reflection

Now that I have been studying elementary education for the past four years I have had many opportunities to think about what type of teacher I would like to be in the future. After seeing many classrooms and working with a variety of students I know that I want my future classroom to be a room that encourages all types of students to learn. I want my instruction, including my math instruction, to include many strategies. Rather than only using worksheets and only teaching from the book I want my students to have actual experiences that allow them to gain mathematical knowledge. Although I know that worksheets are necessary sometimes I don’t want them to be the only thing used in my class. I really like when centers are used in the class because this allows students to apply their math knowledge to other areas. I also really like incorporating technology into the classroom. For math instruction especially it allows students to get work that is that their own unique level. They can all receive different instruction and assessment at the same time so that no student is at a level too easy or too hard for them. After working in Lansing this semester I have seen that all students are often not all at the grade level expectations. After working with these students it seems unrealistic to say that all my students in the future will reach grade level expectations. Instead I think that a good goal would be to just see improvement in general in my classroom. It appears that my mentor teacher has already given up on her students and does not work to help them improve their skills. I want to make sure that all my students feel that they can reach some higher goal even if it is not has high as other students.