Reflection Assignment 3

Prompt:
At this point in your student teaching, consider your teaching practice as a whole. What has changed in your approach or beliefs about the 3 keys for new teachers: management; lesson strategies, including differentiation; content? To what extent are these changes situation-specific (ie based on your adaptations to the school and social conditions in China) or based more generally on your growing experience in a classroom with real kids?

Response: 
       When considering my teaching practice as a whole in China, I believe that my management style has changed the most. During my internship and in previous work experiences, I have practiced a constructivist approach. I have involved students in the decision-making process in terms of classroom rules and choices in activities as well as spatial arrangements. I relied much more on encouragement and positive reinforcement. I focused on developing relationships with my students to create an atmosphere of respect in order to minimize disruption. However, in China, I have taken on a much more behaviorist approach to classroom management. Since I have so many classes with so many students, it is hard to get to know them on an individual level. I have to rely on a Reward Chart. Classes get a square filled in if they get through a class without getting three strikes. When they reach five squares, they get a reward, such as candy. I also use stickers to reward students who complete their work or volunteer to answer questions on a daily basis. This change is definitely situation-specific. I have had to adapt to the large number of students and the minimal time I get to spend with them. Another factor is the language barrier. It is hard to give positive reinforcement when the only thing I can say that the students will understand is, “Good!” Back home, when students are misbehaving, I talk to them, explain how it hurts my feelings and how it’s disrespectful. Here, the students don’t have enough English for that. But everyone understands stickers, strikes, and candy.
      I’ve seen that most classroom teachers in the U.S. use some type of reward system. Since I’ve never had my own class before, I can’t say that I will won’t ever use a reward system; however, I can say that it will never be my main classroom management strategy. From this experience in China, I have grown professionally when it comes to managing students. Now I know how to implement a long-term behavioral classroom management strategy that for the most part, has been successful. Before, I used to get nervous teacher, but now I am confident that I can get up and teach 60 students at one time. That has definitely come from my growing experience in a classroom.
     Lesson planning has also been very different. I usually like to plan learning centers or more hands-on activities. The lack of resources and the large class sizes has limited me from doing those things, and I have stuck more to large class, individual, or pair activities. One of the other student teachers here mentioned to me that they pictured me sitting on the floor with a group of students sitting in a circle around me. That is my ideal situation. I don’t have that classroom set-up here; the classrooms are arranged to be used solely for direction instruction. This has stretched my creativity because I don't want to stand in front of the class and lecture the entire period. Differentiation consists of my using as much oral, visual, and kinesthetic material as I can in order to reach the maximum number of students. All of my target vocabulary goes on the board as a say it and act it out. As the students repeat vocabulary back to me, I encourage them to act out the words as well. Again, these changes are more situation-specific. My previous experiences in the classroom with real kids have taught me to use more active learning, which is just not possible here.
      The content I am teaching is somewhat similar to what I would teach to my students in the United States. Although I would go much more in-depth and create more cross-curricular activities with each lesson, the basic concepts I would cover would be the same. What I decided to teach here was based on what I thought would be beneficial for students to know. This was based on my adaptations to the school and the schedule.
      Overall, I feel as though I have learned and grown a lot through this experience.