The Pekin Professional Development School is a partnership with Illinois State University.  It is a year long teacher education program which consists of four phases.  The first two phases were completed in the fall semester of 2005.  These phases consisted of observing and assisting my mentor teachers and attending methods classes through Illinois State University.  The last two phases were completed in the spring semester of 2006.  During this time I spent twelve weeks in the classroom student teaching. 

 

Phase 1:  From August to mid-October, I spent my time in a first grade, multi-age classroom.  This is the classroom I would eventually be student teaching in.  I participated in district and building meetings as well as helped my mentor set up the classroom before the students arrived.  I was also involved in Meet the Teacher Night and Parent-Teacher Conferences.  Most of my time in the classroom during Phase 1 was spent observing and assisting my mentor.  I also worked with small groups on various activities.  Collaborating with my mentor, her co-teacher and another intern over various activities we would be doing in the classroom was also a big part of my Phase 1 experience.

 

Phase 2:  I spent the next half of the semester from mid-October to December in a sixth grade classroom.  It was a big change from first grade, but allowed me to have experience in an intermediate building.  This was valuable not only because of the age differences, but because I got to observe a different teaching style as well.  During Phase 2, I continued to become more comfortable in the classroom as a teacher, teaching whole-group lessons and taking more initiative.  I was involved in student led Parent-Teacher Conferences and collaborated with my mentor and support staff in my Phase 2 classroom as well.

 

Phases 3 & 4:  I spent my time from January until early May back in my Phase 1 classroom as a student teacher.  The transition into student teaching was smooth because I was already familiar with the students, building, and classroom procedures.  I was quickly able to take over all content areas and teacher responsibilities.  During this time I planned standards-based lessons and activities for 42 kindergarten and first grade students.  Working with such a diverse group of learners, taught me a lot about differentiating my instruction to meet all of my students needs.  I spent the majority of my planning time collaborating with my mentor, her co-teacher and her intern.  I also participated in various building meetings and an IEP meeting and full case study meeting for students in my classroom.  I was also once again involved in Parent-Teacher Conferences and Open House.  This has been a valuable experience, helping me to obtain the skills essential to become an outstanding educator.