Final Secondary Internship Reflection

My first thought walking in to the internship: Is high school going to be the setting for me? My thoughts walking out of my internship today: High school is certainly a grade level I would love to teach.  I never knew that I would be able to make connections with older students.  The past three years (and really my whole life) I have worked with younger children.  I never had much interaction teaching, tutoring, or interacting with students older than ten.  Hesitant would certainly be the word I would use to describe how I felt going into this internship.  Confident would be the word I would use coming out of the internship.  This placement certainly verified my desire to teach in a resource setting.  I was not with my students in this placement for very long due to snow days, but I was able to make a connection with them that made me comfortable teaching and allowed me to make personal connections to what we were reading in English.  

After this internship, I have learned that there is always room for learning.  I have discovered and been taught so much new information, especially about transition, and feel confident that I will successfully be able to implement a transition plan for students.  I also feel confident to be able to facilitate learning for all of my students no matter what the age.  In the elementary setting, you see your students every day.  In a secondary setting, there could be students on your caseload that you don't even have in class.  This internship has prepared me to be organized in any educational setting and track student progress more frequently as well as document more frequently.  I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to teach in a secondary setting.  I learned so much from my students and look forward to possible job opportunities in the secondary setting in the future.  

Internship Week 6 (Week 8)

Connecting literature and classwork to personal life has created some great opportunities to get to know my students.  We read the story, Speaking of Courage by Tim O'Brien in my Junior English class.  The overall concept I wanted my students to take away from this reading was the theme of the story.  We established that the story was centered around the theme, "Courage" (although, we understood that theme of a story should not be summed up in one word).  My students and I 'discussed' (and I use that word lightly- I am still working on my students getting to open up to me) what it meant to be courageous.  I used exit slips for them to record their thoughts because I felt they were more comfortable with writing things down instead of speaking in front of the class.  I got some wonderful responses.

The biggest success I took away from this unit would be the poster project I did with the juniors.  I had them create a poster with a quote or saying about courage that they felt applied to their life.  Then, the students had to create a visual to go along with the quote they chose and explain how they have displayed courage in their lives.  I was so pleased with the posters and had students coming up to talk to me about what they drew and the situation they portrayed through their drawing.  I learned a lot about my students and will be able to draw from their personal lives and interests in future lessons.

Sometimes, all it takes for a student to open up to you is by choosing multiple means of expression for them to do so.  While discussion has been prevalent and effective in my past classes, perhaps projects are the way to go with my junior students.  I am looking forward to my final two weeks of teaching and hope to connect even more with the students to make learning fun and relatable to them.

Internship Week 5 (7)

This week, I attended the most beneficial training I have ever attended.  Marion County offers a transition meeting/training at the Board Office to provide ideas to show support for students transitioning from junior high to high school and from high school to post-secondary options.  The meeting was so informative on so many different levels.  I was introduced to accommodations I had never heard of, strategies to use to provide support, and many other helpful ideas to support my students.

First off, I would like to reflect on the way they prepare for their future.  Although the training showed a lot about how to help students currently, they also planned for the next school year, giving tips on how to give students a jump start and how to support them before they even think about falling behind. This really made me stop and think- if we show students how much we truly want them to succeed and do everything we can to get them going in the right direction, that just might be enough initiative for them to take charge of their own lives and create a better future for themselves.

As I stated before, accommodations were also brought up, which made me realize that we truly are living in an ever-changing world.  Now, when writing IEPs, we think of accommodations for students to have while taking online Statewide tests.  I know technology is more prevalent, but to think that we have advanced to the point where there are specific accommodations for technology use really shows this progression.  I was also introduced to many accommodations and their meanings.  I have heard a lot recently, "Do the students want PO1 or PO2?" Needless to say, I was a little bit confused... What in the world did they mean by that? My mentor teacher then explained that one accommodation meant the computer read it to you while the other meant a teacher read the test to you.  This was also further explained in my meeting.

The transition meeting also provided behavior supports and intervention for students with exceptionalities.  Multiple apps were provided (once again, more technology) to use with students with visual impairments at a secondary level.  Discussions were conducted on how to decrease (and eliminate) dropout rates currently and for the future.  Overall, the meeting was so detailed and informative and I am so glad that I was able to experience this as an intern.  I feel that I learned so much and feel better prepared to take on a job in secondary special education if my future leads me to this particular age group.

Internship Week 4 (6)

This week, I introduced my 9th grade English students to The Odyssey.  I was surprised at how many students knew about Greek Mythology and taught me something new! I enjoyed the way I conducted my class. I had a PowerPoint, but I left it as an open discussion so students could add whatever they knew about the topic to the lesson.  I wondered how discussion would be in a high school setting, but since I have a small group at a time, I really feel that it went well.

