Within my 491 practicum, I learned more than I can truly put into words. I learned about myself as an educator, as well as about myself as an individual. This experience was one of the most educational opportunities that I have had thus far in my life.
During practicum I learned about the importance of differentiation. Within my practicum classroom, I had a wide range of learners. Some students were emerging with their reading skills, developing into readers and working extensively to improve and move along the “planet” chart that was used to gauge student growth. I also had students who were extending far beyond the expectations for their grade, reading at a level that was 3 grades higher than the grade they are in. Through seeing this, I developed my sense of how to challenge each student appropriately. For this, I allowed written responses from emerging readers to have an illustration and leave the responses at one or two sentences. For the extending readers, I challenged them to write a paragraph on their thinking, requiring them to use their words to describe their ideas about a more challenging response. The final products of these writing activities differed greatly, and it was a perfect example of how unique each learner was.
Jumping back for a moment: the planet chart to map out student growth was a huge hit within the classroom and it is definitely something that I would like to try in the future. Picture this: a visual of the solar system across the entirety of the wall. Beginning at the sun, this demonstrated each students growth using Dolch sight words and phrases. As the students learn more, they move further away from the sun. Their goal is to reach Pluto, meaning that they have completed their sight words and phrases. Students celebrated each other as they moved further through the solar system, and gave them a visual goal to achieve. I watched as students planned where they would like to land, talking amongst each other about how they would like to reach Pluto before Spring Break, how some of the other students would like to get to the moon so that they are finished their words and can move into phrases. It was a wonderful way to celebrate achieving goals, and demonstrated how rewarding it is to practice.
I also learned a lot about Daily 3 and Daily 5. Once the routine is set in place, students can be very independent and work on bettering their math and literacy skills. This became a peaceful time to work with smaller groups, or even independently with students as the rest of the class worked on their own activity. My coaching teacher had a really effective way of planning these activities: she had charts up on the wall and little pictures of the activities to attach using a paper clip. This showed the students where they would go for each round, and it was simple to reorganize for the next day, placing new activities for the students to go to.
I also learned extensively about classroom management skills. This included different songs to sing to catch the students attention, call back phrases, and using a bell or clap to redirect the attention of students back to me. These strategies will prove to be effective in my own classroom as the wide range allowed for students to stay engaged in these redirection activities.
I am so thankful for the opportunity to learn and discover throughout this practicum. The skills I have developed allowed for me to gain a sense of autonomy, and gain confidence in myself as both an educator, as well as an individual. Thank you to the practicum coordinators, my practicum evaluator, and my coaching teacher for directing me along this journey and providing me with the tools to flourish as I emerge into this field.