As I sit in my new classroom watching my students take their Interim Test, I cannot help but think about my experiences as a student teacher over the last few years. I have had the opportunity to work with a few amazing teachers and observe numerous others. I have found several practices that I want to include in my classroom and a few that I will make sure not to do. I have worked to develop and strengthen my skills in several areas, and I have learned what students consider a great teacher.
During my time at San Juan College and University of New Mexico, I have had the privilege of working with New Mexico’s Teacher of the Year candidate, Nancy Brummel; Seventh-grade math teacher and former assistant principal, Dr. Kelly Stone; Second-grade teacher, Jackie Hammond; Fifth-grade teacher, Karen Jim; Special education teacher, Jeff Tucker; and several others. These amazing teachers have taught me about classroom management and the importance of building relationships with students. They have taught me about student tracking and the importance of keeping accurate records. They have also shared their passion and excitement for the education field in such a way that I have developed the same passion and drive to be an amazing teacher.
There are a few things I have observed over the years that I am looking forward to incorporating into my classroom. One such thing is the importance of student celebrations. There are countless ways we can celebrate our students and their success in the classroom. For example, my eighth-grade class really enjoys food days. After they have worked hard on a big test, they are welcome to bring in food to share during class. We then sit on the floor and play Prodigy while we eat. This enables students to celebrate what they have accomplished while still engaging in mathematics learning. Celebrations do not have to be big planned events, something as simple as telling a student, “good work, I’m proud of you” helps to bolster the confidence of the student, while showing that I care. Additionally, I have learned how to support students with small-group or one-on-one instruction, while still supporting the needs of the whole group. Jackie Hammond was particularly adept at small group instruction. She taught me how to plan activities for everyone to do while working with small groups to ensure the learning of every student. Finally, I have observed one practice that I hope to never use in my classroom, asking student to sit in the hall for behavioral issues. I have seen several students asked to leave the room, then left to sit in the hallway until the teacher has a moment to talk to them. I have found that this can result in the student not only missing the lesson, but also creates a learned avoidance behavior. In other words, the student learns they can get out of doing classwork by behaving poorly.
My student teaching experience has culminated in this final semester. At the beginning of the semester I set several goals related to my teaching. This included four Professional Development Plan (PDP) goals for the University of New Mexico, one Professional Growth Goal (PGG) for Tibbetts, and a Professional development goal for the district mathematics PLC meetings. The focus of all six goals was on classroom instruction. More specifically, I worked on grouping students into teams effectively, chunking lesson content to leave adequate time for discourse, pre-planning higher-order thinking questions, tracking student progress, and meeting with students to discuss that progress. Working on these skills has enabled me to improve my teaching practices dramatically, while keeping my passion and excitement for math and teaching.
Now that I end one journey and begin another, I know the road will contain new challenges. What I have learned during the process of attaining my degree will help me dramatically. San Juan College and the University of New Mexico have instilled in me a passion for learning that will enable me to continuously grow throughout my career as a middle school mathematics teacher. I hope that I can instill the same passion in my students, enabling them to reach for the stars and achieve all their goals in life.
Thank you so much to all the amazing professors at UNM and SJC. I could not have gotten this far without your guidance and support.