Before going to field, I knew I would love teaching. However, I did not know if I would enjoy teaching in the sixth grade. The primary grades have always been my preference, but after this field experience, I can say I have a greater appreciation for teaching the older grades!
I learned a lot about management styles while I was in Mrs. Castro’s sixth grade class. It was interesting to see how I initially felt like I couldn’t relate to Mrs. Castro’s management style, but toward the end of the first week I could see why she chose to manage the way she did. At first, I thought the students didn’t get enough time to interact socially. They don’t have a first recess, and were not allowed to talk most of the time. As the experience went on, I saw that my initial impression was just because of the activities of the first couple of days. The schedule was packed, for both days, and Mrs. Castro needed the student’s full cooperation in order to move from one activity to the next as quickly and smoothly as possible. The rest of the time they were able to have more peer interaction.
In my shared teaching with my partner, Laura, our first lesson was a struggle. We had prepared a lesson, but there was a substitute teacher that day and the students were enjoying their “freedom”. There were some instances of smart remarks which I was (naïvely) not expecting. However, by the second lesson (with Mrs. Castro present) it went much smoother. Laura and I found what presentation formats we preferred with one another, as well as what we felt comfortable doing, as a class. It was difficult not having a text book to refer to, so a lot of our research had to be completed on the internet, and we spent a lot of lesson preparation time researching the finer details of our topic. I learned the importance of needing to know as much as you can about a topic because the children will ask questions that go further than the presented material. I also learned the necessity of having a way to calm the students when the noise level rises too high. One technique I found to be rather successful, was holding my hand in the air and counting down from five. The room was almost always silent by the time I got to one. Looking back, one thing we could’ve done better is stating the behavioral expectations more clearly for the students. We would give clear instructions as far as the activities and lessons were concerned, but I can state more clearly the behavioral expectations I would like from the students.
I learned so much in field about my management style, things I need to improve on, as well as things I like about my teaching. I was able to take what I’d learned in my classes and apply it in a real life situation. It was also good to watch the students’ real teacher, and observe her when I wasn’t teaching because I could implement what I liked about her style and adjust some things to better fit my personality. I had a great field experience and can’t wait to work in the elementary classroom as a student teacher!
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