My student teaching experience was filled with many life-changing experiences. Through these experiences I have grown as a teacher and learned many valuable skills that will make me an effective and successful teacher. Without student teaching I would not have felt prepared to have my own classroom. Now, however, I cannot wait to have my own classroom.

            One of the most helpful practices was doing my ISLP. Through this project I had to design my own unit. Not only did I have to create the academic components, but I also had to look at other factors when creating the unit. I looked at student data and used that data to create the most effective learning environment. I got to try out different practices and see which ones worked the best. I had to make accommodations for students and I learned what accommodations work best with different disabilities. This project truly had me design all components of a classroom and so now I feel confident that I can set up my very own classroom.

            Through student teaching I was able to gain many resources. I worked on a team of middle school teachers and so I collaborated with all of them. My cooperating teacher gave me many resources I can use in my own classroom. I also worked with the EC teacher and she gave me materials I can take into my own classroom. Because of this, my classroom will have the appropriate resources for students with special needs. I got to observe many teachers and see different styles of teaching, I was able to then take this information and form my own style of teaching by combining these different methods. Overall the people I worked with helped me become a better teacher.

             During student teaching I attended all staff activities. This included faculty meetings, IEP meetings, seminars, morning duty, and many more. In my other internships I never received the full teaching experience. I never got to see the background workings of the school. Through student teaching I learned about many different programs that teachers work through and how to handle different types of meetings. This made me prepared to not just teach in my classroom but to be a community member of whatever school I work at.

            The students themselves impacted me the most. Interacting with the students everyday helped me actually get to know them. Through getting to know them I was able to build strong relationships and learn about their interests. Since I got to know him or her so well I learned what kind of learning styles work best with each student. I was then able to customize classes to fit the needs of the students. This ensured that the students actually learned the material in a way they could understand it. Through working with the students I was also able to experience different classroom management insistences. I learned what consequences should go with a certain infraction. This has prepared me to maintain order in my own classroom.

            Overall student teaching was a valuable experience. I learned many new skills, received resources, experienced all aspects of teaching, and got to form relationships with students. I now not only know how to create lesson plans but to run all aspects of a classroom. Due to student teaching I now truly feel prepared to have my own classroom.