Introduction

From January to May 2021, I student taught at Doherty Memorial High School in Worcester, Massachusetts through WPI's Teacher Preparation Program. I was returning to Doherty for the first time since 2016, but this time as a teacher, not a student. I taught three classes: two sections of College Prep Algebra 1 to freshmen, and one section of College Prep Pre-Calculus to juniors and seniors.

I grew both personally and professionally during my teaching at Doherty. I learned that so much goes on behind the scenes of the classroom - from lesson planning to last-minute adjustments. I've grown much more organized as a teacher and as a student, although my desk is still organized chaos.

Professional Goal

My professional goal for my student teaching was to plan, produce, and present a lesson with clear sections and expected time duration to improve pacing and organization. In the beginning of the year, I struggled greatly with pacing. Often I would find myself going over, and lessons that were meant to take one day stretched into two. I learned quickly that I needed to be more concise with my explanation and choose examples that were appropriate for the level of understanding, all while giving students enough time to work independently on problems.

Acknowledgements

Thank you so much to Rebecca Quinn, for mentoring me; Terri Gerhardt, for overseeing my practicum; Shari Weaver, for guiding me during seminar; Ekaterini Blanchard, Chad Binette, and Phil Spellane for stepping in as my mentors in the final few weeks; Paul Pacheco and Ben Petkie for being my peer mentors; all of my students, for allowing me to teach you and letting me learn from you. This practicum would not have been half as amazing and inspiring without any of these amazing people to help me.