In every class that I have taken with her, what Dr. Smirnova has emphasized most is the importance of reflection. You can never learn if you do not take time to reflect and progress. So what better way to end my blog than to reflect on my experiences?
This semester I definitely felt a lot more comfortable than I did in science methods. I felt more prepared and a lot less overwhelmed. Because I knew what to expect I was able to actually learn and take in the material rather than sit lost in class. I also felt that I was able to complete assignments more efficiently because I did not have to rely on anyone else. It was a relief to not look to anyone else to help me because I knew that I had the skills and information to do it on my own.
That being said, as always this semester came with some challenges. Although we only had to teach one extra lesson it felt like it added a lot more to my work load. Looking back, I feel that I should have had better time management skills. We spent so much time perfecting our direct lesson that we did not leave a lot of time for our inquiry and cooperative lessons. Our goal was to have every lesson finished before we even began teaching, but when it came time to teach we only had our direct completed. In addition, I feel that I need to work on having more confidence in myself and my abilities. I was hesitant to create lesson ideas until I ran them by Dr. Smirnova, and when she did not have a chance to review our inquiry lesson I was very concerned that it would not be good enough. I need to have more confidence in my own work, and understand that no matter what I will do things could still go wrong. I learned to depend on myself a lot more this semester but I feel there is still a long way to go.
Educationally, this semester has further prepared me for my future career. I am happy that I got the opportunity to teach three more full class lessons because with each one I felt more comfortable in front of the class. The students did not always respond in the ways that I thought they would, and things that I believed were easy turned out to be more difficult for them. That taught me to think on my feet and to always be prepared to adapt. My first plan should not be my only plan, and if I see students are not understanding I need to change my teaching so that they do.
Although I have learned a lot I understand that I do not know everything. But I am excited to do what I love, and that is to teach!
