Pre-Internship Experience
My pre-internship experience was awesome! It was nice to get back into a classroom and experience my love for teaching again. Learning in a university classroom is nice, but it is so different to actually be teaching and applying the pedagogies and techniques you learn in the courses you take.
My pre-internship was done during March of 2021, which means I got to experience COVID-19 protocols and rules in a classroom. This was a completely new experience for me and all of the teachers, staff, and pre-interns in the field. Planning and teaching during this experience was difficult at first, but it was a good experience to work through because it prepared me for the future if something like this ever happened again. A lot of my lessons focused around individual desk work, but I tried to make it fun and engaging with the odd class or group activity. Keeping the activities and lessons COVID friendly was a new obstacle for me, but it was a good skill to learn.
Overall, my pre-internship allowed me to learn a lot of new skills, tips, tricks, and classroom management skills. My cooperating teacher provided a lot of great feedback that helped me grow throughout my experience. I plan on taking her advice and tips/tricks as I advance in my teaching career. I am very thankful that I got to have this experience!