Jami Shlensky

Phase 4 Integrated Reflection

As I sit to reflect on my experience student teaching, I cannot help to think about the growth, learning, and experience I have had over the past four semesters of college. Since the beginning of being a practicum student, to finishing my student teaching, I have learned so much about behavior management, writing and creating individualized instruction, and working with students to make them feel successful.

This semester, I student taught at an elementary school. I had the opportunity to work with students in kindergarten and first grade who have a wide range of disabilities. Working in this environment, I learned many things that are very important to me as a person and a teacher. One of those things is that every moment is an opportunity for learning. When working with students who are so young, it requires many breaks, time for transitions, and lapses in instruction. However, this semester I learned to utilize those precious moments as teaching time. During a break a student can learn about how to relieve stress. Transitioning from class to class is a skill. Every moment that a student is at school can be used to help them grow, develop, and attain skills that they will need in their future.

But, even further than that, school is a place where students should feel safe. If they are just having a bad day—it’s okay if the lesson doesn’t go as planned. If the student needs to come sit and cry and talk about why they are upset, that’s okay too. What I learned this semester was invaluable. School is a place for growing. It is a place where we promote the development of children, not only academically. Although those skills are important, skills such as coping with feelings, socialization, and managing their own behaviors are equally important. I have really learned to look at the development of a student holistically. Caring about students and having them know that they are believed in is so extraordinarily important.

This semester I also was able to write programs that targeted those same skills that I learned were equally important. I wrote a program on social skills that taught my students, through a social story, how to greet their teachers. The program can be seen here. My students responded well to this intervention and by the end of instruction were continuing to spontaneously greet their teachers! It is a valuable skill for them to carry forward in their education.

Overall, I have learned and grown so much over the course of my student teaching and practicum experiences. I have learned to be confident in myself, how to conduct myself professionally, and how to provide high quality instruction and care for my students. I cannot wait to graduate and enter the field!