Final+Reflection

AJ Moulton EDUC 341 Dr. Kevin Pyatt 8 December 2008 Reflection During this quarter I learned the most regarding the concepts you taught us when I was actually in the classroom at Medical Lake High School. One of my biggest frustrations as I have gone through the Education Program has been learning a lot of theory and //hypothetically// being able to put it into practice, but not getting many opportunities to //actually// try it out! Being a great teacher is more than knowing a bunch of learning theories and teaching tricks, the skill is developed through experience. This quarter, I started to build up that experience. Over the course of the quarter preparing and executing the lessons got both easier and harder. They were easier because I worried less and was less nervous about presenting each lesson. However, I became more aware of the complexities and the many different aspects that I need to be conscious of when I teach. Also, I feel like I am gaining a better understanding of the reality of teaching. Since I have only had a hypothetical sense of teaching, my imaginary students have been ideal. It’s not that my real students are bad, some of them are even more amazing than I imagined, but as a whole, there are some issues I have to deal with in my classes that have been a bit of a reality check. One aspect in particular is the attitude of my students. They don’t like math and they believe that they aren’t, and can’t, be good at it. Also, their involvement, both in class and in outside work, is less than I anticipated. When I have my own classroom in the future I think it will be easier to make some progress in resolving these issues. The time spent in the classroom this quarter has only made me more excited to teach in my own classroom next fall!