Date of Award

5-2026

Document Type

Senior Project

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Hernandez, Sarah

Area of Concentration

Liberal Arts

Abstract

This senior project explored and reflected on my development as an aspiring educator through academic research and hands-on classroom experience. The goal of this project was to gain a deeper understanding of the teaching profession and to better prepare for a future career in education. To accomplish this, I combined a literature review of key educational concepts with an internship at an elementary school, where I observed and participated in classroom instruction under the guidance of a mentor teacher. The literature review focuses on the foundational components of effective teaching in education, including, teacher responsibilities, classroom management, parent–teacher relationships, pedagogy and lesson planning. The second half of this project is a report of my field experience through an internship which allowed me to observe the foundational components of effective teaching in practice. Through observation, student interaction, collaboration with my mentor teacher and the implementation of a lesson plan, I gained practical insight into classroom dynamics, effective teaching, instructional planning, and student engagement. Overall, this experience gave me a real glimpse into my future as an educator. It helped me grow in confidence and strengthened my understanding of effective teaching practice.

Rights

The author has granted New College of Florida the nonexclusive right to archive, make accessible, and distribute for educational purposes this work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The copyright of this work remains with the author.

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