Jami Shlensky

Phase 4 Integrated Reflection

As I sit to reflect on my experience student teaching, I cannot help to think about the
growth, learning, and experience I have had over the past four semesters of college. Since
the beginning of being a practicum student, to finishing my student teaching, I have learned
so much about behavior management, writing and creating individualized instruction, and
working with students to make them feel successful.
This semester, I student taught at an elementary school. I had the opportunity to
work with students in kindergarten and first grade who have a wide range of disabilities.
Working in this environment, I learned many things that are very important to me as a
person and a teacher. One of those things is that every moment is an opportunity for
learning. When working with students who are so young, it requires many breaks, time for
transitions, and lapses in instruction. However, this semester I learned to utilize those
precious moments as teaching time. During a break a student can learn about how to
relieve stress. Transitioning from class to class is a skill. Every moment that a student is at
school can be used to help them grow, develop, and attain skills that they will need in their
future.
But, even further than that, school is a place where students should feel safe. If they
are just having a bad dayits okay if the lesson doesnt go as planned. If the student needs
to come sit and cry and talk about why they are upset, thats okay too. What I learned this
semester was invaluable. School is a place for growing. It is a place where we promote the
development of children, not only academically. Although those skills are important, skills
such as coping with feelings, socialization, and managing their own behaviors are equally
important. I have really learned to look at the development of a student holistically. Caring
about students and having them know that they are believed in is so extraordinarily
important.
This semester I also was able to write programs that targeted those same skills that
I learned were equally important. I wrote a program on social skills that taught my
students, through a social story, how to greet their teachers. The program can be seen here.
My students responded well to this intervention and by the end of instruction were
continuing to spontaneously greet their teachers! It is a valuable skill for them to carry
forward in their education.
Overall, I have learned and grown so much over the course of my student teaching
and practicum experiences. I have learned to be confident in myself, how to conduct myself
professionally, and how to provide high quality instruction and care for my students. I
cannot wait to graduate and enter the field!