My student teaching experience has been.....

My student teaching experience has been great, especially because of the fact that I was able to observe the classrooms over the beginning of the year prior to actually taking over as teacher.  This allowed me to first see how and effective mentor teacher can set-up a class for the year, everything from classroom management to procedures, testing to lab group organization, expectations to discipline.  This provided me, the student teacher, with a structure that was already in-place and that I was familiar with (and the students knew this).  While I learned these skills by watching my mentor teacher, there is really no substitute for jumping in yourself as a teacher and having to navigate the position on your own.  This requires much planning ahead of time but also an ability to improvise, modifying a well-thought-out plan to “chase the rabbit” of a class discussion down a different path.  Sometime the most memorable learning experiences for students are the spontaneous, impromptu, discussions that are not necessarily part of a curriculum goal or standard.  These conversations can be what truly inspire young scientists and push them to pursue an education and career in science. 

The skills I was learning in our National class were directly relevant to the classroom situations I would find myself in.  Classroom management, the establishment of my own procedures, modification I made for lessons and testing, and technological teaching resources, all became useful in how I approached these challenging situations in the real classroom and I credit some of the conversations with classmates over blogs and in-person with helping me through.  These skills are a toolbox that teachers continually add to and keep ready, honing old skills and learning to use others. 

The most memorable experience I will have from my student teaching placement will be the feeling I had the first moment I truly felt comfortable in my lesson delivery.  Timing, modifications on-the-fly, management and procedure all funneled into what seemed like a perfect harmony and I was not longer “delivering” my pre-planned lesson, but was integrating the lesson into the situation, the environment, and accounting for all variables, simultaneously.  Obviously, the next day went terribly but I assume that was to keep me from getting over-confidentJ  This glimpse of the seamless teaching setting was enough to make me strive to re-reach that goal.  I will also remember how collaborative the department was and how willing teachers were to assist in my learning of the profession.  This is another skill I hope to be able to bring to my future school and within my science department.