I believe it is important to get to know your students before determining the teaching style.  However, this should not limit you to only certain teaching styles.  Using trial and error is a great way to determine what best suits your students' needs, as well.  I was excited about the classroom participation during The Odyssey lessons.  I really feel that the students felt connected.  I also was able to use a higher level of enthusiasm (which I love) and the students responded very well.  If students were off track, I tried my best to connect what they were talking about to the lesson.  I am becoming more comfortable with teaching older students and I can't wait to see what the next few weeks has in store for me!

This coming week, I am picking up my final class, English 11 students.  I am anxious to see how my students will respond to me.  This seems to be a quieter group, so I am looking forward to getting to know them and connecting their personal interests to the lessons.  I am sad, however, that I will not have as much time with the high school students.  I feel that if I had a 16 week internship like my previous one, I would really be able to conduct some interesting lessons and allow the students to take over the lessons (discussion-like environment).  This is something I have always wanted to try at a high school age.  Perhaps before I leave, I will be able to do this type of lesson with them.

Internship Week 3 (5)

Being flexible with a schedule is a theme that becomes more prominent the further I go into the field of education.  Snow days, two hour delays, and teacher meetings all took place in the two short days that I was at the high school this week.  What happens when this occurs during benchmark? What happens to my lesson plans? How will I adjust? I have an answer for all of the questions that stirred in my mind this week- it will go on.  You learn to adjust accordingly and prioritize the plans.  You learn that not everything will fit into the schedule all of the time.  You learn to be flexible.  If there is one thing I learned this week, it is that there is no need to stress.  What needs to be done will be done.  "Go with the flow" is some of the best advice I have received from my mentor.  Of course, this is synonymous with being prepared! Being extra prepared is important so you have the opportunity to "go with the flow".  You plan for all of the hiccups of the weather, or for the meeting that is scheduled for the morning, but might take place in the afternoon.  Wherever, whenever, teachers must be prepared.

Internship Week 2 (4)

Although I was only at the high school for three days (two of them being half days), I learned so much! My mentor taught me a lot about the legalities as well as technological advances in special education.  I was walked through the process of Medicaid- how to fill it out, how often to fill it out, when to turn it in, etc.  This week, I have also navigated through the online IEP writing system with my mentor to see what it was all about and how to maneuver through it.  I am also learning about accommodations made for the WestTest as well as how to notify general educators of accommodations of the students.  All in all, this week has motivated me to be organized! The importance of having an agenda and a well-organized classroom and work ethic really stood out to me.  I have certainly found ideas that I plan to 'adopt' for my own future classroom!
I was only able to work with students for two of the three days, but I feel that I am developing a rapport with some of them.  As I continue to be enthusiastic, I find it hard for me to turn off that elementary teacher deep inside of me.  I am really enjoying being in an atmosphere with older students, but there are certain cases while I am in the resource room where I feel that my positivity might be 'too positive' for my students.  I am trying to tone it down a bit, but I will not stop being enthusiastic about my job! I am hoping that the students that are a bit resilient to opening up to me will be more accepting to my offerings of help.  I would like to point out they are not doing this to be rude, nor are they being rude at all.  I feel that the actions portrayed by some of the students come from the age of wanting to be cool.  My students, however, are all wonderful! I am truly enjoying this placement.  I'm looking forward to next week, as I begin teaching English 9.

Secondary Internship Week 1

Wow! What a difference I have seen between Elementary and Secondary students this week! I'm not only talking about the students, but how I conduct myself around my students.  My last placement, I would always walk in very cheerful and positive- high pitch voice, smiles all around, etc.  In high school, I still walk in positive, yet a bit more refined, but sometimes get sleepy stares in return. Although the atmosphere is very different, I truly enjoy being with students of the high school age.  I have only observed this week, but I have really enjoyed what the position presents.

I like that I have seen a lot of discussion in the classes I have been in.  The students seem to take the lead in the collaborative classes, and this is an approach I am familiar with in the college setting as a student myself.  The high school seniors really contribute a lot to class.  Even if the contribution consists of comments to get a laugh out of other students, what the students bring to the table is extremely valuable and allows me to get to know each student's personality.  This week has been used to get to know my students through observation and conversation.  I feel that it is just as important to know your students as it is to know your content.  I felt a bit like a fly on the wall this week as I took in each class and what it has to offer.

The organization skills of my mentor and the collaborative teachers is remarkable and something I wish to learn from.  As I am now entering the 'transition phase' of a student's life, I am learning that there are many options and laws in which I must explore and understand in full in order to serve my students.  From this, I am learning about the importance of organization, especially in special education.  My mentor teacher has already shown me so much.  She takes time each Friday to conduct paperwork, observation, and many other things on each student on her caseload in order to keep up with the requirements for their IEPs.  She plans a week ahead of time.  She is very up-to-date on the medical files of each student and talks greatly with each general education teacher that her students might encounter.  Her routine schedule proves to be very effective and is something that I look forward to adopting into my own practice.  I feel that this placement is going to be one in which I will learn greatly from and extremely enjoy!