Tierra Davis Overall Clinical Reflection April 17th, 2017

ELED 3223-090

When I first read that I was placed in 5 th grade for the two-week IMB clinical
experience, I was nervous and anxious about what I was in for. Throughout my
clinical experiences thus far, I have chosen to spend my time observing and working
with lower elementary grades. I have known since deciding to become a teach that
my passion is working with the younger grades because I want to build a foundation
in students education that would stick with them for the remainder of their
academic career. With this being said, the only interaction that I had really had with
students within the 8-11 age range were my siblings and children that I tutor. So,
decided that I was going to take this opportunity to learn more about a grade that I
had minimal experience with. Immediately I began to research different techniques
and teaching strategies that were appropriate when educating 5 th grade students. I
wanted to be as prepared as I possible could in order to make sure that was doing
the best that I could.
I learned a lot during the first few days of my IMB experience, this is in part
because I was very focused on observing as much of how my cooperating teacher
runs her classroom as possible. The major difference that I immediately noticed
when my cooperating teacher was addressing the class was that, she did not have
to use an infamous teacher voice. Again, because my primary experiences in
schools have been with lower grades, I have developed a strong teacher voices
(that I am actually quite proud of) when I teach my lessons. So, now knowing that I
would not being using that threw me off a bit because that is what I had grown
accustom to. Another difference that I had noticed was that the students were more
mellow as a far as movement is concerned but they were at more talkative.
Throughout the experience, I learned to cope with this by making sure that I give
clear direction about the noise level that student should be at for whatever task is
taking place. Though these may seem like little differences, they were quite large
difference when it comes to implementing them and taking them into consideration
when planning a lesson.
Unfortunately, I did not have the best cooperating teacher but I do believe
that I learned a lot from her. My teacher truly struggled with stress caused by the
constant testing that was taking place in her classroom, students attendance, and
pressures from administration to increase the test scores of struggling students.
Regrettably, the stress of these things, spilled over into the classroom and had a
drastic impact on the way that she communicated with her students. When
witnessing these exchanges between my cooperating teacher and her students, I
made sure that I stayed as objective as possible (still taking into account what is
appropriate to say to a student and what is not), in order to understand both sides
of the situation. I believe that this was the best thing that I could have done
because it provided for the most learning for me. I learned that no matter the
stresses that I am reaching from above so to speak, I should by no means allow
that to cause me to mistreat my students. I should do my due diligence in ensure
that my students know that they are not their test scores, and constant re-evaluate
myself make sure that I am teaching students in such a way that they prepared
when taking tests.
Tierra Davis Overall Clinical Reflection April 17th, 2017
ELED 3223-090

On the other hand, learned that following through on your reward-punishment

system is a must when dealing with students. I observed how students can take
advantage of a reward-punishment system that is flawed in any way. When I am in
my classroom, I have learned that I must give clear guidelines as to what I expect of
students, and explain the consequences and/or rewards that are associated with the
guidelines given. If students do a wonderful job and go above and beyond my
expectations than it vital to praise and encourage that behavior. However, if
students are falling short and not respecting the expectations that were explain,
then it is equally as important to follow through what the consequences that were
assigned to those guidelines. Students must understand there are rewards and
consequences (they vary depending on the behavior) for the behavior that you are
exhibiting. Other important aspect of this is that I as the teacher am responsible for
teaching the student what it is to be a good leader and a good person. Students
have to desire that in order to want to follow expectations.
I am quite thankful for this experience because I believe that I will be a better
teacher because of it. I can now say that I have had experience with each of the
elementary grade levels, so I know what behaviors should be expected, what the
curriculum looks like, learning styles, and accommodations that are needed for the
various age groups. Though these clinicals were way out of my comfort zone, it is
important that I get out of that and learn as much as I can before I begin looking for
a job in education. It is certainly not promised to me that I will find a job in the
grade level that I am looking for so is possible that I may have no choice but to
teach in upper grades. I will be able to reflect on this experience again and put what
I learned to practice. All in all, the students were amazing and my cooperating
teacher opened my eyes to many realities that I will face as an elementary
educator. I feel much more confident and equipped to pursue my career in
education.