Emily Nulisch

Martin

UTL 101

Final Reflection

One preconception I had before teaching was that it was all about the kids. This was

something that was reinforced throughout UTL 101 and conversations with my CT as I learned

the impact of a teacher in the life of a student. Hearing about how a teacher should really love

working with kids showed that a teaching job is something that you should be really passionate

about if you are pursuing the field, and it certainly isn’t easy. My CT told one really moving

story about a student that she thought was a “bad kid” and how she thought she failed him by

getting him in trouble with the principal, but years down the road, he was at the school for a band

function and thanked her for all that she had done from him. This showed me that even

sometimes when you feel like it is difficult or that the students aren’t the best, it is still up to you

to do what is best for them. Another preconception I had before starting UTL 101 was about the

kind of time teachers have to put in outside of the school day. We learned that the idea that

teachers have summers off isn’t necessarily true as a lot of the summer is used for training and

professional development. Likewise, teachers often have to stick around after the school day is

done to do extra work, like creating lesson plans or grading papers. Teachers even have to bring

some of their work home, as they have to respond to emails from parents and colleagues and plan

out their weeks in advance. Lastly, another preconception I had was about how much money

teachers have to spend. I knew that the salary was low going into UTL 101, and that was

reinforced in class when we looked at the different salary distributions of the different urban

areas in Texas. Likewise, both the class and my CT emphasized that teaching is not something
you go into for the money. However, the one thing I didn’t know teachers had to purchase many

of their own supplies or activities without getting reimbursed. My CT talked about the kinds of

things she would have to buy, and what kinds of things, such as toys, have been used over many

years or donated by students or parents so that she would not have to buy anymore.

My “rose” after going through the UTeach class would be that I think I learned a lot

about how to make the lessons interactive for students, and I usually did a good job at

incorporating these moments into my lesson plans. I really learned a lot about how important

Think/Pair/Share is, and I enjoyed adding those into my grab attention activity or the middle of

my lesson. Likewise, I learned about how to make the lesson more accessible or relatable to the

students, so I was able to ask a lot of questions in the middle of the lesson that students could tie

to their own experiences or demonstrate prior knowledge that related to the topic. A “thorn” in

regards to being a teacher for me is getting over the nerves of being in front of everyone. I think I

definitely got more used to it by our second time to teach in class, but it takes some practice to be

able to confidently stand up there and teach. My main issue is rushing through some of my words

when I get nervous, so that is a challenge that I will have to get over, but I think that UTL 202

will help me get more used to speaking in front of the group and teaching.

As I go into UTL 202, I want to focus more on developing my teacher persona. I think

that helps account for both the rose and the thorn that I pointed out as I can work on enhancing

my ability to incorporate student interaction into my lesson plans, while also bettering my

presence and confidence while teaching to a class or small group. I can work on this by searching

for some strategies that work for teachers online, and see about the kinds of games they add into

their lesson plans. Likewise, I can work on practicing my lesson plans ahead of time for myself

so that I don’t find myself rushing or stumbling over a piece of the lesson due to my nerves.
Another thing I want to focus on as I head into UTL 202 is organizational skills. In UTL 101, we

learned about how important it is to be organized so that you are prepared for your week as a

teacher and you are able to keep up with all of the different events in your life that are both

work-related and personal. I want to use the organizational skills from UTL 101 to better plan

out my calendar ahead of time and make sure that I keep my planner up to date. This will allow

me to complete my assignments without getting too close to the deadline, and have me be more

aware of my time commitments with school, work, and a personal life. By improving my

organizational skills, I will be more prepared for the workload of UTL 202 as well as the greater

number of hours I am taking next semester, which will later help me as I enter the teacher

profession and I have more experience with keeping track of my schedule and knowing how to

keep on top of my assignments and projects.