Reflecting on my experiences in the program, the internships were the most impactful in terms of preparing me for a teaching career. Here, I gained firsthand experience working with students, teachers, and staff. Over the past year, I have built positive, supportive relationships across the learning community that have enabled me to grow and develop as a teacher. The support and encouragement from my mentors has been truly amazing.

During the program, I wish that we had an opportunity to take a behavior management class to help address the range of behaviors encountered in the classroom. As an intern, I found that classroom management was one of the most challenging aspects I faced, as many students do not follow classroom norms and expectations. Finding ways to address these behaviors in an effective way that communicates high expectations but also care, concern, and support for the student has been an area of growth.

Looking back on my capstone project, I feel like the most successful aspects were having the opportunity to engage in planning, enacting, and reflecting. To begin, I gathered information about the context for learning, got to know my students in order to understand their interests and learning needs. Also, thinking about where students might struggle, what support to provide, and how to challenge my top performers was a great way for me to engage in the planning process.

During the lesson, I had to make adjustments in the moment to support student learning. Also, by analyzing student assessment data, I was able to see how effective my lessons were in terms of how many students met the learning target and how the data can be used to inform teaching. I found that many of my students were able to use the vocabulary effectively; however, my IEPs struggled and could have benefited from additional language supports.

As I transition to my first year of teaching, I anticipate I will encounter many challenges. For one thing, I won't have the support of my mentor teacher, whom I relied on to assist with classroom management. In addition, I will have to come up with my own classroom structures, routines, and teaching style. I anticipate having a lot of work to do in terms of lesson planning and figuring out what works and what does not.

On a final note, I believe that I bring many strengths and unique qualities to the teaching profession. I have a good sense of humor that can be leveraged in the classroom. Also, with experience, I see myself becoming a warm demander, holding students to high expectations while providing high support. Finding ways to respond to disruptive behavior, hold students accountable, yet communicate care is something I believe I can accomplish.