Weekly Log Reflection

8/18/2019 Weekly Log Reflection

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Student Teaching Weekly LogWeek: 1/25-1/29

1 How did you spend your time this week? What responsibilities did you have?

I spent this week refreshing myself on how Crystal works her classroom

and familiarizing myself with her new students. Multiple times in my first week, I

was given abundant responsibilities with Crystal’s students, including reteaching,

working one-on-one with students, and monitoring lunch detention.

2 What were your most satisfying experiences? What were your most challenging

experiences?

I really enjoyed relationship building with students and staff. I enjoyed

learning day-to-day tasks that I will be doing over the next 6 weeks. The most

challenging part of my first week was definitely balancing student teaching with

life. This is something I will work on over the next few weeks until I am satisfied

with the balance I have found.

3 What are the plans for the upcoming week?

I will continue my week 1 tasks this week. I will also dig deeper into the

lesson planning process that Crystal wants me to complete, and I will further

discuss when I will begin teaching lessons.

Week: 2/1-2/5

1. How did you spend your time this week? What responsibilities did you have?

I spent this week assisting Crystal in her many roles. She was out twice

this week, so her behavioral associate was subbing for her. It was very interestingand unique to adjust to learning the role of a student teacher while the mentor

teacher is gone. The associate and I managed to find what worked for us on those

days, which made it much easier.

Additionally, I helped teach math and administer given assessments this

week. I focused on staying connected with students while helping with crisis

intervention. I also had a teaching demonstration interview this week, which

Crystal helped give me advice on during planning times.

2. What were your most satisfying experiences? What were your most challenging

experiences?I really enjoyed getting to help students cope with crises this week. One

student needed assistance with aggression, while another needed help coping with

anxiety. I really love watching students debrief after crisis and manage to succeed

throughout the rest of their day.

The school counselors found an issue with two students this week that

returned from 45-day placement a few weeks ago. It was officially determined

that these students failed a couple courses from last semester and needed to


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change their schedules for the current semester. Crystal allowed me to partake in

meetings related to these students. While I mainly observed during these

meetings, it was challenging to determine how I would cope with this type of

issue in the future (including communicating with a threatening parent).

3. What are the plans for the upcoming week?I will continue to teach math this week. I will also continue to work with

students during their study halls and their skills periods. I will also continue to

collect data and fill out point sheets.

Week: 2/8-2/13


This week, I spent a majority of my time working one-on-one with

students on their missing work, teaching math, and assisting with behavioral

crises. Additionally, I went to a couple of gen ed classes to help fill in for a

missing associate. I also learned more about the technology in Johnston –

including filling out grade reports, attendance, etc.


experiences?

A student that is newly back from 45-day placement is having trouble

getting to school on time – which is one of his main goals to maintain to stay at

Johnston for the semester. I debriefed the situation with him to help learn why he

was late and to help motivate him. He discussed with me that he was simply late

due to lack of motivation. In my response, I made sure to tell him that it impacts

our day when he is not here first period and we miss seeing him. Realizing hemattered to me, the smile on his face was priceless.

A student disrespected me when Crystal was out of the room on Friday. I

could tell something was bothering him, but he didn’t quite feel comfortable

opening up to me. These were both major challenges – I wanted to help and he

couldn’t quite see that. When Crystal came back to the room, I was able to watch

her debrief with him. Observing this was extremely effective. They discussed

stressors and coping skills to help balance home and school life.

3. What are the plans for the upcoming week?

Monday is a half PD day. I’m excited to see how valuable some

presentations will be. The rest of the day is work time…I will work on my mathlesson plans for the week. The rest of the week I will continue with the same

duties as this week.

Week: 2/15-2/19



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This week, I spent my time as I have previous weeks: teaching math,

assisting with behavioral interventions, re-teaching various content areas, and

working one-on-one with students on missing assignments. Additionally this

week, Crystal gave me added responsibilities in crisis situations. She had me

independently assist students in crisis, rather than observing her doing so.

Monday of this week was a professional development day. I sat throughpresentations related to building a business, art therapy, and adoption/family

difficulties. The afternoon was independent teacher work time, in which I spent

lesson planning.


experiences?

My most rewarding aspect of this week was reflecting on the first half of

this student teaching placement. I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting and receiving

feedback from Crystal. I’ve realized that I have gained abundant confidence in my

current role, and that I have a unique, supportive relationship with each student.

My most challenging experience included students taking a math test. This

was the first week that I taught an entire math unit, so it was the first week that I

was formally assessing students. One student (who often has difficulty with

initiative and self-confidence) complained that she did not understand the

questions on the math test. It was very difficult for me to tell if these complaints

were behavioral in nature OR if I would have to reteach a majority of the unit.

After grading her test and debriefing with her, it is evident that the complaints

WERE behavioral in nature – she scored an 88% on the test - but it was a

challenging situation in the moment!

3. What are the plans for the upcoming week?We are starting a new math project!! I am excited to get out of the book

and enact some real world applications.

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Weekly Log Reflection