Student Teaching Reflective Journal

Student Teacher Name: Sydney Murray

Placement: (First/Second) Second
Site: Northwest Middle School (Reading) - previously Central Middle School
Grade Level/Subject Area: 7th Social Studies
Mentor Teacher: Nils von Bulow

Week One
Week Of: 3/18-3/22 (Central)

Category 1: Planning and Preparation:

My Inquiry Question: How can I make sure I am providing enough activities and
work to take up the entire class period? How can I make sure they’re engaging?

My Response: Hopefully I can try to relate some of the activities to their interests
or things they’re excited about. I can change up activities so it is not the same instruction
everyday. I can also practice and present the material and activities to myself to try to see
how long each lesson will be.

Category 2: Classroom Environment:

My Inquiry Question: I am frustrated in my placement because of student
behaviors. The students don’t respect any of the teachers and they don’t want to learn.
Students talk constantly, are on their phones, and curse at others and teachers. How can I
make it so students will listen to me for a 10 minute lesson? How can I even set
expectations when they refuse to listen for one minute?

My Response: I will try to make instruction engaging to students so they will

listen to the lesson and know what they’re doing in their activities and work. I have to
understand that I cannot put all of my energy into trying to make the students listen and
quiet down when someone is speaking. In order to get respect from these students, I can
try to understand where they’re coming from and how they act at home. I can show them
respect and hopefully get some in return.

Category 3: Instruction and Instructional Delivery:

My Inquiry Question: When I stand in front of a class for the first time in a new
placement just to talk to them or start a lesson, I am always nervous. I get nervous that
the students won’t respect me or consider me a “real teacher” who can provide instruction
 to them. How can I grow into myself as a teacher and not feel so nervous in front of my
class the first few times?

My Response: I can make connections with each of my students in each class and
get to know them on a better level. I’ve struggled with the students telling me that I’m
not a real teacher and that they don’t care what I think. I think if I were to try to make
stronger connections then maybe they would think I was a real teacher and I mean what I
say. They might pay more attention if they respected me.

Category 4: Professional Responsibilities:

My Inquiry Question: I am becoming so frustrated from the environment and

school I’m in. The students don’t listen and it seems like the staff themselves don’t care
and are burnt out. I’m not sure how I’m expected to be professional and maintain
composure when the entire school around me couldn’t care less. Dealing with combative
and badly behaved middle schoolers is so draining when no one else cares and I’m not
sure how I’m supposed to not bring this home and let it weigh down on me. How am I
supposed to do my job but not bring this heaviness back home and have it not affect my
mental state?

My Response: I have to realize I’m doing my best and I can’t change everything. I
can’t let it weigh me down because I’m just going to burn out and mentally struggle with
this. I have to realize that these students have had no discipline and the teachers in the
school cannot even get them to quiet down or stop being so disrespectful. I will tell
myself I’m just in a new environment and I will leave everything at the door when I leave
at the end of the day. All I can do is try my best everyday and leave it at that.

Week Two
Week Of: 3/25-3/29 Spring Break (Central)

Category 1: Planning and Preparation:

My Inquiry Question: How can I make sure to switch up instruction and make it
different?
My Response: I can do research on different activities to switch up my
instruction. Sometimes, I feel like my plans are similar but I can change them up. I will
have to do research on which activities would be most helpful and provide most
instruction for my students. I will have to make sure that it takes up a good amount of
time and has enough information for my students.
Category 2: Classroom Environment:
My Inquiry Question: If I have to stay in Central Middle School, how can I work
on my student relationships? What can I do?

My Response: I will have to just try my best every day. Maybe I can try to work
with only a couple of students at once and try to connect with them first. Hopefully by
connecting with a few students at a time, I can foster a healthier classroom environment.
If I connect with students, they will respect me more and in turn listen to instruction
more.

Category 3: Instruction and Instructional Delivery:

My Inquiry Question: Everytime I talk or try to instruct the class I am stressed

and I can’t be friendly because of the lack of respect. What can I do to make my students
more involved?

My Response: Again, I need to connect with my students more and work to

understand them. I feel like if I try to establish a better rapport with the students they will
listen to instruction more. I can also work to add more interactive activities and
assignments. By doing this, students will be able to talk and have social interaction while
still learning. A big problem is the talking during instruction so if direct instruction was
cut down to only a few minutes while having an engaging and interactive activity for
students to do after would be helpful and may lead to improvements in instruction
delivery.

Category 4: Professional Responsibilities:

My Inquiry Question: My cooperating teacher is not giving me much time at all.

Everytime we have a spare moment to talk about instructional planning, one of the other
teachers on the team comes into the classroom to chat with my co-op. It gets really
frustrating because I don't feel as if I’m being mentored. What can I do to fix this?

My Response: I will need to advocate for myself. I will have to discuss with my
cooperating teacher that I feel she is not giving me enough time and we need to plan
instructional time. I can discuss that I want and need those thoughts and criticisms that
will help me become a better teacher. Also, I will say that it is important to me to be able
to plan the lessons with my cooperating teacher so I understand what is wanted and
needed.
Week Three
Week Of: 4/2-4/5 (Northwest)

Category 1: Planning and Preparation:

My Inquiry Question: How can I work to accommodate my students when each

class has students at many different skill levels?

