Standard 9 Reflection

Title of Artifact: Pre-student Teaching Practicum

Description of Artifact:
Pre-student Teaching Practicum Weekly Progress Report. During the week of
November 15, 2004 I taught at Winskill Elementary in Lancaster, Wisconsin. My
cooperating teacher was Mrs. Strobush. This artifact includes a reflection that I
completed after the week was completed, along with Mrs. Strobushs reflection.

Alignment:
The standard that was met was standard 9. Standard 9 is Reflection. The teacher
is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of his or her
choices and actions on pupils, parents, professionals in the learning community and
others and who actively seeks out opportunities to grow professionally. As a
teacher you must not only plan each lesson, but also reflect on its overall
effectiveness. You must evaluate yourself as a teacher in order to ensure
professional growth.
I spent professional week preparing and teaching lessons and seeing how the class
varies from day to day. I was able to determine what went well, what didnt go
well, and how I can improve the lessons for next time. My experience aligns with
this standard because it shows that I am able to reflect on the lessons taught, and
use the information to enhance the learning environment in my classroom. I
evaluated my creativity, how the lesson plan was executed and things that I could
have done to improve the lesson. For example, when teaching a lesson about
Abraham Lincoln, I ran out of time to wrap the lesson up. The next day I had the
students reflect upon what they had learned the day before about Abraham Lincoln.
I have demonstrated my ability to reflect upon my teaching experiences to better
improve my teaching style through my reflection.
In order to grow professionally, I will attend workshops, inservices, conferences,
meetings, webinars, etc. I think that this is important for a teachers professional
development. It shows a commitment to their students and the community.

UW-Platteville School of Education Knowledge, Skills, and Disposition

Alignment:
KS4.a: Reflects on Teaching

Explain what you learned about teaching from this experience:

I learned a lot during professional week at Winskill. After reflecting on my
experience, I learned that as a teacher you need to be prepared for anything and
everything. You never know what might happen throughout the day. I leaned
that it is good to have a backup plan if your original plan falls through.

Explain what you learned about yourself as a prospective educator:

As a prospective educator, I know the importance of evaluating and reflecting on
the curriculum that I am teaching. I learned that there will always be time for
reflection of my lesson plans. In doing so, I know that I will be a very effective
and capable teacher.