Jessica Conrad

March 30, 2015

MAT Final Reflection

Final Reflection
Masters of Arts in Teaching
Jessica Conrad
Texas Womans University
April 2, 2015

Final Reflection

Jessica Conrad

March 30, 2015

MAT Final Reflection
The past two years in the Masters of Arts in Teaching Program, I have
navigated my way through education courses, content courses, and finally, my
student-teaching practicum. The road has not been easily done, but it is a road that
has led me to success. While the program has been challenging, I have learned
valuable information that will help better prepare me for my first classroom as an
educator. My passion for education and being an educator has grown immensely as
I walked this path the past two years. With being given the tools and resources from
my courses in the program, I was ready to embark on my journey of studentteaching. Entering the classroom was intimidating at first. What if the students did
not like me? What if I was not gifted to be an effective and efficient teacher? After
the first week, I knew that my worries were invalid, as the Masters of Arts in
Teaching Program prepared me to face my first step inside the classroom. While
certain philosophies of teachers I had at the beginning of the program have
changed over the past two years, one thing that has not changed is that I know this
is a life decision for me to become an educator, not a career choice.
Learner Centered Knowledge Proficiency
It takes hard work and dedication to build the knowledge base necessary to
be able to teach the content to our students that is needed today to pass the STAAR
exam and make them college ready. It is not only content base that is key to this
proficiency. It is important for educators to relate the material to their students to
help them grasp a deeper meaning and understanding of the content. Looking at
multiple perspectives of information not only helps the students broaden their
knowledge of specific events, but it allows them to open their mind to different
cultural viewpoints. Going into student-teaching, I was nervous that I would not be

Jessica Conrad

March 30, 2015

MAT Final Reflection
able to answer every students questions that was content related. I realized later
on that just because I might not know one answer to a dozen questions, it does not
make me any less of a teacher. Being knowledgeable in the content and being able
to see the students make connections to the material that I was presenting was
what was important, not the one question that I might not have been able to answer
without looking up. When I was presenting my lesson over the Trail of Tears, it
happened to be snowing that day in Texas. I decided to improve my lesson and have
my students walk outside in the snow. These are Texas students, so many of them
were wearing shorts. When we came back inside, I asked them why they thought we
walked around the school in the snow. I told them to think about how an experience
like that would be if they had no shoes on and were walking 1,000 miles in blizzard
conditions. It allowed my students to make mental and emotional connections to
the content that was being presented. Without the proper preparation in lesson
planning, these connections are not going to be made.
Learner Centered Instruction
During the MAT program, different assignments would include creating lesson
plans for specific topics to show our professors that we were able to effectively and
correctly create lesson plans that would bring meaning to the material and inspire
students learning. When creating these lesson plans for my courses, I took several
days applying what I had learned and new ideas into my plans. When I went into
student-teaching, I felt confident that I would be able to do the same. What I had
not prepared myself for was that I would be creating these lesson plans every day,
not only one or two throughout the semester. It took time to learn how to manage
my time and to understand that student-centered instruction is important to the

Jessica Conrad

March 30, 2015

MAT Final Reflection
childs learning experience. The second week of my student teaching, I failed to
provide adequate enough student-centered learning in the classroom. After
collaborating with my cooperative teacher, I was able to learn how to effectively
implement this type of instruction and take on more of a teacher facilitating role. By
allowing student-led instruction in the classroom, I was able to develop ideas that
challenged my students to use their critical thinking and problem solving skills.
Students are not going to learn as effectively if I stand in front of the classroom and
lecture the entire period every day. By engaging in different aspects of learning, I
was able to meet all the needs of the students in the class, not just specific types of
learners.
Equity in Excellence for all Learners
Specific types of learners; this is one of the specific reasons why it is important to
get to know your students and the style of learning that works best for them. Not all
children learn the same. If educators do not allow for diverse lesson planning, we
are failing our students to see the areas that they might shine and excel. Without
the diversity in our classroom lesson planning and interactions with other students,
we are doing a disservice to some of our students by not allowing them to express
themselves. It is easy for a teacher to conform to their own beliefs in how students
might learn, or what might be effective. During my student-teaching at Keller Middle
School, it was apparent that they were a diverse group in regards to learning. This
allowed me to focus on preparing my lessons that reached all of my students in one
way or another. Communicating the needs of the students and what works and what
does not work is important for any educator, whether they have no experience or 20
years of experience.

