Weekly Reflection: Week #1

How do you feel about your teachings this week?

I felt that there was a lot of growth in the style and content that I taught. Wednesday felt pretty
good despite being the first time teaching in the classroom. Thursday I that I was presenting the
information better but that I also wasn’t as knowledgeable at times as I would like to be.
How have what you taught this week reflected change between PSI teaching and PSII
teaching?
Just the workload seems to require a lot more prep time. I feel like in PSI the subject matter was
more general or basic knowledge but with high school, there’s a lot more thinking and prep that
needs to be done. A nice aspect of being at Western is that there is almost no classroom
management which is a huge change of pace from PSI.
How has this week’s lesson helped develop who you are as a teacher?
Really was a wakeup call to how much more knowledgeable and prepared I have to be to teach,
especially at a high school level.
How is your Rapport with the students in each class?
Starting to learn a few standout student’s names in each class. It will be helpful having the
attendance and seating plan. A student brought me cookies on Friday, so I guess they tolerate
me. I wonder if when I assign them work if that will change.
What examples of your teaching this week be applied as evidence of meeting the Teaching
Competencies?
My entrance powerpoint was helpful in sowing the seeds for fostering relationships. The kids
seemed generally interested in what I was interested in. I am now coordinating with 3 different
teachers to ensure we all are teaching at similar pace. Planning could use some work.
What were some things you enjoyed about this week of school?
The cookies from the students were nice! After the first day of teaching, Lorne said he thought I
was very strong for a new student teacher.
What were some things you wished you could have changed about this week of school?
There were times that I stumbled and had to rely on Lorne’s assistance to bail me out. Although
that’s par for the course, I would like to get to a point where that doesn’t happen.
What is one thing you’d like to focus on for next week’s teachings?
Adding more resources or activities for the students to help learn the subject matter.