Lance Burch 2/19/13

Artifact Reflection Artifact Title: Teaching Assistant Date: Jan. May 2012 Artifact Description: During this time I helped Mr. Messner with many different teaching responsibilities. I would grade tests, enter grades, make copies, mark attendance, check homework, deliver papers, work with other members of the school, and deliver papers. The students I assisted in teaching were freshman through junior, with ages ranging from 14-17. There were about 20 students in the class and the class lasted 48 minutes, five days a week. Alignment: Wisconsin Teacher Standard Alignment: This artifact best fits into Standard 10: Collaboration The teacher fosters relationships with school colleagues, parents, and agencies in the larger community to support pupil learning and well-being and acts with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner. The reason why Standard 10 aligns best with being a teaching assistant is because I connected with a lot of different people to help advance the students education in the class . I would communicate with other teachers and ask them about what being a teacher was all about. I would help Mr. Messner grade papers and then I would either have to type in the grades or I would deliver them to the office. When I had to deliver them to the office, I would talk to the members of the office and tell them where the papers needed to be delivered next or what they would have to do with them. I would also talk with Mr. Messner and parents about possible punishments for certain kids who would either act up and distract other kids from completing their work or those who would not do their own school work. Since having this experience of my very own, I have become more understanding of this standard. I was able to connect to it very well with being able to interact with teachers, parents, and other members of the school and community. UW-Platteville Knowledge, Skill, Disposition Alignment My experience aligns best with KSD4.e: Grows and Develops Professionally The candidate is aware of opportunities for professional development to improve content knowledge and pedagogical skill and can take an active role in assisting other educators.

Lance Burch 2/19/13

Being a teaching assistant goes best with this KSD because this describes exactly what a teaching assistant is. I helped teach the class and therefor gained a better understanding and more in-depth view at what geometry was all about. I would also grade papers which helped me understand how the students may be understanding the content being taught to them. Sometimes if a student wrote an incorrect answer, it would help me figure out a new way to help the student understand what he or she was doing wrong. I was always improving and thinking of new ways to present information to the kids to make it easier to understand and more fun to learn. By teaching the class, I was helping Mr. Messner out a lot and letting him focus on some other things he needed to take care of. He would help me with lesson plans, but I came up with many ideas myself. I now understand more about being a teacher from this experience. I never got to experience teaching a class, helping so many students, grading papers, or anything like that before becoming a teaching assistant with Mr. Messner. It was a great learning experience for me to see more of what a teacher really does. It was interesting to see it from a teachers point of view rather than a students point of view, like I have been doing my entire life. Secondary KSDs: KSD4.c: Communicates with Families KSD4.d: Contributes to the School and District KSD4.f: Shows Professionalism Reflection What I learned about teaching/learning from this experience: I learned a lot about what it would take to be a teacher. There is more to teaching than just entering grades and teaching the class. You need to be able to connect with your students and satisfy all of the students different teaching needs. Some students learn in different ways than others and you cant let them fall behind just because they learn in a different way than most other students. I would take time after lessons to help students struggling with the way a lesson was taught and put it in a more convenient way for them to understand the new information. The kids knew that if they ever had a question I was glad to help them out and explain. I also learned to keep my patience with some kids that do not pay attention as much as others. It bothered me when some students were not so eager to learn as others, but I would simply tell them that it would be to their advantage if they did the work so they did not have to retake the class later. I was willing to help any student if they would just attempt the work.

Lance Burch 2/19/13

What I learned about myself as a prospective educator as a result of this experience: I became a better educator overall through this experience. I have always had a knack for helping others, but this experience really helped me become more organized in how I helped and it gave me more structure, because I was given the opportunity to help teach a few lessons. Getting to make my own lesson plans and picking the pace at which I felt the students should learn the material made me feel very good. It was nice to have the sense that I was the real teachern.