Final Reflection

One of the central ideas I described in my teaching philosophy is:
 "Many students seem to find math as one of the most boring subjects, and may struggle in learning the subject.  My goal is not to remove the struggle from the learning experience, but have students embrace the struggle and view it as a positive motivator in learning.  I believe math classes could always be made engaging no matter how plain the topic is.  As a math teacher, I love designing lessons filled with interesting puzzles, tricks, and games.  I want to have every single student feel that my classroom is a fun place to be in.  I strive to match my teaching style to each students' unique preferences and skills, utilizing an array of interactive techniques in order to appeal to the student. "

During both my long practicum and CFE, I have had many classes based on games, such as escape room, treasure hunt, jeopardy, level-up character game, etc.  Overall, the feedback from both students and my sponsor teachers was quite positive, as it engaged all students and made the subject matter fun.  What I need to improve on is to make sure my instructions are clear and concise.

Given the opportunity to work in a more personalized classroom setting during my CFE with the ELL students, I was able to adapt my teaching style to each student, based on their level of English as well as their background.  I admit it certainly helped that most of the students spoke Mandarin Chinese, so whenever there was a major communication issue around a specific phrase/word (that sometimes couldn't be found in the dictionary easily or the student couldn't understand the dictionary definition), I was able to directly translate.

During my three-months out in the field, I found out many strengths and weaknesses I have as a teacher.  I realized that I am quite dedicated, and have a strong will to accomplish tasks set out for me.  When put under pressure, I would be extremely focused and have never broken down or burned out.  What I am continuing working on is communication with the staff, trying to not be shy when meeting new people, and to not waver when giving my thoughts on certain things or giving instructions to students in class.   I think being more confident even during times of hardship is key to improving myself as an educator.  An analogy my long practicum FA used was being a teacher is like being a leader of a hiking (or mountain climbing) team.  As the leader, I need to show my confidence in leading the group to where I want to go without wavering.