I believe this observation was beneficial as it provided me the information that is needed in order to better understand the instructional, emotional and social needs of the student. This particular observation also allowed me the opportunity to further examine the student by conducting a student interview that gave me an insight as to how she views the areas of her life outside of the classroom.
Through the interview and the observation I was amazed at how much insight I gained. I enjoyed focusing my attention to get an in depth perspective of this student in order to fine tune and adjust her instructional, social and emotional needs as well as gaining a better perspective on how she views particular aspects of her life. I enjoyed observing the student during class activates but the interview portion of the observation was my favorite and most insightful. During the interview process, my student appeared to be very excited to share things the things that were important to her. I have to admit that I felt a little guilty because we as teachers often forget to take the time to really examine our student’s perceptions and how their views relate to school and other areas of their life. We observe our students, but we often times don’t further investigate what drives and excites them in and out of the classroom. With that in mind, in the future I plan to be more consciences to try to look at things through my student’s eyes when planning and developing instructional strategies that are best suited for that student. I think that future instructors will be better prepared to accomodate the students needs by looking closely at the questions that were prescribed for this particular student. These questions will give a deeper view of the students needs and stengths thus guiding next years teacher in the right direction as it relates to language, academics and social needs.
MTSU Honor Statement:
This assignment/assessment was solely written by me. In no way have I plagiarized (represented the work of another as my own) or otherwise violated the copyright laws and academic conventions of fair use. I know that violations of this policy may result in my being dismissed from Middle Tennessee State University and/or appropriate legal action being taken against me.
Signed (submitting this statement to Teaching Faculty with student’s name typed below constitutes signing):
Cindy Mann
March 16, 2010
