Verda James Elementary, Casper, WY
Class: EDUC 2100 Practicum in Teaching
Semester: Spring 2022
Hours: 78 hours
Grade level: First grade
Mentor Teacher: Tracee Coleman
My Experience: I gained a lot of knowledge from the experience I had at Verda James Elementary. My biggest takeaway was being able to see everything I have learned from books firsthand in a classroom. I was also able to apply practices that I have learned such as giving effective feedback, lesson planning, determining what is developmentally appropriate for first grade, etc. I had developed relationships with not only the students, but my mentor teacher, other staff members, as well as the principal. I am very grateful that I had received the opportunity to spend a semester as a pre-service teacher in Mrs. Coleman's first grade classroom. As I continue further into my teaching career, I will always reflect back on the amazing experience at Verda James Elementary.
Below is my reflective journal summary and my practicum final evaluation.
Final Journal Summary
Rational: In this assignment, I got to reflect on my practicum experience. The areas that I discussed included instructional planning and preparation, classroom management, student engagement, understanding diversity in the school, community and classroom, the most significant learning aspects, and what I had learned about myself. Overall, I was able to recognize my areas of strength as well as others that I will work on. I valued this experience because I now have a better ideation of my future classroom, as well as what I need to do to become the teaching professional that I aspire to be.