Something that I believe is a strength for me is creating relationships with my students. In my past practicums, I was able to make connections with my students’ interests, and build those connections into meaningful relationships. This is a skill I plan to utilize in my 491 practicum, as building these relationships is key for connecting the teaching to the students. Another strength I’ve been building is making my lessons engaging. In my past practicums, my students have been engaged in the learning and excited by the topics and lessons I’ve brought to them. If students aren’t engaging with or excited about learning, they’ll have more trouble seeing it as something they want to do, so I plan to continue to build and adapt this skill to fit my new students and bring them a meaningful, engaging learning experience.
Most of my goals for this practicum involve getting more involved in the school community. Due to covid regulations last school year, there weren’t many opportunities for me to get involved much in school life outside my classroom. My goal this practicum is to get involved, be it in clubs, sports, or whatever arises, and being willing and able to take advantage of any opportunities that are presented to me. Building off this, another goal I have is to involve parents and the community in my teaching. Again, due to covid regulations and the school I was at being predominantly bussed, there weren’t many opportunities to involve the community or parents and families in our work. I was able to contribute to a weekly class newsletter my 490 CT had established, a practice which my 491 CT has something similar to and which I plan to continue throughout my practicum. I’m not sure yet how I plan to include the community and families more this practicum, but it’s something I’m planning to discuss with my CT to incorporate throughout the next ten weeks.
