More on Student Teaching

     Before I even start I am apologizing for the randomness of this post. With school starting in a few short weeks my brain is already all over the place with a million ideas and questions! With it being my last year AND student teaching in schools where I may be interviewing in within 8-10 months I really want to make sure that I doing everything I can to make a good impression.

INFO ON STUDENT TEACHING
     I’ve had a few emails asking questions about the specifics of my student teaching placement so here is some more info:
SCHEDULE
– September 4th – 7th: Classroom Observation at S-School
  (how a classroom is set up, introducing yourself to students, setting
   expectations, etc)
– September 8th – October 12th: University Classes
– October 15th – November 23rd: Student Teaching at S-School
  (teach classes full-time using my own lesson plans and own
    management techniques)
SPECIFICS
– Grade 9-12 classroom
– My cooperating teacher teaches History and French
– I will be teaching History when I return in the fall and may be going to
  another classroom to observe Social Studies as I do not speak French
  but we are still figuring this out
– My fiance will also be in the same school teaching Gym! 🙂

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
     Yesterday I asked about when to introduce classroom management and I received some responses on the blog but a lot on Facebook and Twitter as well. Here is what people were saying:

      With everyone’s suggestions in mind, I think I am going to discuss everything with my cooperating teacher (CT) next week when I see him in his classroom before school begins. Until then, I really have no idea what his plans for the first week will be. It could be that I will be strictly observing or it could be that I am an active part of the classroom. Either way, I will get his opinion on what he thinks is appropriate in regards to setting my expectations of students during that first, SHORT, week.

FILMING MY TEACHING
     Another thing that I am wondering about it is regarding my Whole Brain Teaching Certification. I have been working through the summer towards becoming an official Whole Brain Teaching Certified Instructor and am currently at 1,240 certification points as of August 20th! As such, I only have two more requirements to complete before I can be considered for certification: write an online exam and prepare a video of myself using WBT in my classroom. My question is, will I be allowed to use my CT’s classroom in October to film my teaching video?

     So far, I haven’t been able to find any information on the school’s media release policy (is that the right term?) on the school or division website so it is definitely something I need to bring up with my CT and then with the principal. [I would be comfortable editing the film to protect student’s privacy (blurring faces, not having names, etc) as well as having it viewed by administration for approval before I submitted it.] I think that filming myself teaching would not only help me fill the requirements of my WBT Certification but it would be great for myself to view and reflect on what I did well and where I need to improve. It could also be an interesting thing to include in an electronic portfolio for when I am applying for jobs!

     So I warned you that this post was going to be pretty random! I am solid when it comes to planning lesson plans, but it is all the other details that are always on my mind. If you have any suggestions, ideas, thoughts or concerns let me know; I would love to know what other teachers think! 🙂