Welcome!
Hello! Welcome to my fifth and final R2P post. Now, since this is our last post, I decided I would try and go out with a bang. To start things off, I’m just now realizing that I’ve never really introduced myself or my topic, I’ve always kind of just jumped right into the topic that I was speaking about. Blog posts should be more inviting in my opinion, offering the reader to engage themselves in what they’re reading. That’s one thing I have learned from this R2P project and throughout the rest of this post, I will reflect on the various other aspects that I have improved during this R2P journey.
Observation
I work in a Child Care center at home where I mainly work with the Early Head Start class, so I like to think that I already have a solid foundation of classroom management knowledge; although it never hurts to broaden my techniques. At first, I think I was slightly biased because I knew what worked for the children at my own job, but being in my field placement, I realized that some of my tricks didn’t swing with these kiddos. Unfortunately, my Co-op teacher didn’t have many tricks of her own, so observing wasn’t very beneficial to me during my field placement. I connected with the children by engaging with them during centers, playing outside, and talking to them during lunch; building a relationship with kids lessened any type of acting out by a landslide.
Question
How do we know what management strategies to use when our students are acting out? How do we know the right time to use them? Should we give the students several warnings before initiating any action in hopes they calm themselves? How do we even know these strategies will be effective anyway? These are the questions I have been asking myself throughout the R2P journey. My answer is plain and simple. EXPERIMENTING. Like I said in my previous post, it all depends on your situation and your teaching style. Your golden technique won’t come easy, but there will always be a strategy out there that will work for you. Of course, you must keep in mind that each child is different, and combining all of these different children in one room will call for the use of different strategies.
Research
Personally, I don’t like researching topics for papers. Mainly because 
I find myself bored when I’m reading article after article. With these R2P posts though, I have been more engaged because I am actually interested in what I’m reading about, and it gives me a chance to learn something new that I can experiment with myself. The two articles that I referred to in my second post outlined some good strategies that interested me. I haven’t tried them out yet, but I’m excited to once I’m back at my own job!
Reflection
Overall, I believe that my blog has greatly improved since my first 
post. In that one, I didn’t use pictures, videos, hyperlinks, or get creative in any way. I just simply sat down and completed my assignment, rather than get more personal and try to interact with the reader. I feel like writing a blog post is more fun anyway when you pretend that you’re actually having a conversation with someone.
Technology
I’ve figured out that my favorite medium to use is a blog. Although I tried my skills at creating a podcast, I realized I stutter too much and I can’t ever figure out just what I want to say without repeating the 
word “Um” a thousand times. I also tried my strings at making a video in my third post (pt 1 & pt 2), but it was a lot easier because I wasn’t alone and I could bounce off of my peers. I’ve found that I’m most comfortable writing my thoughts down, rather than just speaking into a microphone. By writing a blog post, I’m able to see the progression of my thoughts and fix whatever needs improvement.
Now onto some questions!!
If I were to experience the R2P project again, what would I do differently?
Honestly, I believe the mistakes I made in my last four posts were needed and I wouldn’t change anything about it. I learned from my mistakes and I wouldn’t have been able to create a solid fifth post without making the mistakes I did in the past. I did experiment with different mediums, but I feel like my experimentation with the other mediums took away from my improvement with a blog post. I already knew I was most comfortable writing a blog, but I wanted to take a step out of my comfort zone and try something new, but it didn’t seem to spark any further interest.
What am I taking away to my future teaching practice from this R2P project?
Because of these R2P posts, I have learned more about classroom management, what strategies to use, when to use them, and whether or not they would be effective enough for your class. I have researched many articles in order to narrow down the best strategies, but it all comes down to experimenting with what works best for your own practices, as well as your students because everyone is different.
What advice would I give to the next ERCH496 students about the R2P project? What advice would I give to Tatiana for the next iteration of the R2P project?
For the next ERCH496 students, I would advise them to outline their thoughts and really think about what they want to write or say before making a post. Personally, I didn’t outline my thoughts until this post, and I believe that this one was the easiest and quickest post I made since I started the R2P project. For Tatiana, I think that the way she explained everything for this project was very thorough and helped me out a lot. Meeting with her was beneficial as well, so I advise that you take advantage of her office hours!
Anyway, I really enjoyed writing these blog posts, and I think I might’ve found a new hidden interest?! But for now, I must say “Da Da Da Da Da Da, that’s all folks”!