Jessica Conrad

March 30, 2015

MAT Final Reflection
Learner Centered Communication
Communication is essential in connecting the teachers, students, and parents
together to create the most successful path for our children. The ties and
relationships that educators make with students and parents is a large factor in
determining the success of our students. Every student is different in the needs that
they are requiring in the classroom. Being able to listen, understand, and implement
strategies for students sets them up for success in the future. The classroom
environment for the students should be educational and comforting. Students need
to feel open to being able to discuss different issues at hand regarding the material.
One thing that I try to implement and show in my classroom is that there is no
dumb question or answer. All students should be encouraged to participate and
not feel threatened or self-conscious on what they are delivering to the classroom.
Learner Centered Professional Development
Once becoming an educator, it is imperative that the teacher continue striving for
excellence inside and outside the classroom. Whether this is in the form of
professional development seminars, webinars, additional certifications, or sitting on
the board for the curriculum, it is our responsibility as teachers to make sure that
we are continuously trying to improve ourselves as an educator. There is always
room for improvement, and when a teacher no longer feels that they can improve,
that is when our students start to suffer. By collaborating with other teachers, we
are able to build off of each others ideas to strengthen our teaching in the
classroom. In addition to professional development trainings that I have already
participated in, I plan on continuing my education in my content area to become

Jessica Conrad

March 30, 2015

MAT Final Reflection
eligible to teach dual credit in the future. By improving ourselves as a teacher, we
improve the quality of education that our children are receiving.
Changes in Philosophy/Strengths and Weaknesses
When I first started the Masters of Arts in Teaching program, I believed that I was
going to be an effective teacher using the assertive discipline model. I was going to
be stern with my rules and work from the start of the bell to the end of the bell each
day to make sure that my students were gaining as much knowledge as they were
able to receive in the time that was given to us each day. At the end of this
program, I realize how my ideas about this philosophy have changed. While I still
approach my teaching style with an assertive discipline mindset, I have learned to
understand and appreciate the value of the relationships with my students as well.
Respect for the students and the students respect for the teacher is an important
factor in having an effective classroom.
I feel that my knowledge base of the content in my field far exceeds the basic
requirements. I am always interested in expanding my knowledge on certain topics
to better prepare myself as an educator. My passion for learning is a strength of
mine that I hope to display in my future classrooms with my students. Being able to
make the connections to the material to our world today is important in the learning
environment, and I feel that I have been able to do this successfully in my
classroom while student-teaching. While I am able to make the connections to the
material where the students can relate, one of my weaknesses has been giving
them the opportunity to create problem-solving skills. When you have a class that is
preparing for a STAAR test, it can be difficult to include these types of learning
activities when you have to present a specific amount of information in a certain

Jessica Conrad

March 30, 2015

MAT Final Reflection
timeframe. With my organizational skills and ability to connect the material to
students everyday lives, I feel that I will only continue to improve on introducing
more problem solving skills that will prepare my students not only for college, but
the workforce as well.
While my student-teaching practicum is not complete and I still have more
things to learn, I feel that I have come a long way from the start of the Masters of
Arts in Teaching program and now. I feel that I have grown as a future educator and
am finally finding myself in the type of teacher that I will be. Creating diverse lesson
plans that are intriguing to the students can be a difficult task. Over the past 9
weeks, I feel that I have been able to connect to my students and extend their
knowledge on issues that is deeper than the words in the textbook. Making the
connections, not just giving the information is what I feel I have accomplished with
my students, and I hope to continue and improve on that in the future.