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I think my biggest area of growth during practicum was confidence, honestly because at the beginning I had almost none.
I came into practicum constantly second guessing myself. Every lesson, every behaviour conversation, every change to a lesson plan felt like proof that I was somehow doing a bad job. I think I expected good teachers to naturally know what they were doing all the time, and practicum humbled me really quickly.
Over time though, I started realizing teaching is a lot less polished than I thought it was. Lessons flop sometimes, classroom energy changes constantly, students react differently than expected, and sometimes you just have to adjust in the moment and move on. I slowly became more comfortable trusting myself, taking risks, and realizing that struggling sometimes did not mean I was failing, it meant I was learning.
I think one of the biggest moments for me was our plant project. At first it felt way too big and overwhelming, but it ended up becoming one of the most meaningful experiences from practicum. That project reminded me that some of the best learning experiences happen when you stop overthinking everything and are willing to just try.
Moving forward, one of my biggest professional goals is continuing to build confidence in myself as an educator while also continuing to grow in areas like differentiation and meeting the needs of different learners. Practicum made me realize that good teaching is probably less about being perfect and more about being reflective, adaptable, and willing to keep learning.
