Reflection

My practice teaching experience has been the best, most informational and
inspiring experience in many years. Generally, I had a great time with my Grade 9-SPJ
students, and I could not have asked for a better report with my cooperating teacher,
Ma’am Genith P. Magdaluyo. I felt supported from day one, and she gave me the
confidence I needed to keep progressing. Interacting with my students was fantastic, and
I was very surprised at how much my students taught me, from everything to relationships
to school practices.
Throughout the daily routine from November 25 until January 30 of 2020, I was
able to create a really great atmosphere in my classrooms. I was a little worried about a
few of my classes early on, but as I got to know the students better and establish
relationships with them, the problems mostly vanished. Once I established those
connections and relationships with students, it was easy to tell that they bought into what
I was teaching them considerably more. They started to ask more questions, be more
interested in the topics and generally have fun with learning English topics. However, my
relationships with students were not the only relationships that went well. I would also say
that my relationships with the staff here at Irineo L. Santiago National High School went
very well. I sustained a great working relationship with my cooperating teacher, my co-
practice teacher from Ramon Magsaysay Memorial college, Ma’am Ana Dela Cruz, as
well as other teachers in the English department.
Another aspect that went well for me was planning and time management. I was
almost always a week ahead in my planning. My schedule was a great help; due to the
two practice teachers that was assigned to my cooperating teacher we only have two
lectures per day with the same preparation. This allowed me to plan, grade, and make
copies, etc. in a timely manner. The actual process of planning my lessons went smoothly
as well. My cooperating teacher took the time to show me how she goes about planning
a unit, and I gathered very valuable advice from him. Therefore, I was able to plan my
topics, using 4a’s lesson plan, rather easily. While planning, I also had a large number of
documents, readings, maps, etc. at my disposal, which made the process go more
smoothly.
My time management skills have definitely improved over the course of time. While
I never found myself seriously overwhelmed with grading or planning, there were still a
few days where I wished I had spent more time on a particular task. However, towards
the end, I was able to get everything that I needed to all done and work ahead of myself.
I learned many things through my practice teaching experience, which will shape the way
I teach for years to come.
The biggest and most important thing I learned during student teaching is to be
confident. In the beginning, I was a little timid with my students, even while presenting
them information that I know backwards and forwards. After a couple weeks, however, I
was more comfortable in front of the class. This experience has taught me that students
are much more likely to buy into your class and listen to you when you come in with a
positive and confident demeanor. Once I gained my confidence in the class, I had more
fun with teaching, and my students had more fun as well. My increased confidence levels
definitely translated to the students doing better in class, and even worked to stem some
of the problems I had with classroom management. Respect for myself and my students
ties into this as well and is closely related to the relationships you have with students. I
learned that respect and confidence will go a long way in terms of connecting and
maintaining relationships with your students, which does help the classroom atmosphere
and performance.
Classroom management was another area which I learned a lot about during
practice teaching. My biggest take away about classroom management is the relationship
piece. When I started building better relationships with my students, there was an obvious
correlation to classroom management improvements. The students listened and
respected me more, so there were less distractions and negative behaviors. Another
effective strategy I learned to implement was walking around the room. This greatly
helped with my classroom management, because of proximity to the students. When I
stood right next to a student, they would immediately put their phones away or stop
whatever negative behavior. During classes in which I walked around constantly, the
students were more attentive to the lesson, and listened more actively as well. Although
my experience went very well, and I have many positive experiences to share, there were
a few things that I would do differently. I would change things that was not effective for
the benefit of my future students.

Overall, my practice teaching experience was very positive. The things I would
change are small and easy changes to make, and the things I have learned are
invaluable. I could not have asked for a better cooperating teacher or students, and I will
miss Irineo L. Santiago National High School very much. I was once the luckiest and
blessed because I have them with me. Let me borrow this quote from Alfred Mercier,
“What we learn with pleasure we never forget.” Learning can be enjoyable in every way
for both teacher and student, and it should be. When our students are engaged and
invested in their learning and are truly having fun, that’s a big part of how learning “sticks.”
Teachers are in a perfect position to make the learning environments and experiences
they provide for their students highly enjoyable and deeply memorable.