Student Teacher Journal Dialogues

Use these journal dialogues as a tool to guide your journal writing. Throughout the student teaching experience, choose at least seven dialogues to respond to with approximately two pages of reflective writing. Dialogue 1 on discipline, Dialogue 7 on the cultural makeup of your school, and Dialogue 11 on your Final Reflection are required. You may do a dialogue more than once if you wish to, and you may use all of the dialogues if you wish.

  1. You have just experienced a discipline incident in your classroom or the hallway that you found to be challenging and perhaps a little disturbing.

-Describe the incident from the point of view of the student involved.

-Describe the handling of the incident from your own point of view.

-Consider some alternatives to way in which you handled the incident. If it happened again, in the same way, what would you do next time?

-Project what is likely to happen next in the relationship between you and the student involved in the discipline incident. To what extent will this incident affect the student’s attitude toward you? Your attitude toward the student?

  1. You have conducted a class discussion with our class, and perhaps have taped it with a video recorder. What special things did you prepare in order to insure involvement by the whole class? What was the balance between teacher-directed and student-directed discussion? What results did you experience when you experimented with wait time and cutting back on verbal reinforcement? What were some of the special surprises and disappointments? What will you do differently next time?
  2. You have just attended an extra-curricular activity in which some of your students were taking part. What surprises did you have about students whom you already knew? Did the students treat you any differently than they do in the classroom? How did you behave differently than you do in the classroom? Is there anything you understand better now than you did before?
  3. You will probably explore the place known as the “teacher’s lounge” sometime early in your student teaching experience. After a visit there, consider the following:

-What were the conversations revolving around? (extra-curricular, academics, students, social, etc.)

-Identify and describe any nonverbal communications?

-Did you see departmental groups? Explain.

-Did you see any exclusion or inclusion of others? Explain.

-What attracts you to, or makes you hesitate to enter the lounge again?

  1. Early in your student teaching experience you should make contact with the guidance counselor, resource room teachers whose students are mainstreamed into your classroom, and the administrator(s) in charge of discipline. After a meeting or a conversation with one of these special colleagues, describe:

-What do you feel to be their relationship to you as a student teacher in the school?

-In what ways do you find that person’s perspectives and experiences with students to be different from yours?

-In what way might these different experiences and perspectives be helpful to you as a classroom teacher?

-What unique situations in education does this person face in which you do not encounter?

-How can you as a student teacher be helpful to this specialist in the school?

  1. React to a teacher’s meeting that you attended. Consider the following:

-What types of materials were covered (announcements, rules and regulations, needs, students, etc.)?

-Were the materials related to the school system or the particular school? How?

-Were any specific subject areas singles out? Why?

-Identify the general attitude among the teachers.

-React to the meeting from your unique perspective as a student teacher.

  1. Study the cultural makeup of your school.

-Which ethnic groups are represented in the student population?

-How does this diversity add to the atmosphere of the school?

-What special needs/concerns are created by this diversity?

-Are there faculty members designated to meet these concerns?

  1. Take time to observe at least one other teacher than your cooperating teacher. Consider the following:

-What methods did the teacher use to accomplish routine tasks?

-How was the general classroom climate achieved?

-What types of discipline techniques were observed?

-Describe motivational techniques used to spark student interest?

-What questioning strategies were most evident?

-What interesting idea(s) can you adapt and use in your own teaching?

  1. After completing the direction of an activity such as rehearsal, practice, drill, game, etc. respond to the following:

-How efficient were your instructions and sequencing of steps?

-What was the balance between teacher-centered and student-centered activity? Was it appropriate?

-What techniques did you use to motivate your students?

-Were all students participating fully? Were you aware of all students and their level of participation?

-How did you maintain student interest during necessary teacher-centered instruction?

-Describe some ideas that worked well? Why?

-Describe some ideas that didn’t work well? Why not?

  1. Examine the teaching materials in your classroom. Check the resource room for the content area, if there is one, for additional materials. Consider the following:

-What qualities make these materials appropriate for your subject?

-Assess why your text and other materials used in class are used over other possible materials and resources.

-Examine other materials available as possible supplementary resources. Which ones might you choose? Why?

  1. FINAL DIALOGUE

Write a letter giving advice to a good friend about to begin student teaching in the same subject area and at the same level you have just experienced. Include everything that you think might be helpful to that friend as he/she begins student teaching.