Internship I was a great professional experience.

The three goals I set at the beginning of

the semester were certainly prevalent through my reflection and focus moving through each
lesson I taught. Overall, I do think I accomplished what I wanted to this semester. The goals I
set are ones that I want to be present and persistent in my teaching, so I wouldn’t say I have
“reached” them, but I have earnestly sought after becoming a better teacher through them. My
first goal was to reflect upon standard 2 Element C of the AMLE standards, Interdisciplinary
Nature of Knowledge. This standard primarily focuses on content knowledge, and I knew going
into my internship I was not very strong in the 8th grade science standards. I made the effort to
learn with my students and improved my content knowledge along the way. Personally, I do not
like scraping by and I want to feel prepared to answer questions students may ask. In line with
this goal, I set for myself I did all I could to stay ahead of the units in content and prepare myself
for misconceptions and questions students may have. I certainly feel more comfortable in the
content that I have been teaching this semester and have seen great improvement in areas I was
once unsure of. Either way, I will only continue to grow in this area as I get more comfortable
teaching content.
My second goal was related to understanding the school structure more. I appreciated
learning the way Irmo Middle School functions especially since it is much different than my own
experience in schooling. I think that I did a good job reaching for this goal in that I sought to
speak to various administrators and support staff each day. I think moving into next semester I
would like to expand on this goal even more and really focus on the inner workings of the school
and how everything happens! It will be easier to do this since I will be at the school 5 days a
week. I would also like to learn more about PBIS and how it has been successful at other
schools.
My third goal was related to AMLE standard 5 Element d. and was specifically to be
open to criticism, advice, and assistance. I have always had a hard time with this, but I do feel
like I improved this semester. I think that this will be very prevalent moving forward and is one
of my larger goals I am carrying over with me. I think that I did a good job of active listening
and applying any constructive criticism in my teaching. Another area I feel that I succeeded in
meeting this goal is that I actively turned to my students for their feedback and needs from me. I
knew I wanted my students to feel heard, but more importantly I want to meet their needs.
Allowing my students to submit concerns, comments, and critiques to me really helped me come
up with new ideas and apply learning strategies that could be more effective!
Moving forward I would like to expand on each of these goals and continue to grow as a
professional through them. In addition, I would like to focus on managing the emotional
baggage of being in the classroom and working with students experiencing outside hardships. I
am very empathetic and noticed that this semester was very hard for me seeing and hearing what
many of my students experience at home. I think that my mental health has been affected by
these instances, because I feel so deeply for my students and wish I could fix everything for
them. Moving forward I would like to find a balance where I can show my students that I am
there for them and support them, but also set mental boundaries for myself because there is only
so much I can do for each and every student.