Professional Experience 2 – Post-Prac Teaching Confirmation

Professional Experience 2 has by far confirmed my desire to become a teacher. I am more than excited about the confidence it has given me, the experience over the last couple of weeks or so has been wonderful, and has been more motivating than ever.

It has been a draining, tiring, challenging, hair pulling experience that has left me wanting more. I really believe it was what I needed, giving me the inspiration to keep going – I now see an end goal. I know and understand it was only my first real teaching prac but it really has made a world of difference.

My lessons went as well as I hoped they would – there were obviously a few occasions that things didn’t go that well, but I got through them, and definitely learnt from them. The biggest problem I had in respect to lesson success was that I didn’t have a clear idea of the kids abilities – my ‘Chinese Lantern’ lesson was simply too easy which caused the kids to muck up a bit, they weren’t challenged enough to hold their concentration; my other ‘Improper Fractions’ lesson was just too hard, it suited the more advanced students but didn’t suit the average or below average students. In both cases, nothing went out of control but I was definitely flustered throughout and disappointed that I didn’t get it right for the kids.

One of the things I didn’t incorporate in my lessons at all was any element of educational technology, the school simply didn’t have the resources. I would definitely love to use a smart board. In a blog called ‘Veronica’s Teaching Adventures: Revelations about technology in education’, Veronica discusses her success with using a smart board; next prac I hope to have an opportunity like she did, be exposed to further educational technology.