Reflection On Kimberly Mounter

Personal Reflection
Kimberly Mounter is a 7th grade ELA teacher at my school. She was also selected as this year’s “teacher of the year” for our school. I didn’t know Miss Mounter that well, but she was gracious enough to let me observe her classes and interview her. During the observation and interview I learned new ways to interact with the diverse students in my own classroom. Miss Mounter mentioned that she gets the students to teach her some words or phrases in their own language. I think that is a great idea, and it lets the students see that you are interested in who they are and where they came from. The class I observed was very diverse, so it was great to see all the students interact with one another.
Miss Mounter had her students

working in groups most of the week. She mentioned that she usually groups the students based on their performance on the benchmark assessment, however, this week she allowed the students to choose their own groups. It was interesting to see that the students grouped themselves with other students from the same, or similar, culture as them. I like that she usually groups the students, but I think it is ok for them to choose their own groups on occasion.
During my research I learned ways to embrace diversity in the classroom. One of the main things that stood out to me, and I will use, is to think of a scenario, involving diverse students, that could happen in your room and create a plan of action for that scenario. This is a great way to be prepared for things that may come up in the classroom. I plan on applying that in my classroom. There is no way to know everything that could happen, but trying to be prepared in the event something happens is a great help.
I learned so much from the interview with Miss Mounter. Her dad was an immigrant, so she knows first-hand what it is like to be “different” than others and be treated differently. She uses that in her classroom to encourage students to appreciate the diversity in others. It can even be as small a thing as learning to pronounce a student’s name correctly. That is a small thing for the teacher, but could have a huge impact on the student. Miss Mounter also mentioned that she differentiates to meet the needs of the diverse students in her classroom. This is a great way to reach the different learners where they are and make sure everyone gets what they need.
It was great getting to spend some time in a colleague’s classroom and see how she works with diverse students. I plan on talking to her more and sharing ideas on how we can work together to serve our diverse population better.