Week 7

The aspect of week seven that I found most valuable was on Friday when I was able to teach the same lesson twice. I picked up my fourth class on Friday which is another accounting class. I was able to teach the lesson and learn from the lesson about what worked and what I could do to improve it before the next class and make any changes if I needed to. I did make a few changes with my lesson the second time around. I pointed out a few things about the posting of the special journals that were different then what they learned in the previous chapters about posting. I also felt that I have become more comfortable with all my classes this week and that it really showed in my teaching. I was able to incorporate better introductions then I previously have.

If I could go back to the beginning of the week and change anything it would be to make sure that the students are really prepared for the tests. We review in accounting and go over the problems for four or five days before the test. When test time comes some students do very poorly and some do very well. I am going to try and think of ways to improve some test grades for accounting.

Week 6

The aspect of week six that I found most valuable was the encouragement that I have been receiving from all my fellow student teachers and our supervisor. I was really feeling very stressed at the start of the week and did not feel as if I could handle it anymore. As the week went on it became a lot better and I can tell that I am more comfortable in the classroom. My classroom management skills are also improving. I picked up my third class this week. It was the most easy class that I have so far which is computer applications. I found that planning for this class, and just the computer and technology classes in general are easier then content courses, especially accounting. I am also getting more comfortable with my accounting class now that this is the second chapter that I have taught them. It is easy to relate the material back to information that I have taught them. I think the planning is essential in all the courses that we are teaching.

If I could start the week over it would be to try and not be so stressed out. I know that there are things that I cannot control, but I would definitely try to not be so stressed out. I would also try to incorporate more activities into my lessons and relate the hard content that I am teaching to the students more than I have been.

Week 5

The aspects of week five that I found most valuable is the participation rate that my seventh period class is starting to give. When I first started teaching that class nobody wanted to participate and they all stared at me like I had ten heads. I have started to get them to participate because I have just been going around the room and everyone takes a turn solving the transactions. I think they are finally started to get used to me a little bit, and they are not as talkative as they were when I first started. The other aspect of the week that I found valuable was using a video to introduce my lesson on contracts. The students seemed to have liked the video, and enjoyed something different in the class. My business law students always participate during the class discussions. I also feel that some days I can do this and some days I feel like I am horrible and cannot do this. I know that this also has to do with the hormones in my body going wacky since I am expecting a baby, but I just get so emotional some days, not until after I leave school though. I also found that planning is everything. If you plan far enough in advance, it will only benefit you in the end. There is a lot of work and planning that goes into this student teaching experience.
I also followed a student for the day on Friday. I thought that this was a great activity for us to complete. It really gives insight on what the students do throughout the day. The girl I followed is very intelligent and is in the advanced classes at the school. I feel that most of the teachers expect a lot from the students but that is great because it makes them motivated. I think that the day is long at the district that I am at. I think that the students attending nine periods a day plus lunch is long.
If I could go back to the beginning of the week and change anything it would definitely be to try and not let things bother me. Things that are not in my control and the unexpected disturbances that occur during the class is what I wish did not bother me this week. I would also make sure that I have extra activities ready for the students if they finish early or if we finish completing the cases in the book early. I would make sure that in accounting there is enough time to get through the mastery problems at the end of the chapter also.

This week went much better than last week for me. I was very busy with my two classes and felt more comfortable and confident when teaching both my classes. I thought of a great activity for the students to do in accounting with petty cash reports. I think the students liked the activity because they were able to have a change and do something other than book work the entire class period. I think this overall week went very week for me. I am still having some problems with some of the students. I don't know if they are used to the way my coop has done things the entire year and it is just a change for them. On Friday we had an in-service day. We did not have any professional development, we just worked in the room the entire day. I was able to get a lot of my planning done so that was great.

If I were to go back to the beginning of the week I have planned some of my lessons differently so that the students had some time to do more exercises to practice the problems.