My Capstone project was being a teacher's assistant at Naylor CCSU Leadership

Academy. As a teaching assistant I assisted the teacher with many tasks such as doing centers

with the students, helping the students out etc. I led the students in a “getting to know you”

activity. Later on I designed and taught a lesson about weather and how weather changes

throughout the seasons.

What I had learned academically through doing the Capstone project is how the

classroom is managed and learning to adapt your teaching skills for each student as each student

is a bit different when it comes to learning. I also improved on my communication skills by

working closely with the students and teacher. On a personal level, this has boosted my

experience and confidence in my teaching abilities and has taught me how to be more patient and

understanding. I gained a sense of fulfillment from seeing students progress and exceed in their

learning. It helped me to multitask and for me to reflect on if I did a good job helping those

students that day. It made me develop a greater appreciation for teaching and the rewards that

come with it.

The results of my project were improved classroom management, student engagement,

and overall improvement in the learning environment and student performance. An experience

that impacted me during my project was when I witnessed a student who didn’t really know how

to read and was hesitant to participate in group discussions. I took the time to help him read the

books they were assigned and tried to help him when possible.

Being able to serve my community was awesome and rewarding. Knowing that I was

making a positive impact on the lives of others brought me joy and a sense of purpose. It also

helped me feel more connected to the people around me and proud of the accomplishments I

made. Overall it was a heartwarming experience that has left me feeling satisfied.
 Although an overall success, my project did not come without challenges such as

speaking. It was difficult to communicate with the students at first because I don’t really speak

loud and speaking loud for a long period of time took some time to get used to. I faced

unexpected obstacles such as the teacher not being there that day, technical issues, schedule

changes and much more. Time was also challenging because I had to balance my time between

one student and another. I can’t help one student the whole time but not the rest of the kids.

There definitely were times where I had to tell the student to let me help another student really

quickly and I’ll come back to you if it took longer than expected.

Looking back at my project, some changes I would make having insight that I do now is

making clearer instructions. Occasionally, I would say something and it really didn’t make sense,

and mistakes happen but I learned that I should say it to myself first, to see if it makes sense

before using simpler words for the students to understand. I feel like something important I

missed but thinking back now was important was backup plans in place. I really never had a

backup plan and that isn’t necessarily the best.

What I had learned from doing Capstone is it had a significant impact on me and will

continue to do so in the future. It taught me the value of patience, empathy, and adaptability in

teaching and in life. This experience has helped for my future career as I plan on becoming a

teacher. For me teaching is a rewarding profession where I have the opportunity to make a

lasting impact on the lives of others. As a teacher I will stay passionate and dedicated to helping

others succeed.