have with students. Thus we want to make the biggest impact and utilize the full time we do have with them. This requires a lot of planning. Planning and practice can be a struggle when working with a partner. Setting up times that coincide with both schedules and being on the same page at all times can be challenging. That is just another part of teaching and working in general. Though I feel we were prepared...I think we can never practice enough. At least now we know more of what to expect in the classroom.

                Putting our "planning into action" seems a little different in the actual doing than it does in theory. Remembering everything we wanted to say and do, while dealing with the issues and questions arising can be difficult. The major difference I noticed was, in our eyes, we thought we had broken down our lesson in the simplest form and made it very clear. Yet with the numerous questions and misconceptions...it was obvious we could have done a better job. 

                I realize that each person has a different teaching style and way of approaching a classroom and lesson. I seem to have a relaxed and approachable manner. However I do need to work on establishing a teacher/authoritative presence and presenting myself in that light. Vocal tone, management techniques, and the simple way in which I carry myself can all improve for the class benefit. I am excited to tackle another lesson. 

2.            After this run, I am both more and less confident as a teacher. Overall, I would say I am at a 3. The evaluations brought things to my attention that I did not realize and sort of shook up my confidence, while other parts I was intimidated of doing in the beginning I did well on.