Author Archives: Tara Templeman

Wow, it’s hard to believe that there is only two weeks left to this internship. I don’t know where the time has gone. Like the saying goes, time flies when you’re having fun. I know I have had so much fun teaching during my internship and I am sad to see it end. I can honestly say that I love teaching and I have thoroughly enjoyed my internship in Kindergarten at Virginia Park Elementary. The administration and staff are phenomenal, and I have really enjoyed working with them. When reflecting upon my internship, I feel it was an extremely valuable experience and it has confirmed that teaching is the right profession for me. It has shaped my development as a teacher in many ways which I will elaborate on below. My Read More »

Goal setting is very important on a professional as well as personal level. It gives you something to work towards which helps us grow professionally as well as personally. The three goals I set for myself during this internship are to become a good classroom manager, to become more confident teaching in the classroom, and also to become more familiar with the curriculum. I think these are all important goals that need to be achieved in order to become an effective teacher. Below I will describe how I have worked and am still working to achieve these goals. To achieve my first goal of becoming a good classroom manager, I have observed the management techniques that my co-operating teacher uses and have implemented them myself. Read More »

There are many effective assessment techniques that teachers use on a regular basis. During my internship thus far, I have observed and implemented many assessment techniques that I have considered to be effective. Being in a kindergarten classroom there is a lot of informal assessment as opposed to formal assessment as the students are not involved in writing tests, quizzes, or papers. Three assessment techniques that I have observed and/or implemented in my classroom include simply observing the students, questioning, and authentic assessment through students reading baggy books and responding to them with writing and illustrations. I will elaborate on each of these below. Observation is an assessment technique that my Read More »

Leadership is the ability to lead. A successful leader is someone who is knowledgeable, encouraging, and an excellent guide. Teachers are leaders in many ways. Teachers are not only instructional leaders; they are leaders in schools as well as in the community. Since beginning my internship I have observed leadership in many ways. I have observed my co-operating teacher being an instructional leader to our class as well as a leader to me during my internship. Personally, I have also been involved in leadership during my internship through being an instructional leader in my classroom everyday. Personally, leadership has always been something that I have enjoyed. I have been learning how to be a good leader through observing my Read More »

Collaborative planning is very important in the school system and important for every teacher involved. As an intern collaborative planning is a way to become aware of the things that happen within the school, the issues teachers are faced with, the concerns of parents and how to deal with parents and their concerns as well as a way to learn from the opinions and comments of other colleagues. I have found it very useful to be involved in the different planning that occurs in the school. During my internship thus far, I have been involved in divisional planning meetings, staff meetings, professional development days, and ISSP meetings with parents. I will elaborate on the divisional meetings that I have been involved in for Read More »