What I learned: 

From these artifacts, I learned a great deal. Through my Philosophy paper, I was able to reflect on what brought me to begin my journey toward becoming a teacher, as well as explore important historical events in education that helped shape the standards we use to teach children today. This paper also taught me about the requirements needed to become a licensed teacher.

The daily lesson plan assignment helped me understand what it's like to create a lesson plan and how to incorporate important things such as identifying which standard is being met and the lesson objective. It also showed me that every lesson must include specific, structured sections in order to help teach the students.

Lastly, the field observations gave me the opportunity to experience a real-life classroom setting. I was able to watch teachers apply the very strategies and practices I've been learning about in class. I was also able to conduct an interview with the teacher, which gave me insight into how the students I observed are progressing and what approaches best support their learning.

Future Practice:

 I will apply what I’ve learned to my future teaching by making sure my lesson plans align with standards and are effective. I will also plan to use strategies I observed during my field experience, such as classroom setup, to support student learning. For example, the teacher I observed arranged eight desks in the center of the classroom for students who needed extra help. This allowed her to easily reach them and still go around the classroom throughout the lesson. I found this approach very effective and plan to incorporate similar arrangements in my own classroom.