What went well?
The progress I made; what was achieved and done
This week we wrapped up training and began teaching the students. I was assigned two cohorts of 30 students and teach 3 classes, plus advisory daily. I think I made progress in terms of applying the skills I learned in training to my work in the classroom. Specifically, a lot of the strategies that included responding to disruptions and redirecting students were successfully executed in the classroom. I was also good at maintaining my patience throughout the teaching process and making sure that all students felt included as much as possible. If I noticed a particular student sitting alone or not engaging with the content I made sure to give them individualized attention.

What could have been done differently?
Things that did not get done and/or could be changed
I think I need to improve my responses to behavior management. Although I think I maintained my patience effectively in the classroom, I need to be better at redirecting the class after an interruption. I am sure that with more experience in the classroom I will develop this skill over the course of the summer.

What did I learn about myself when working with others?
Contributions, behaviours and values I exhibited
 I learned a lot about teaching this week, specifically in terms of how to adapt one’s lesson plans to the changing classroom dynamics. Not all lesson plans will work for every cohort of students and some will need to be altered on the fly. I believe I did well at adapting my lesson plans to keep the students engaged. For instance, when introducing the idea of ethical vs. legal questions to the students, the discussion broadened to a larger talk about ethics in the health care system, which although not included in the lesson plans, ensured the students stayed engaged with the content.

What did I learn about leadership?
Leadership attributes and insights I developed 
Since I am working closely with a partner teacher I learned about how leadership may be manifested through a partnership. As I mentioned in my prior reflection, keeping the line of communication open is essential to developing a good team with my partner teacher. Working together in the classroom includes understanding the intricate balance between leading and supporting, but I think we work well together and balance each other’s skills successfully. 

What do I want to develop or focus on next?
What I still need to develop
As I mentioned above, I need to get better at responding to classroom disruptions. Although I think I handled things well this week by maintaining my patience, I can better redirect students in the future. This will ensure that we are able to cover more content in class without interruption. I think part of improving this will also just naturally occur by the students and I becoming more accustomed to one another.