Life of a Teacher Reflection

How did you cope/manage to complete the three days of ‘Life of a Teacher’?

I believe that I managed to cope quite well during the three days of the ‘Life of a Teacher’. I was able to manage the classroom effectively in order to ensure that the learners constantly had a positive learning environment. I was able to ensure that the learners were praised and rewarded for positive behaviour in order for all learners to model this behaviour through the use of the classroom management tool that I had implemented throughout Block 2 of my teaching experience. I believe that I was able to cope well during each transition throughout the three days. Through the use of managing my time effectively and managing the classroom effectively, each transition throughout each day was smooth. I also believe that I was able to cope well with the subject matter in each lesson as I have the subject knowledge and pedagogical knowledge, in addition, I prepared well for each lesson by planning an introductory phase, teaching, and learning phase and closure phase. I was also able to cope with the administrative roles of a teacher quite well during my three days of ‘Life of a Teacher’, as I managed to take register, photocopy worksheets, check their reading cards for the day, check that their homework books were signed and completed, mark workbooks, and lastly, change their class jobs for the week. I was also able to cope well with administering assessments such as the spelling tests, speeches, and continuous assessments. I coped well with extra mathematics lessons and extra-murals, which was mainly athletics. I also coped well with morning, break and afternoon duty. Therefore, after reflecting on how I managed to complete the three days, I believe that I am ready to take on the roles of a foundation phase teacher as I was able to take on the duties of the teacher quite well.

How did you feel taking on all responsibilities of a teacher in block 1 compared to block 2?

I feel that taking on all the responsibilities during block 1 was different to taking on the responsibilities in block 2 as I felt that I had gained more experience in block 2. During the first ‘Life of a Teacher’, I was nervous and did not realise how many duties a teacher had compared to when I completed the two days in block 2 where I felt more prepared and ready to take on these responsibilities. I also feel that I had more responsibilities during the two days in block 2 as there were more assessments to administer.

Which activities did you find most challenging? How did you overcome these challenges?

I believe that the most challenging activities during the ‘Life of a Teacher’ was the administrative activities as I found that there was not enough time in a day to get through the administrative roles of a teacher, especially due to the fact that most of your time during the day if focused on the learners’ needs. The way in which I overcame this challenge is by ensuring that I managed my time effectively and that I had a timetable in order to plan when the administrative duties would take place.

Analyse the results of your self-evaluation survey, where would you rate yourself higher?

During the self-evaluation survey, I rated myself as proficient in the competency stated as “Newly qualified teachers must understand diversity in the South African context in order to teach in a manner that includes all learners. They must also be able to identify learning or social problems and work in partnership with professional service providers to address these”. I would rate myself higher after my teaching experience as I believe that I have gained adequate experience in inclusive education and was able to gain a deeper understanding in the variety of ways to ensure that each and every diverse learner is included within the classroom.

Justify how you have improved these competencies through this experience.

The classroom that I observed and taught during my teaching experience was a diverse classroom which provided me with the opportunity to gain the necessary experience to teach in a manner that includes all learners. During teaching experience, I identified a social issue within my classroom, which made me realise how important it is to identify these social problems and ensure they are addressed with the help of the school and professional service providers.

Look at the exit level outcomes and the final comments of your mentor teacher in your School Assessment Log (TE411). Compare this to the initial self-evaluation you had completed at the beginning of your teaching experience.

The exit level outcome rated by my mentor teacher focusing on my ability to demonstrate sound subject, curricular and pedagogical knowledge through the practice of teaching was rated the same as my initial self-evaluation that I had completed in the beginning of my teaching experience. My self-evaluation and the exit level outcomes were both rated as distinguished for sound subject, curricular and pedagogical knowledge. This shows that as a teacher, my subject, pedagogical and curricular knowledge is distinguished and that I am ready to teach. The exit level outcome rated by my mentor teacher focusing on my ability to identify and adapt teaching methods to the unique needs of learners in diverse settings was rated differently to my initial self-evaluation. I rated myself as distinguished in my ability to tailor my teaching methods according to individual needs, however my mentor teacher rated me as proficient, therefore, I have identified that I need to work on adapting my teaching in order to ensure that each learners’ needs are met. The exit level outcome rated by my mentor teacher focusing on my ability to develop and use reliable methods of assessment to assess learning and improve teaching and learning was rated the same as my initial self-evaluation. Both were rated as distinguished; therefore, this shows that as a teacher I am able to assess my learners in reliable ways in order to improve teaching and learning. The exit level outcome rated by my mentor teacher focusing on my ability to reflect critically on skills, practice, and ethics in order to enhance professionalism in the teaching profession was rated as distinguished. Although, my self-evaluation did not specifically focus on reflection, I rated myself as distinguished in being able to communicate effectively in order to mediate learning which highly relates to reflecting on practice, skills, and ethics in order to improve teaching. This means that I am able to reflect critically and communicate effectively as a teacher.