Student Teaching Reflection:

Harrisburg South Middle School - 6th Grade ELA

Fall 2022

To complete my education degree, I spent the fall semester student teaching in a sixth

grade classroom at Harrisburg South Middle School. This was something very new and exciting

to me, as I had not ever worked with this age group. The first few days of me coming to school

brought long, exhausting, nerve wracking days; as they consisted of open houses as well as

in-services. Although they were long days, I had great experiences getting to collaborate with

fellow teachers, as well as getting to introduce myself to parents and learners. This helped

boost my confidence and provide me with those experiences that I will have when I am teaching

in my own classroom.

The first few weeks of school I observed my cooperating teacher. I noticed her

classroom management, her delivery of content, how she encouraged learners to participate in

discussions and Q&As, as well as how she approached behaviors within the classroom. After

about two weeks, I started taking over different class periods. For example, my cooperating

teacher would teach the first, second, sixth and seventh periods, and I would teach third. I

gradually took over the rest of the class periods as the weeks went on. Doing this really helped

me focus on how I want to teach, but also allowed me to see other types of instruction. During

these weeks, I also put a lot of focus on building relationships with the learners and getting to

know their interests.

I slowly started taking over planning & having control of the classroom about 6 weeks

into the school year. This consisted of taking attendance, creating our learning goals, setting up
the classroom, having activities and lessons planned, as well as being the sole instructor within

the classroom. I did this for four weeks, where we started our Civil Rights Unit, as well as when I

implemented my unit lesson plan of vocabulary. We connected these two units, as the

vocabulary we were learning connected with what we were learning in our Civil Rights Unit. This

was a great way for me to focus on my own instruction, as well as where I could focus on

teacher-student relationships in the classroom. My cooperating teacher was in the classroom

once in a while, but she really gave me the reins and let me have this experience, which I am so

grateful for.

The last couple of weeks of my student teaching experience I was able to observe many

other teachers from the 6th grade, as well as teachers in different grades. This was great for me

to see different styles of teaching, as well as different classroom management strategies.

Harrisburg puts an intense focus on building relationships with learners, as well as

teacher-to-teacher relationships. Throughout this semester, I was able to be a part of daily

teacher meetings. On Mondays-Wednesdays, we had team meetings, where each of the

teachers from our team met and discussed important information for the week. (A team at this

school consists of two ELA teachers, one Science teacher, one Social Studies teacher, and one

Math teacher). On Thursdays we did what they call Huddle, where the counselors, principle, and

assistant principal meet with the teachers in our team and discuss issues, behaviors we have

seen, positives, or if we are worried about any learner. On Fridays we have professional

development with two learning coaches in our district. During our professional development

days, we discussed standards based-grading with our coaches and how we can make it more

approachable for parents, learners, and ourselves.

 I am so thankful for the school I was placed in, as well as for my cooperating teacher. My

experience at Harrisburg South Middle School encouraged me to take risks and find who I was

as a teacher. I learned about the importance of relationships with co-workers, administration,

parents, and most importantly, the learners I will see each day.