Student Teaching at Southeastern
One school. Three experiences.
Ryan Whittemore: Teaching Across Subjects
My name is Ryan Whittemore, and I am currently a Long Term Science Substitute at Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School. After completing Bridgewater’s Accelerated Post Baccalaureate Program in the Fall of 2013, I was granted my initial teacher’s license for High School and Middle School History. Shortly following the Student Teaching portion of my program, I was offered a position at Southeastern. However, I was not asked to teach history but asked to teach science. Regardless of the unfamiliar subject, I was confident that I could effectively manage my classroom while planning and delivering engaging state standardized lessons; so I took the job. I now teach 3 courses of High School Chemistry, two of which are inclusion classes, and 3 courses of Science, Technology, and Engineering. My classes consist of 15-20 students whose grade levels range from sophomores to seniors. By working with my supervising practitioner and the using the resources provided by Bridgewater State University, I can continually improve my ability to manage my classroom, plan units based on state standards and deliver lessons using various technologies necessary to create a positive learning environment. Thanks to my Student Teaching at SERSD, I now have the ability foster academic and social success within my student population regardless of subject matter. I can now apply my skills to guide students of varying skill level and subject matter towards academic literacy.
Kay Place: Differentiation for Diverse Learners
My name is Kay Place and I am completing my student teaching as a long-term substitute at Southeastern Regional High School. I teach six biology inclusion classes, mostly sophomores and freshman, and though I have been met with many challenges I am happy to say I have enjoyed every moment here at Southeastern. I teach a variety of learners and from my first day working here I knew the flow of my classroom would have to move quickly and smoothly. We are constantly transitioning from notes to activities so as to keep my students active and awake! I am huge on word association games, and supply plenty of visuals to go along with my notes. Notes are quick and to the point. I limit my definitions to 4 to 5 words MAX. There have been a few times where I have looked out at my audience of students and changed the lesson on the fly as I could see I was losing their interest. I have learned how to think on my feet and how to attack key terms and content in a variety of ways. The best advice I have received so far is any tools and guides you give to your IEP or 504 students you should give to everyone. I am definitely seeing the positive results.
Maria Cahill: Incorporating Technology in the Honors English Classroom
My name is Maria Cahill and I am a senior at Bridgewater State University studying English Education (grades 8-12). I am a traditional student teacher at SERSD assigned to an honors English classroom this Spring semester. I teach both freshman and sophomore honors English alongside my cooperating teacher, Traci Wheeler. I have had a wonderful experience thus far at SERSD. Because it is a technical high school, I have had the opportunity to use technology in the classroom every day with the abundance of resources SERSD offers. Each of my students has a Google Chromebook which they use daily for research, in and out-of-class projects, and journal writing. Below you will find some of my lesson plans and assignments I have used during my student teaching experience. You will clearly see how technology is incorporated into our everyday schedule.
Classroom View: From the Back
You can see that there is a SMART Board at the front of the classroom which we utilize often in class.
Google School
Southeastern Regional School District has gone completely Google. This allows for each student to have a SERSD Gmail account. Students use this for email and to store classwork/homework in their "drive."
Classroom View: From the Front
My classroom doubles as a computer lab, which allows students access to both the desktop computers as well as their Chromebooks.
Southeastern Regional School District
Email: mcahill@sersd.org
Website: www.sersd.org
Location: 250 Foundry Street, South Easton, MA, United States
Phone: 508-230-1200