1. What do you foresee and your greatest strengths and challenges as a future teacher?

One strength I have as a future teacher is that I have had experience in the classroom and have experience with working small groups. Another strength I have is that I am technology savvy and have incorporated it into my lesson plan and classroom. A third strength is that I have practice incorporating and teaching common core state standards into my lessons especially in math. A challenge I would face as a future teacher is relearning the culture in California as opposed to the culture in New Mexico. A second challenge I would face as a future teacher is staying organized in the classroom.

2. What are the most valuable things you have learned from this field experience?

One of the most valuable things I have learned from this field experience is that teaching style largely impacts the classroom climate. A teacher with a strict routine will have students who work better interpedently and will continue to follow routine when the teacher is not there. A teacher who is more hands on will have a classroom that is more vocal and who are more use to project based learning. Both methods are successful and demonstrate growth in content learning in different ways. Another valuable lesson I learned from this field experience is that communication between co-teachers is important. Playing on one another’s strengths allows for an idea to become a plan and for that plan to be executed to benefit the students.

3. In what ways has this experience changed you?

One way that this experience has changed me is that it reminded me of the culture of the school district I grew up in. It also has shown me how little and greatly teaching has changed since I was in the same grade level I had been observing. Lastly, it has changed me by having me consider teaching middle school at some point in my career.

1. What are various ways in which the teacher demonstrated his/her competency in his/her subject matter?

One way in which the Mr. Salazar demonstrated his competency in his subject matter is by organizing labs to incorporate hands on learning to his class. Another way in which Mr. Salazar has demonstrated competency in his subject matter is by answering questions about the subject that students have that do not have answers in the textbook. One way in which Ms. Cabrera demonstrates her competency in her subject matter is by creating hands on learning projects for her students based on the content they need to learn. A second way in which Ms. Cabrera has demonstrated competency in her subject matter is by knowing all the rules and limitations for events and contests her engineering students are entering and presenting them in dynamic ways.

2. What are various ways in which the teacher made content accessible to ALL students?

One way in which the Mr. Salazar has made content accessible to all students is by having students work in partners during labs to ensure all students receive aid. He also has students listen to an audio of the section they are covering before having the students read the section themselves. Lastly, he posts all the work he expects students to have completed on google classroom. One way in which Ms. Cabrera has made content accessible to all students is by always allowing students to explore the content through hands on materials such as labs and dissections. Another way Ms. Cabrera has made content accessible to all students is by having audio of the section they are covering before having the students read the section themselves. Lastly, Ms. Cabrera uses videos and diagrams for visual learners.

3. What are the various ways in which the teacher engages ALL students in learning?

One way in which the Mr. Salazar engages all students in learning is by having them create art pieces of a concept they are learning. For example, he had students create a comic strip based on the difference between eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. Another example is by creating mnemonics to help students remember different concepts. For example, when learning about cell organelles he had students yell “rough” for the endoplasmic reticulum when touching the rough side of sandpaper and yell “smooth” when touching the smooth side of the sandpaper. Ms. Cabrera engages all students by having movement incorporated into lessons. For example, she uses gallery walks to display posters students have made about a topic they have finished studying. Another example of ways that Ms. Cabrera engages students in learning is by having students work in pairs or groups to finish a project, dissection or lab. She allows students to collaborate and talk throughout the lesson and use technology to aid in their learning.