Successes

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            I am eternally grateful for my student internship. I have been able to experience the highs and lows in the classroom while also having some sort of impact on each of my students. As I’m nearing the end, my students tell me every day how they don’t want me to leave. It’s bittersweet as I’m excited to have my own classroom next year, but I will miss seeing them every day. I’ve even had a few success stories along the way and the “lightbulb moment” is what I live for in the classroom. I feel at my best when I am able to provide analogies for a difficult topic and having my students say, “wow, I get it now!” My action research project has paved the way for me as it focused on analogy-based teaching and I have seen the positive impact it has made on my students.
            I have worked with many students one-on-one during my lunch or after school throughout this past year, but two students in particular stand out because of where they started and where they are now. I think the biggest thing I can praise them for is the amount of effort they put into biology. Both students were struggling for very different reasons but they both had a similar attitude to biology which was that they hated it. As I worked with them more, I was able to peel back layers to see that the reason they hated it was because they weren’t confident in themselves. They knew the material, but it was finding a way for them to effectively study so they could retain it on a test. Both students started with Fs and now they have As and Bs. I don’t credit myself for their success except for working with them to see what works and what doesn’t work in their learning style because in the end, it was all them and all the effort they put in. Because of these two students, I feel confident in my abilities to help different learning styles master biology by finding ways that make sense.
            The MAT program has 100% helped me grow to become the best teacher that I can be. I believe that I am knowledgeable in STEM pedagogy and I am also knowledgeable in designing assessments. The internship has allowed me to practice what I learned in my classes and to individualize my teaching style. This year has allowed me to try new things in the classroom and I can take what was successful to my next teaching position. I look forward to what’s to come in my teaching career!

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