Monica Tripp

27 November 2016
EDEL 200
Dr. Varner
Self Study
I am continually encouraged every semester that I have made
the right choice in pursuing a degree in Education. I learn so much, and
I love all of the new experiences I get to discover. I have faced
challenges, and those have helped me uncover my strengths. These
challenges have also revealed areas needing improvement. I am
excited to continue furthering my own education.
I am going to continue in the teaching program. I am so
passionate about teaching, and I have been reminded of that every
semester. I learn so much in all of my classes, and I am increasingly
more excited to lead my own classroom in the near future. I love
getting to know the students, and seeing their faces light up when they
understand a concept for the first time. Children are so full of life, and
are so eager to learn. I enjoy helping them find their passions, and
feeding them information and activities to help them grow in
knowledge and experiences.
Teaching in a first grade classroom was a new experience for me.
I was blown away by how intelligent the students were! It was great to
get to know some of them individually, and see them grow over the

course of the semester. I know one of my strengths is getting along

with the students. I am very enthusiastic and excited to see them, and
they feed off of my energy. The students I teach run up and give me a
hug whenever I walk into the classroom. This is a strength I want to
apply in my own classroom someday. I want my students to know that I
care for them, and want to see them succeed.
While teaching at Burris has revealed some strengths, I have also
noticed some areas for improvement. Through watching my recordings,
I have noticed that I do not always use professional language. I want to
work on eliminating slang words such as you guys, gonna, etc. from
my vocabulary. If I want my students to see me as an authority figure, I
must speak as such. Time management has also been a challenge for
me. The first lesson I had a few extra minutes, and the second lesson I
almost ran out of time. I think this is a skill that I will develop with more
experience. This course has made me aware of this, and time
management is something that I will consciously work on in my next
methods courses.
I learned a lot from my teaching experiences at Burris, but I got
to know the kids on a deeper level during my time volunteering at
Mitchell Elementary for BSU Buddies. One of the internal assets that I
directly applied each week was asset number 23, which represents
homework. The asset describes students doing at least one hour of
homework every school day, and during my time at Mitchell I would

help the students with their homework for an hour each day. It was
great to see them continue to grow in their understanding and their
abilities. At the beginning of the semester they were doing simple
addition with single digits, and now they are adding and subtracting
numbers up to 20. The time we spend doing homework together
contributed greatly to their improvement in math.
Another asset that I personally applied in this course was asset
number 38, self-esteem. I applied this in both my lessons at Burris, and
my time volunteering. I made sure to give the students verbal
encouragement, and to set them up to get the correct answer. At
Burris, I asked the students questions about the material we just
discussed so that the answers would be fresh in their minds. We also
reviewed previous material, and I made sure to build them up and to
help them get the correct answer. My encouragement gave them
confidence to continue answering questions, and they knew that even
if they answered incorrectly, we would work together to figure out the
correct answer. I also noticed that they were more comfortable
speaking up, and more comfortable interacting with me when I built
this positive relationship.
Being in both Burris and Mitchell this semester has been a great
learning experience, and it has also helped me reflect back on my time
in elementary school. Looking back on my school experiences, I
remember my teachers and how much they cared about me. Im sure

the lessons were great, and we covered important materials, but the
thing that sticks out in my mind is the relationships I built. My teachers
were my advocates, and they cared for me as an individual. Looking at
education through the lens of a teacher, I am realizing more and more
how important it is to build those individual relationships with my
students. Coming into education as a career, I thought that we would
be pushed towards high test scores and good grades. While those
things are important, I have learned that they cannot come without a
solid foundation in the classroom. Students desire to learn and achieve
so much more when they know their teacher is cheering them on, and
cares about them and their success.
A way that I can build that foundation in my classroom is by
following the model of a culturally responsive teacher. There are some
main points that help define and apply this concept in todays schools.
The three main points I want to focus on are student-centered
instruction, communication of high expectations, and learning within
the context of culture. I think these three concepts work together well.
Keeping my instruction centered on my students will help them be
more actively engaged in the lessons. I want them learning and
exploring on their own, rather than listening to me tell them the right
answers. When I communicate high expectations, my students are able
to push themselves to reach the expectations that I have laid out. Even
though they are children, I want my students pushing to reach high

levels of achievement in all areas. Children are sometimes given lower

expectations because they are young, but I do not want that to
happen in my classroom. Learning within the context of culture would
help my students understand and connect what we are learning in
class to the real world. I can use carrier content to bring culture into
lessons that would not naturally introduce cultural concepts.
I see some of these traits in myself, and I am growing in my
understanding and application as I make my way through the
education program. I am seeking to make my lesson plans studentcentered, and I can definitely see improvement from my lesson plans
freshman year. I was brought up in an environment where there were
high expectations set for me, so this is something that I naturally bring
into my own teaching experiences. Bringing culture into my lessons is
something that I have learned the most about. This is a relatively new
concept to me, and it has been a great learning challenge to
implement these aspects into my lesson plans.
I have learned a lot about myself through these classes, and it is
so helpful to look back on the past 2 years and see how much I have
grown as an educator. My experiences this semester have been
invaluable, and the concepts and ideas we have discussed have helped
me improve my lessons and teaching style. I have grown in my
understanding of education and my role as a teacher. I will continue to

use these experiences and concepts as I move through the education

program, and eventually into my own classroom.