Reflective Commentary

As a teacher I have a responsibility to be my most authentic self so students can do the same. This means I must allow myself to be vulnerable and in doing so create strong connections that are rooted in trust and respect for one another. I don’t want to perpetuate the stereotypical authoritative student-teacher relationship. Instead I guide them to feel like they can share fun facts with the group and be part of the teaching, giving them active roles within their own learning and not just me telling them information. With this, students feel they are at the same level as me where we all respect one another and most importantly are learning from each other. One student of mine is very mature and intelligent for his age. I've given him the space to share his knowledge with me and the class and we all have learned from it. Other students have felt this same respect and comfort in my teaching space where they can share different experiences and facts.

I model listening and validation in order to give students the space to share experiences and perspectives which has spread to how the students behave with each other. Some students have learned from their peers to be much more observant and they come back with new stories and perspectives on day-to-day things like noticing what is in their backyard or stepping outside and hearing the birds chirping that they once glossed over. By using activities and lessons that encourage students to utilize their own senses, perspectives and skills it allows them to grow into strong individuals while also learning to work with teammates and different opinions.

This process of growth is something I strive to highlight sometimes more than what the end product looks like. While the learning outcomes are definitely important, the steps we took to get there is something more valuable to me. Students participating in our program learned a lot throughout the weeks leading up to our quest which was a form of assessing their understanding of the content. Although the quest was a blast and really showed us what they took in, seeing them grapple with the new material in each lesson was extremely moving. When some students struggled they asked questions and used their peers to help each other like with the next step in a bird’s life cycle. I could see the effort that each of them put into their work grow exponentially over the weeks. The students showed a sense of care to learn and that can transfer to other parts of life. I was raised like this and taught to be a student and individual who puts in the effort and is proud of what I did that was in my control. Whatever outcome there is, knowing that I put in all the effort I could is all I can do. This is what I try to embody with the students when teaching.

Throughout the seven weeks teaching at River Road Elementary School, I saw significant growth in how I approach teaching. One of the main things starting out I was weary about was my confidence. Although I am an outgoing and friendly person, I also am someone who wants things to go as planned. With time, I learned to approach lessons without any expectations except to have fun. I didn’t feel the need to apologize for things not running perfectly smooth or get defensive when things went wrong.

Additionally, I saw myself grow not only as a teacher but as an individual. Working as a team and not always being the leader helped me step out of my comfort zone and go into less familiar spaces of stepping back and observing. With this, I was able to see when my peers really needed assistance versus when I wanted to step in because I was feeling out of control. The students also helped me with letting go of control and allowing them to be the teachers at times, sharing experiences and growing with their classmates. Students would ask me for help and I always would want to yet I learned to let them help each other which was delightful and gratifying to watch in action. My tendency to be the leader and be in control of situations was challenged and I adapted to be comfortable with not always leading or being in control.

When students did not know the information initially they often wanted me to just tell them, to get that instant gratification like Google gives this generation. Early on I succumbed to just telling them because it was easier not only for timing but also to mitigate any behavioral responses that might have come from not being told the answers. The pandemic had an impact on young children. So often they had all the answers in their hands whether it was from an iPad or computer. The need for instant answers and lack of critical thinking that came from the pandemic was a challenge for me to adjust to. However, I felt that over the weeks I grew along with the students. I learned who was more comfortable with certain things than others and was able to really grasp and meet where students were at while also pushing them to meet their edge and start to use critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

My peers provided me great feedback that I was a strong facilitator and allowed for students to feel heard. One of the main things that one of my teammates pointed out to me was that I should be more confident with my teaching and not apologize to students. This is something that was initially pointed out to me that I later reflected on in my own personal feedback. Everyone has their own nervous word or phrase that they say constantly to reassure students of things whether that be “Oh, perfect!” or “Looks great!”; mine was some form of apologizing to students in order to feel that I was somewhat reassuring them that things are okay and will be okay. There are other ways to respond to situations like this without apologizing which I have since learned like for example, “Let’s be patient, the pencil will be there for you when your friend is done with it” instead of “I’m sorry I didn’t bring more pencils for all of you.” With regards to learning outcomes, my peers gave me feedback with the first lesson to make sure to prioritize learning outcomes in the end then the specifics and nitty gritty of activities, especially since we started late. This allowed me to learn to prioritize learning outcomes for the following weeks when we were tight on time, while also making sure for students to feel like they had the space to comprehend materials.

From the teachers some of the main feedback that was consistent throughout was needing to incorporate more Spanish. That is something that I was growing with and knew that I needed to continue to bring in more Spanish into my teaching. I definitely feel that I worked on doing this in each week although there is always space for improvement in my opinion. Another note from Maestro Salgado was to really try and get all the students involved, especially the shy ones. I personally had a few on the shier side while also having a lot that were very talkative. Learning to balance this was a challenge at first but I started to get more comfortable with each student while they also seemed to get more comfortable with me, in turn allowing for more participation. I created the space for them to share by doing partner work first and then sharing back. This created confidence within the students to then share what they had built on rather than doing it individually. Prioritizing group work was something that the teachers really liked because it allowed them to learn from their peers while also having fun and applying material. One way to improve with reaching learning outcomes specifically would be to address the learning outcomes during the lesson so students are aware of what exactly they are to be getting out of the lesson.

My project manager provided me great teaching feedback. It was challenging at times to be able to get feedback for each week since we were all split up into groups yet the time she was with me was really helpful. Preparing materials like words that students need written out prior to the lesson will be helpful and making sure they are written out large for everyone to see. She provided many options for ways of improving the lesson so the next week when we switched it would allow for the other fourth grade class to have more visual aids and other tips for a smooth and successful lesson. During the quest, she gave some really impactful feedback when we had issues with students running off and not staying together to give the rest of their group opportunities to hunt. She offered to have us fly as a flock like Canada geese and it would allow students to have fun, feel like birds, stick together and not run. This proved successful during our second round of the quest with the other fourth grade class. It also allowed for students to have a role and be the flock leader during each clue.

My professor provided some strong feedback as well with the quest. She recommended to have groups made prior in one of the fourth grade classes that often didn’t have pre-made groups compared to the other. This would have allowed for inclusive engagement with students. Also she shared that although it was not in the normal planning, the extra recess that happened could have been communicated earlier in the week so we would have known there would be other students on the schoolyard. We had other school events come up previously when we weren’t warned so it wasn’t a surprise that this could happen again, thus we could have prepared a bit better for it. Another piece of feedback she gave me was to not take on too much and delegate things to my peers and even to students that seek to help.

Top left: Photo of me working on coloring in maps with 4th grade students.

Bottom left: Photo of me and my teammate preparing the eggs for the second round of the quest.

Right: Photo of my with 4th grade students during the migration obstacle course.