Just like that, the four week practicum came and gone – I guess time flies when you are having fun.
I truly had the most amazing experience during my practicum. I was placed in a grade two classroom with a well seasoned coaching teacher who was nothing but helpful. I fit right into the class and felt a sense of belonging, which was extremely rewarding for me. After jumping in with two feet, I got to know the students and felt that I connected well with each student. Once I was a little bit more comfortable in the classroom I got to teach my first lessons towards the end of the first week I was there. It felt awesome to get out there and jump into teaching, especially at the age level I got to work with. I think some major things that I noticed while evaluating myself as a teaching during the first week was how focused I was on sticking to my lesson plans and attempting to follow the pacing exactly the way I had wrote in the lesson plan. Now that I am finished practicum I can say that my biggest progression was learning to become flexible and realize that things are not going to go exactly according to the lesson plan. Things happen, students may need more time in areas, so knowing when to make transitions was a huge focus of my learning. I am still working on the smooth transitions, but I am now more aware of how to gauge when the students are ready to move forward into the lesson. Another positive experience I had during my practicum involves assessment. Normally assessment is overwhelming to me, especially from a teacher’s perspective, but my coaching teacher helped me gain some confidence in this area. I had been doing a writing unit about hot chocolate with my students, and once it was finished I was able to sit down with my coaching teacher and discuss assessment. We used a rubric that was incredibly easy to understand, and relevant for the students being at the grade two level. I loved being able to speak about how to assess the students and what ideas I had about assessment since I once found it to be intimidating. I am so thankful for the experience that I had with my coaching teacher, the students, and the school community. I hope that I continue on a positive learning journey, and gain more knowledge and confidence as a teacher.