Reyes 1

Brooklyn Reyes

John Knight

EDUC 450

11 November 2022

AVID Reflection

Participating in AVID was a situation where I had a love- hate relationship. I found

myself dreading having to go to AVID at times, but every time I was there I had a good time.

The reason why I found myself dreading going to AVID was because almost every single student

needed help with math, which is something that I am not well versed in. However, not knowing

how to solve their math problems helped me better connect to the students and figure out ways to

scaffold questions. So with the idea of math in mind, I dreaded having to go, but it was never as

bad as I thought once I arrived, which was always a good time.

With this in mind, my experience was great, but also frustrating at times. While it was

made clear that we did not need to know the math problem, it was hard to prompt questions to

guide them to better understanding the math problem when I myself was unsure of what the next

step was. I would make sure to start with the basics of asking if they had an example in a

notebook or textbook, what they knew and understood of the problem, etc. These kinds of

questions were great and probably the biggest skill I gained from this class, however, their

answer was often no. So without an example or any knowledge of the problem, that left us at

square one. That was when frustration kicked in because I was unable to really help them, and

sometimes, even with the help of our math majors stepping in, I was still unable to understand

how they came to that solution.

 Reyes 2

While this was frustrating, I did gain a lot from this class because of it. While the content

may have been math, I saw how I can help my future students in English. How can I ask

questions that not only leads them to an answer, but makes them think critically? How do I push

their understanding of a topic further? I found these questions essential, even if I was unable to

us them to there full potential. With this knowledge, I am now more prepared to help my future

students academically in the classroom. I also gained a better understanding of students social

state in high school. Due to the fact that at times I was unable to help them come to a conclusion

to a problem or because we got through all the tutorials early, I was able to get to know them as

students. I got to know their interest, passions, and sometimes what was going on in their life

academically. It allowed me a glimpse of not only who they were as a person, but what it is like

for them to be in high school, especially as a freshman. I felt that this helped me build

connections with them where we were able to joke around, but also be productive. I will take

this knowledge with me as a reminder that things are not always as they seem for our students

and that spending time getting to know them is sometimes more valuable than finishing that

problem.