LIFE OF A TEACHER.

How did I cope/manage to complete the three days of a life of a teacher?

I completed the first day of the life of a teacher whilst in my first three weeks at the school. I found the first day of taking over daunting, I felt as if "how could I be ready to take on such a task? Once the day began and I started to feel more at ease, I noted that carried qualities of confidence, confidence in my ability to manage the class, take over from my mentor teacher and educate to the best of my ability. When it came to my 6-week practical I was eager to have the opportunity to showcase what I had learnt from the first block. I was provided with the opportunity to take over a grade 3 class for a week, I felt as if this was an opportunity to showcase my ability as a teacher, and to use the knowledge I have to manage a new class. I must say that the week was challenging as I was used to my class and they had the opportunity to understand my teaching methods, therefore starting fresh was a challenge. I truly am grateful for the "life of a teacher" experience as I felt confident and eager to have my own classroom and my routines set in place.

How did I feel about taking on the responsibilities of a teacher in Block 1 compared to Block 2?

In block one, I was still finding my teacher identity, my teaching strategies, and my classroom management methods, therefore I noted a significant difference in my initiative to take on teaching responsibilities. In block two I would describe my attitude as eager, I jumped at the opportunity to take over for a whole week, I knew that it would be a learning opportunity and an opportunity for me to explore my teacher identity.

Which activities did I find most challenging? How did I overcome these challenges?

Due to the fact that I had to take on a whole week of teaching, I personally found it challenging to ensure that I had all lessons prepared and planned. I did not want to purely rely on the teacher's resources, but I wanted to challenge myself in adding value to the lessons. This meant that I had to research multiple lessons, and resources to provide the best lesson outcomes. This was a challenge but when presenting the lessons, I was more confident.

Through evaluating the results of the self-evaluation survey, I noted the following.

I would rate myself higher in having sound subject knowledge, through my experience I was able to gain subject knowledge through the exploration of varying subjects.

I was provided with an opportunity to be creative with planning differing subjects which in turn assisted my confidence. Furthermore, after reflecting on my teaching experience I would rate myself higher in my ability to teach a specific subject with regard to the pace of content and sequence of content. I faced challenges with this through my teaching experience and gained insight into how to pace my lessons. Additionally, I would rate myself higher in my communication skills with regard to the subject, I believe that through having sound subject knowledge I am able to communicate what should be focused on as a learning outcome.

Reflection of exit level outcome from Mentor teacher

When reflecting on the exit level outcomes my mentor teacher has made note of my subject knowledge at a distinguished level, when comparing this to the beginner teacher competency I can see professional growth. I am aware that I made an effort to ensure I have subject knowledge before teaching a lesson to the learners.