First Afternoon of Teaching

 Wednesday was the first time I was able to teach for an entire afternoon. I was so excited to finally be able to take control of the classroom. My host teacher was not there, so a substitute was in the room with me. She was a teacher at Suncrest Middle in the past and was associated with Benedum, so I was left in good hands. She was able to take some observation notes for me and was happy to reflect upon my lessons with me.
The students were more behaved than I thought they would be, considering my host teacher was not there. They participated and responded to questions I asked them. I was happy to see that they saw me as the teacher and not just someone who was filling in for my host teacher.
My PDS coordinator was also able to observe me during 6th period. She had good feedback for me, which gave me more confidence as I plan for teaching future classes. One thing I do need to work on is incorporating more formative assessments during my lesson. I always ask my students if they understand, but it takes more than that to really gauge their understanding. The next lesson I teach I hope to be more aware of student comprehension in order to deliver the material more effectively.

Beginning Of Internship

The start of my internship has been slow, but very enlightening and helpful. I began a week early, returning to the middle school for meetings with all of the other teachers. I was able to help my host teacher set up the classroom and get things organized before the students came back. I was able to speak with my host teacher about my expectations and set a tentative schedule for when I would be taking over classes and how things operate in the classroom. I was placed with the same teacher that I was with in the fall of my participant year, so the transition to my internship has been very smooth because I am familiar with how she does things and conducts her classes.

I have been doing a lot of observation so far in order to get a feel for the personality of each class so I can differentiate my future lessons to meet their needs. I go over quizes and get them settled down when class is about to begin. Monday I will begin taking over my first classes and I am so excited! I feel that not just being "thrown to the wolves" during the first week and doing observation will allow me to ease into the teaching role and I will be more confident in what I am doing.

This semester I will be teaching algebra 1, geometry, and course 3, which is the basic 8th grade math course. The average class size is about 25, but one class I will be teaching has 37 students. This is a collaborative class, so there is an inclusion teacher in the room to help. I know this is the class I will have to be most patient with, not just with them but with myself. Having 37 students in a class is a struggle and I know I will learn a lot from dealing with such a large group of students.

My time at Suncrest Middle has been great so far and I am looking forward to the rest of my internship!