Part 1
This is a reflection that will partly be linked to my previous post. Now that I have completed my pre-internship, I am going to discuss whether I think my opinions on the three big questions have changed, or remain the same.
First, when it comes to question number 1, I don’t think my opinions have changed all that much. I strongly believe that what I stated is the real purpose of pre-internship based on my opinion. I found that the experience was extremely beneficial for me, and I got to experience what it truly means to be a teacher. I enjoyed being able to plan many different lessons, and try out new things, even though they didn’t necessarily work the way I had hoped. However; after completing the three weeks I have noticed just how important it is to have your cooperating teacher watching you and make notes. I think that I learned a lot through her observations, as she was able to pick up on the little things I could change within my teaching that I wouldn’t have been able to pick up on, on my own. I didn’t realize things like the way you write fractions, or the way you write a question on the board could have an effect on the student’s comprehension of the material. Also, in relation to something I had mentioned in the post, I disagree with the fact that I felt a main goal of pre-internship was to see how much schools have changed since we have been there last. The reason for this is that in a way I don’t think they have changed all that much. There have been many little changes along the way, but after completing pre-internship I noticed that the classes weren’t all the different from when I was in school. This may just be the school I was at, as I am sure many other schools have changed drastically, but I think change is something we need to be prepared for in life, and not just for pre-internship. I think it is important to keep in mind that changes are a part of life, and we will experience them almost every semester, regardless of it being pre-internship or not. All in all, I think that the main purpose of pre-internship should be to get practice in the profession we hope to do some day as without this practice I think we would have no idea what would be required of us when we actually got a job in the future.
Second, when it comes to question number 2, I can now see just how important a teacher education program is. I think that without all of the knowledge I have received throughout the program, I would have struggled tremendously in my pre-internship. I found that I was relieved to have some practice planning, and some background information on classroom management, assessment, and instructional techniques. Without all of this information, I think that I would have just tried to teach the students in the same ways I got taught throughout high school, and this may not have been so bad, except for the fact that I am not completely sure that I liked how I was taught in high school, and so it wouldn’t have been fair to my students if I used those methods. After the three weeks, I have also found myself thinking about some things I don’t think the program prepares us for, and in particular, I don’t think I was really prepared to experience being in a classroom with a cooperating teacher who taught in a way I never thought you would. My cooperating teacher used many different methods that I didn’t really like at first, and I found myself questioning her a bit, however; after being in the classes for a while I was able to see why she did the things she did, and I found it extremely valuable to ask her questions, and hear her reasoning’s as to why she does the things she does. One of the biggest things I learned was to make sure you didn’t judge things too quickly, as you may be wrong.
Thirdly, when it comes to question 3, I was actually shocked to find out that one of the things I assumed I would do no matter what, was a lot harder than I had anticipated. After completing pre-internship I now realize just how hard it is to teach the students all the required material they will need to know before they move on. Throughout my experience I was able to see just how important it is to stay on track with when you wanted to have material taught by. I struggled greatly with this concept because I wanted so badly for all the students to understand what I was teaching them, but at the same time I knew that some of them were not ready to move on with the material just yet. I found myself wanting to spend a little more time on some material, but at the same time my cooperating teacher told me I needed to stay on schedule, and therefore I wasn’t able to make sure all of my students understood everything I hoped that they did. I struggled with the previous issue quite a bit, and I was actually a little upset that I had to move on when I didn’t feel I was ready to. However; in all other regards I think that my response for this question would generally be the same. I know that I still feel that everything I mentioned previously is important, and although this is the case, I am not saying that I am able to do all of these with ease. Pre-internship has taught me just how hard it may be to do all the things you hoped you could do. To give an example of this, I found it extremely hard to incorporate different instructional strategies, because I wasn’t always able to find places in which a different strategy would be beneficial, but I know I am going to keep trying. Also, I had mentioned in the question that I will always be available for help when the students need it, and during pre-internship I stayed for lunch every day and stayed a while after school, and after having experience with giving students extra help, and I have to say that it isn’t always easy. There were many times when I had other things I wanted to be doing during those periods of time, but no matter what, I knew how important it was for me to help the students out, and I never once found myself turning away a student in need. Lastly, there is one thing I never mentioned before that I wish I would have, and it is that I should have noted how important it is to learn the student’s names and build relationships with them. I think that this I something I am always going to try hard to do, no matter the size of the classroom. I was amazed by how much more respect I was given once I was actually able to call upon the students by names, and as a result I think it is important to develop a method that will help you remember names as quickly as possible.
Part 2
“Working with preservice teachers can be puzzling and surprising, particularly because they are students at the same time that they are learning to be teachers… I offer the following suggestions for teacher educators in assisting preservice teachers to discover their teacher selves. It is important to help students identify inconsistencies between their beliefs and practices and to discover counter examples to strongly held beliefs. In addition, preservice teachers must learn to assume personal responsibility for their actions and performance and not blame the students or others for their problems. To be a learner requires the consent of the learner (Loughran & Northfield, 1996). Therefore, it is essential that the learner is open to learning and seeing multiple perspectives. It is important that preservice teachers acquire a discovery, problem-solving mode that allows them to inquire and examine their teaching and the students’ learning through reflection and inquiry. I have learned that for the inquiry–reflection cycle to successfully become a habit of mind, it is important to help students develop the following attitudes and dispositions essential for reflection: open-mindedness, responsibility, and wholeheartedness (Dewey, 1933).”
When it comes to the above quote, I think it makes a lot of sense, and I do agree that as pre-service teachers we need to be open to different perspectives, but at the same time, I think it is important that we are able to have our own perspectives on certain issues. I think that every individual holds their own beliefs, and I don’t think that it is completely necessary for cooperating teachers to try and change their beliefs. I think that a huge part of pre-internship is allowing us to have a trial run. By going through this experience we get to see whether our beliefs still hold true after we have completed the process. I understand that out cooperating teachers are supposed to help us on our journey to becoming a teacher, but at the same time I don’t think they should try and form us into the types of teachers they think we should be. Based on my past experiences, I know that people’s opinions can change, and I think we should be given the time to see if this may occur for ourselves. Also, I strongly agree with the quote when it says that we need to take responsibility for our actions. I know that a lot of the time it may be easier to blame others, but I think it is extremely important that we are accountable to what we do in the school setting. Even though we are not real teachers yet, everything we do or say is important, and I think we need to make sure we are always acting like professionals. Even though we are leaving after three weeks, I think we need to try our hardest to take the role of a real teacher seriously. Lastly, when it comes to the idea of making sure learners are open to many different perspectives, I think this is extremely important for us to be successful. However; I think that in order to use some instructional methods in the school setting we must spend time preparing our students for them or else they may not embrace them the way we had hoped. As a result, I think it is important that we don’t try to overwhelm ourselves throughout pre-internship by needing to try new things every day. I think that if we become overwhelmed as teachers, we will also overwhelm our students, and in turn hinder their learning.