Josie Berg is a current ICD M.Ed. student who graduated this summer from ICD with her early childhood bachelor’s degree. This semester she is student teaching at Highlands Elementary in the Edina school district. Learn more about her preparation to student teach and her professional goals below.
Where are you student teaching this fall?
I will be student teaching in a Kindergarten classroom at Highlands Elementary which is in the Edina school district.
How did you prepare to student teach?
I prepared to student teach by taking notes on everything I observe in my classroom and connecting it to my prior knowledge and experiences. Also, I am building relationships with my students and cooperating teacher to establish trust and comfort when I am lead teaching. Having trusting and caring relationships with my students, CT, and other staff members in the building boosts my confidence when I am giving directions, helping, and teaching.
How did your classes at ICD help prepare you to enter the classroom?
Getting a minor in developmental psychology extended my learning in my early childhood courses because I got more in-depth content on how children develop. The importance of building relationships with children was highly emphasized in every class, and focusing on that first has helped me feel instantly connected to my students and school. Also, the different pedagogies are directly reflected in some components of my classroom, like Vygotsky, and the background knowledge of his core beliefs has helped me practice principles immediately.
What is one piece of advice you will carry with you in the classroom?
Many professors and mentors have reiterated the advice “fake it til you make it” which I remind myself daily. It is easy to get caught up in feeling overwhelmed when a lesson doesn’t go as planned or you feel nervous before teaching, but that advice reminds me to let go of my perfectionism. Teaching is a process that is not meant to be clean or perfect.
What are you most excited for?
I am most excited to be in a Kindergarten class and learn from my cooperating teacher and my students about what it means to be a learner in a school setting! Highlands has a strong school community and I am excited to be a part of a community that believes in the capability of every student and is consistently finding ways to improve its practices!
What are your professional goals?
My ultimate professional goal is to be in an outdoor learning setting, whether that is a nature-based school or incorporating outdoor learning into a classroom. After being in the classroom for a while, I would love to move toward administrative areas and put forth ideas to help the American education system be reformed to better advocate for students and support their growth as individuals.
How will this opportunity assist you in meeting your goals?
Highlands has a nature-based curriculum used in classrooms, which will help me learn more about what it means to have outdoor-learning opportunities and what they look like. The staff also have experiences and insights that develop my view of the education system and the places it can be improved upon. In general, student teaching at Highlands is making me a more reflective, critical, and passionate educator!
Do you have anything else you would like to share?
Make the most of your experience by asking questions and being brave! What you put in is what you’ll get out of it!
