Practicum Summary

Practicum Summary

Practicum 1: My experiences in Practicum 1 was a great experience for me. Student teaching a 4k classroom was a wild ride, but I am considering becoming a teacher even if there was some tough patches. I learned a lot from just student teaching for three months with a 4k classroom. I learned how to really interact with the kids and because of my practicum class it taught me what I should say to these kids. Instead of saying “good job” to the kids try saying “Chloe you did amazing job on your picture, why don’t you tell me a little about your picture.” What I’m trying to say is build good relationships with these kids, so they can love and trust you. Also build good relationships with their parents, because their parents are important to them. Another good aspect to learn is observing children. Observing children is really important to do when you become a teacher. You want to observe these children while there young, because if they are developing slowly then others, then you can get them the help they need. While observing children you can tell what they like and what they don’t like. While doing the focus child web assignment I felt like I got really close to my focus child. While talking to my cooperated teachers they could tell me what child likes what or what mood the child was in that day, etc. If I actually do become a teacher that’s one thing I can’t wait to have. Having a personal relationship with these kids are so special not only to teachers, but to the kids as well. Overall, I really had fun learning new strategies, techniques, ideas and just watching the teachers handle problems. I will take all the information that I learned and become a teacher that I want to be to these kids.  

Practicum 2:  My experiences in Practicum 2 was a really great experience for me and has help me decide what I really want to do. I would really like to work with infants/toddlers, when I graduate from NWTC. Student teaching with infants was a fun experience and very helpful one too. Working with infants has help me build confidence, taught new skills on how to work with infants, and lots of patience.  My cooperating teacher in practicum 2 has help me a lot and give me very great advice on working with babies. While observing the two children for my observations, I observe how some babies are at different levels then other babies. Example:  Two babies that were the same age; the younger baby was more develop, then the other and they were only 7 days apart. That show really showed me that babies grow and learn at different rates. Other than that I really love to observe this age, because there just started to develop new things. Overall I had fun learning new skills and building new relationships among the parents, children, and staff there. This practicum site has help me determine what I want to do after College.

 Practicum 3: My practicum three experience was probably the most educational practicum out of all practicums since I didn’t have experience with children that have differing abilities. I’m very glad that I got this experience, because now I can work with kids that have differing abilities instead of feeling clueless on what to do. Since student teaching at this practicum, I feel a lot comfortable to be around and to work with differing abilities. Before I was very unsure how to approach these children or what to do if one child is having a break down. I also realized how adorable these children are and how some of them are just like normal development children, but have slight uniqueness to them. I got to watch my cooperating teacher and the assistant teacher how to handle certain situations, which was very educational. I give them a lot of credit on what they do! There were two children that acted out a lot, but they handle it with ease and teamwork. While they handle the child that was acted out, I got to experience how to be a teacher. I directed some activities while the teachers dealt with the difficult situation. Another thing I also got too learned about was Autism. I heard about Autism, but never knew what it was exactly. I got to learn the signs that Autism children have, which there’s a lot, but not all Autism children have the same signs. Another thing I really learned in this practicum was patience. Children with differing abilities can be slower and some need more guidance then others. This one child that was in my practicum didn’t like to listen to me, due to me not being the main teacher. Ii took some time and hard work, but I eventually got him to do tasks without help from the teachers. I’m very grateful to have this experience and now know what to do in the future with working with special needs. Overall, I really had fun learning new strategies, techniques, ideas and just watching the teachers handle difficult situations.

Practicum 4: My practicum 4 experience was the best teacher experience out of all of my practicums. In this experience, I got to be the teacher for three half days; where I lead the activities and educated the children. I also did more observing of my cooperating teacher on how she teaches the kids; to get more of idea of what I want to do when it is my time to be the teacher. I also practicing and observe when it came down to dealing with behaviors with some of the children in this practicum. During my lead week planning, I got to do the five senses with the children. I also got to plan the environment the areas I planned for were: Art, science, math, manipulative toys, puzzle, reading, and games. I plan two science activities, one art activity, one outdoor activity, one musical activity, and one reading activity. Each activity was carefully plan and talked with my cooperating teacher. Planning for lead week really showed me what teachers do every day in order to prepare to teach the children and what will help the children learn. There is a lot to think about when it comes to planning the activities and environment for a theme. The only struggle I had during planning time is refining back on what I wanted to do. There’s so much stuff out there that you can teach children about their five senses and it was hard to choose what I wanted to do with the children. Overall, I really had fun learning new strategies, techniques, ideas, observing, and planning for my lead week.