From now on, I’ll be answering the same questions for the next ten weeks; this is what I call Friday Field Notes! It’s a great way for myself to organize my week, my thoughts, my feelings, and my questions. All of it is very truthful, and I hope to show transparency during my practicum. There will be up and downs, easy and hard times, but I hope to grow exponentially during my practicum.

1. What classes did you teach this week and what was the topic?

I taught Tech. Ed. 8 for my first week. The topic was introduction, ice breakers, paper tower challenge, and starting lessons on the drafting portion of Tech. Ed. 8. I also taught mini lessons in Senior Wood on safety.

2. What is going well? What is one thing about this week that caused you to feel good?

Everything is going pretty well; the students are very attentive and listen relatively well to all instructions, and they seem to be interested and having fun with all the activities that I am giving them. I’m having a very good time teaching here, and it feels good that I am teaching something new to the students.

3. Did you experience any critical incidents this week? Describe at least one.

One incident that happened was that an identified student was becoming a distraction to the rest of the class. The student constantly blurted out, not raising their hand, and not following instructions. However, talking with my SA and an EA, we used some strategies (such as always having the EA beside the student) to minimize this distraction. It seems to be working well.

4. Where do you think you could use help? In what ways can we (school advisor and faculty advisor) help you?

I think that constant critique on classroom management will be a benefit. I feel that this is the area where I could most improve with hands on teaching and during this practicum.

5. Identify feelings that you experienced this week and what caused them e.g., what are your thoughts and feelings about your students and colleagues this week?

I felt good to be in school, and actually felt really relaxed. It seems that teaching is really the field that I want to go into.

6. What question(s) are you pursuing this week? And have you found the answer and what is it? (For example: How does the international student system work in the school? What supports are in place for students who do not speak English?)

Some questions I’m pursuing is to think of more strategies to have classroom management. Especially concerning the two identified students in my Tech Ed 8 Class, I want to think of strategies with both my SA and EAs.