I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on my very first teaching experience, and share some of the most valuable lessons that I have learned over the last year. Over the next two weeks I will be completing my second student teaching placement, and graduating from St. Joseph’s College with a Bachelor’s degree in English and New York State certification in Adolescent Education. Student teaching is one of those “make you or break you” life lessons that will help future teachers decide whether or not this career choice is fitting.

Prior to my Methods for Teaching English class last semester, my mind was not completely firm on whether or not I was making the best decision in pursuing a teaching career. At this point I knew I had a passion for literature, writing, and learning and I understood the basics about teaching from my completed education courses. But quite honestly, I had no idea how I was going to put all of this material to professional use once I was put in front of a classroom. My methods class began in the fall, and after the first couple of sessions, I had set up a twitter account for professional development, was book-marking material on my Delicious account, and participating in a class NING with my colleagues. My gut reaction to this experience was: “Wait my PROFESSOR actually wants me to use social networking sites to teach myself how to teach? How does this make sense? Now I am in huge trouble.”

Professor Whitby was honest with our class from the start; he was just beginning to explore using social networking and web 2.0 tools for educational purposes. Essentially, he needed us to understand that he was still learning too, but he wanted his students to have access to all of the great information and resources he was finding every single day. Of course during methods we discussed the essentials of lesson planning, multiple intelligences, bloom’s taxonomy, and instructional strategies, but the information I walked away with was much more valuable than what a single textbook, even 20, could offer. Professor Whitby taught me how to develop my own PLN, a Personal Learning Network of educators to have at my finger tips. This network creates an open and continuous dialogue between educators around the world to constantly share experiences, information, and resources with each other. In educational terms, he applied a project based learning technique to demonstrate the unlimited power of social networking and explore how much potential incorporating new technology into the classroom has to offer teachers and students. By the end of this methods class I was confident to begin student teaching, with a completely changed perspective towards the power of learning and new methods of teaching.

During my first student teaching placement, I was given the opportunity to work with my former 9^th and 10^th grade English teacher from high school. Fortunately, my cooperating teacher and I had reconnected through the NCTE NING prior, so I was confident that she would be an invaluable source of information, much like Professor Whitby. I was given a choice of unit topics, and from there, a chance to create and execute a poetry unit entirely on my own. She confidently gave me a foundation, but wanted me to completely build this experience using my own resources. At first I was overwhelmed with this amount of freedom for my first placement, but I was determined to give it my best effort. Having complete control of the classroom allowed me to explore my own ideas and apply various teaching techniques, utilize technology (you-tube, interactive whiteboard, Senteo clickers) regularly, and receive immediate feedback of my progress everyday. By the end of my placement, I had gained more knowledge and experience than I ever thought possible.

One of the most vital lessons I have learned is that as future educators, our power will remain in our ability to accept and adapt to change. When we lose this perspective, we deny our ability to learn and grow. This idea is something I would never want my students to do, so I should abide by it too. For those educators who are still resistant to change, I’d like to share this message with you. It is okay to ask questions and feel vulnerable to new educational technology. It is only human to have doubts and fears about what is entirely new, unknown, and sometimes quite controversial. It is okay to ask for help. Although the fundamentals of teaching should never be compromised in any classroom, it is essential to also remind teachers that they are working with students, more importantly adolescents, who have been thrown into a world of technology and are expected to use it properly. Employing these new teaching methods are initially learned and understood like everything else, trail and error. As cliché as it sounds, it is like riding a bike for the first time, and only can be improved with time, patience, and practice. The most important lesson students can learn is how to teach themselves effectively. This lesson is precisely what using educational technology and social media in the classroom will facilitate.

The experiences and tools I have gained are ones that I will continue to carry with me and share throughout the rest of my professional and educational career. Not only will I apply this knowledge as a future teacher, but also as a lifelong learner, who sees the potential in every opportunity for growth.

I would like to also take this opportunity to personally thank some of my mentors during this invaluable learning experience. Professor Thomas Whitby, Mary Donnelly, every individual in my PLN, all of my colleagues from methods class, and all of my wonderful students from Smithtown. Also, special thanks to Ken Royal for this opportunity to post. Thank you all for believing in me, and giving me the best learning experiences possible!

Great resource for student teachers http://cybraryman.com/studentteachers.html