My Response: I will definitely have to work to get to know my students and

understand their strengths and setbacks. One problem is that the classes are a mix of
differently skilled students so some are at a much higher level than others. It seems like it
can get hard to make instruction for the whole class. This would mean I would have to
provide differentiation for those who may need more help or those who are in need of
more work.

Category 2: Classroom Environment:

My Inquiry Question: How have student relationships changed since my
placement has been moved to Northwest?

My Response: Student relationships have improved greatly. The students at

Northwest are actually interested in me and want to get to know me. They also provide
me with respect as another person and teacher in their classroom. I have grown and
started to foster a positive relationship and positive rapport with my classes and school. I
have seen firsthand that when respect is given both ways, from student and teacher, that
the classroom environment is great and learning is happening.

Category 3: Instruction and Instructional Delivery:

My Inquiry Question: How can I switch up instruction without changing the

students’ routines too much? I want to make sure I am putting my own spin on it but not
give them something completely new that would throw them off.

My Response: I believe I can switch up instruction by having the same kind of

outline and basic procedure but changing the activities and notes up. I would keep the
same outline of direct instruction and then a collaborative or independent activity but I
would maybe change up how they’re receiving notes and information. I could do
interactive slideshows, videos, research, and more for a different feel. Then, I would
provide student choice to the activities they were to do after the information.

Category 4: Professional Responsibilities:

 My Inquiry Question: How can I make sure I am making a good impression on all
of the staff and not just my mentor teacher?

My Response: I am starting to eat lunch with my entire team, not just my mentor
teacher which has been great because you are all able to talk to each other and bounce off
of each other. I make sure to say hello to everyone I pass or am in the same space with
and I am always respectful and kind to the students at Central. I also plan to write great
lessons to effectively teach my students. Hopefully I will make a good impression on
Northwest staff with my lessons and relationships with the students.

Week Four
Week Of: 4/8-4/12

Category 1: Planning and Preparation:

My Inquiry Question: I feel like everyday my mentor teacher has the same type of
lesson and routine. How can I change around my lesson plans to make students more
engaged and excited to learn?

My Response: I can still choose to use certain elements of the strategies my

mentor uses but “spice” them up. My mentor uses lessons with lots of interactive
PowerPoints and independent assignments but doesn’t really change up instruction much.
Now that I’m taking over the lessons, I can do more to plan more interesting lessons and
topics. I can add in interesting comic videos, have more student-centered learning, and
promote more critical thinking. I would also like to add more authentic learning to
projects and student work.

Category 2: Classroom Environment:

My Inquiry Question: Everytime I turn my back on a “trouble-maker” student,
they go back to whatever I just told them to stop doing. How can I get them to stay on
task?

My Response: This is one I struggle with because I don't know what I can do to
make some of the students listen. I don’t know if it's me or if the students struggle with
discipline as a whole. I work to set my expectations in the beginning of the lesson or
activity so that the students understand how they should behave or act. I redirect students
but sometimes they don't always listen. I tell them that even though I am a student
teacher, I am still a teacher and that I respect them so they should respect me. I ask them
how they would feel in my place.
 Category 3: Instruction and Instructional Delivery:

My Inquiry Question: I feel like the students are bored with some of the content.
What is the problem?

My Response: The content is kind of the same day in and day out. From what I
have witnessed so far, it seems that with each unit on ancient civilizations, there are
PearDeck and interactive PowerPoints and an independent reading/work after. I can
change the direct instruction up and maybe have students interacting with each other
instead. I can have students get up around the classroom and move instead of sitting in
one seat the entire time.

Category 4: Professional Responsibilities:

My Inquiry Question: This semester I have been doing my work and everything I
can to improve but my drive is lacking. I don’t know if it is because I am close to being
done with college or if I am just tired. What can I do to change this or change my way of
thinking?

My Response: I can tell myself I am still learning and I need to push through the
next couple of weeks. It's understandable to be ready to graduate, be done with college,
and have my own job and classroom, but if I can get all the practice for teaching I should
take it. I have to try not to let my thoughts affect how I am professionally or in the
classroom.

Week Five
Week Of: 4/15-4/19

Category 1: Planning and Preparation:

My Inquiry Question:

My Response:

Category 2: Classroom Environment:

My Inquiry Question:

My Response:
 Category 3: Instruction and Instructional Delivery:
My Inquiry Question:

My Response:

Category 4: Professional Responsibilities:

My Inquiry Question:

My Response:

Week Six
Week Of: 4/22-4/26

Category 1: Planning and Preparation:

My Inquiry Question:

My Response:

Category 2: Classroom Environment:

My Inquiry Question:

My Response:

Category 3: Instruction and Instructional Delivery:

My Inquiry Question:

My Response:

Category 4: Professional Responsibilities:

My Inquiry Question:

My Response: