ANALYSIS OF INTERNSHIP
Cassie McKiel
Loranger Memorial School Old Orchard Beach, ME Fifth Grade Science/History
Cooperating Teacher: Laura Seaver
University Supervisor: Cindy Altomari
I. Learning Experience
For my placement I was with Laura Seaver in her 5th-grade science/history classroom at Loranger Memorial School. My time there was filled with some much learning and growth all thanks to the people and staff. They were some of the kindest and most supportive people I’ve had the privilege of working with. Especially my cooperating teacher who always celebrated each one of my successes but also helped me reflect and learn from my mistakes. I’ve spent a lot of time with my students in my placement talking about growth mindset and by teaching them about growth mindset I’ve also been learning a lot myself. Each day of my placement was a new day to try again, not every day was a perfect day and there were times I struggled or taught a lesson just to realize at the end of it that nobody understood the concept. Sometimes there were days where the lesson went better than expected or I felt like I hit a breakthrough with a student. Every day was different and by every day coming in with a positive attitude and willingness to learn I think it translated to my students. As a reflective person, I loved thinking back on my lessons and seeing where I could have done something differently and the improvements I could make. A teacher is a life-long learner and that’s something that I cannot wait to continue doing.
Some of the ways I plan to continue professional development would be in the areas of classroom management, parent communication, and building work/life boundaries. Some areas that I feel are my strengths are relationship building, lesson planning, and differentiation to meet the needs of my students.
II. Professional Development
Growth and Reflection are so important to have while teaching and I will always be the first to reflect upon ways I can grow as a teacher. A few areas of professional development would be learning more about classroom management and different systems that I can do to help make it the best possible environment for the students and I. As a student teacher when I started in the classroom, there were already established systems and procedures in place. While I did work with my cooperating teacher to add some systems for the most part I just followed on par with those pre-created systems and procedures. Next year as the primary teacher in the classroom I’m excited to work and use my classroom management systems while continuing to grow and learn from other teachers I’ll be working with. Another area of growth would be with parent communication, as a student teacher I did attend parent-teacher conferences and was a part of email communication however I took a back-seat role in those conversations due to not being the primary teacher. Next year I’ll be able to have a lot of growth in this area when doing it independently. Lastly, developing healthy boundaries between teaching and my personal life will be an area to grow in. I think there’s no right or wrong answer for how to manage those boundaries and it changes for everyone but making sure I’m prioritizing my self-care and staying grounded. Compassion Fatigue is real and I want to make sure I’m taking care of myself so I can
give the most care possible to my students. You can’t pour from an empty cup and that’s something I’ve learned can be difficult to manage this past semester.
III. Strengths
My biggest strength in the classroom would be my ability to connect with my students and make sure they feel heard and seen in my class. I make an effort each class to talk to each one of my students and go the extra mile whether that’s going to their sports games, playing with them at recess, having lunch group with them, or helping them with homework at WIN, I always want my students to know I’m supportive of them and value them being there. Another strength would be lesson and unit planning. I enjoy planning lessons that are engaging for my students and also play to their strengths. I try to make it so that no matter what type of learner my students can be successful in the lesson. This brings me to the last strength I will mention, which is differentiating my lessons to meet the needs of my learners. Before doing my lesson I think about the needs of my students and adapt the lesson to meet their needs. For some students that looks like translating documents, highlighting directions, adapting the text to be at reading levels, verbally reading questions, giving more guided notes, etc. By forming a connection with each of my students I can start to understand how best to support them within my class.
