Reflection: Knowing Your Students

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Reflection: Knowing Your Students This is my second year as a kindergarten teacher at San Vicente Elementary, the batch of students this school year has shown a great results among the rest of the other kinder class. It is based on our quarterly STAR Early Literacy assessment that my students take which is computer based. Most of my students are into technology so using an Ipad was a whole lot of fun. The results surprises me as I know the rest could have done well. I’ve always wondered why this year I felt the need to strengthen my teaching on character education that geared towards caring about each other’s feelings and behavior management to this particular group of children. However, I do feel as if they lack the skills to relate to each …show more content…

Bronson (2012) expresses the significance of self-regulation as a foundation to build the students to become self- directed learners (Copple, 2012). I’ve always tried to target my students to become independent and responsible for learning, especially since for most of them are fresh in a classroom setting. At this age, my students have not fully built on their self- control and social competence. They haven’t mastered the concept, as they are still learning, but I can see some improvements since they first started. They have shown that they are able to control their behavior in the classroom setting (p. 97); however, they lack the ability to exhibit self-control when they are outside the classroom. I believe that their environment truly affects their behavior. They still need to learn how to assess their surrounding and make judgments on how they will behave or act (Copple, 2012). These children are still actively learning ways to improve through observing the behaviors around them. I feel that it is difficult to implement the proper behavior when it is not reinforced at home. I don’t think giving rewards is teaching them anything so I’ve stopped giving extrinsic rewards (stickers) because I want them to feel that they can still manage with being rewarded. Children today are accustomed to receiving and looking forward to rewards as a mean of showing positive behavior. I want the child to fully understand the …show more content…

Speaking proper English is a struggle for all of them, as they tend to use the wrong verb tense all the time and also gradually learning new words. I could see a difference between the students who have family support (parental involvement) and those that don’t have the support (Copple, 2012). I feel that it is important to create a relationship with my students so that they can see that I understand where they are coming from. This relationship will encourage them to open up and increase their “motivation to learn” (Copple, 2012, p. 47). Culture plays a big role here on island and the way that they do things; I can see the influence of culture when they respond to questions or tasks given to the students (p.48). I would like to apply and build on a curriculum that is comprehensive and target their mind to focus on higher order of thinking (Copple, 2012). I will organize on engaging activities but now with higher expectations to build on their cognitive, social, and private speech skills. Overall, I believe my classroom is unique as many of my students are kinesthetic learners; I allow my students to sit in their own comfort, as they are able to complete their assigned task. Journal and writing activities and reading in the library is free seating are allowed. Most of them choose lying on the floor in front of the board compared to sitting on a chair; however, we have a deal that they may choose their comfy

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