Blog One: Week 1 (Student Teaching)

Week Of  9/1/17

Level of Difficulty: Hectic but moderate

Observe

This week was the first for all or most of us.  I worked a lot over the past two weeks in planning, organizing and designing the classroom for the year. I really made it a point to work with the students as much as possible this week.  It was great to get in there and lead a few segments of the day each day so that they see me as a teacher-leader. My CE is fabulous and she walked me through a great deal and demonstrated great first week tactics and expectations for the students as well as for me. This is going to be a great year!

Reflect

The amount of class changes, meetings, procedures and remembering student names can become overwhelming. But I am very thankful for the experience because I believe it will really improve our first year when we get our own classroom. I can see where I need to improve (always be improving) and where I have grown.  Sometimes we focus on what we need to be better at and can’t see or believe in the areas we have grown. Confidence is going to be a very huge part of our success during student teaching!

Focus

My focus is going to be on building a great foundation in my teaching and lesson plans.  Lessons learned from last semester are going to help drive this.  I am working with my CE to develop a solid strategy to be organized, thorough and strong as a teacher. Developing a teacher voice and staying on top of classroom management (behavior and content/classwork/lessons) will be crucial for success.

Be Productive

This week I am trying to plan and develop my lesson progression for edTPA as well as begin writing/practicing my lessons for next week (Science).

Have Courage

I really lost a lot of confidence last semester which is not typical for me. All this summer I have really worked on building that back up and my team has really made me more confident and I am so thankful for that! I jumped in the first day this week like I have done this before so that the students and the teachers have confidence in me!

Begin Anew

I will begin teaching Science consistently next week (I have helped lead the lessons for this week.) Learning the student names has also been a goal of mine this week so I will continue to build that relational aspect of student teaching.

Data

We provided students with a math inventory assessment on the first day so that we will know what and how to teach them in mathematics. We also had a PLC meeting to see where we are as a school number wise in ELA, Math and Science. We will continue to develop strategies to improve these scores.

ADVICE

Develop a plan to decompress and relax each day and one day on the weekend ASAP!! This is the best way to make it through student teaching. You will be stressed, you will be staying up late and you will be swamped, but we will make it through!

Standard 1 1A: Teachers lead in their classrooms

Standard 2: Teacher creates a safe and loving environment for their students.

-Consistently building those relationships so that students are comfortable but they are also aware of expectations. Respect is very important BOTH ways!

Standard 3: Teachers know the content they teach in the classroom

-Even though we may “know” the content, I have found that it is still good to develop an idea or plan of how you are going to deliver the content to students. This seems to be the biggest challenge due to many different types of learners in each classroom.  Developing quality content that is rigorous for higher groups and understandable for lower groups is the most important aspect. But if we are unsure of the content, then we can really confuse our students.

Standard 4:B: Teachers plan instruction appropriate for their students

-Using many different resources from our county and state, we are able to plan appropriately.  It makes sense that data drives instruction.  This doesn’t mean we should have carbon copy/robot students who perform as a whole at the top level. It means that we meet the students where they are and try to move them to higher levels of proficiency and understanding. I want the students to know how, why and what they are doing.  Education should have a purpose right?

Standard 5: Teacher Reflect on their Practice

Through much reflection this summer and as we have begun to complete our own educational journey, I have looked at all the areas I want to improve and taken all the advice I can from my teachers. I have seen what works and what doesn’t and I intend to translate it all into my own class and instruction.

My CE and I are working well together and I can’t think of anything at this time for my Supervising professor to answer for me.  I have learned a lot from the bootcamps this weekend about edTPA but I am sure we will certainly have questions as we go along.

Student Teaching Gets Real This Week

This week, I will be attending my first Teacher workdays of the year. I have been anticipating this week for a while and well, I am ready to get in there! There is not much to say about it other than I am ready to meet with my team and get a plan of action together soon. A lot of work needs to be done and I am ready to get busy.

I am most looking forward to learning as much as I can in the first few weeks of school. This will benefit me once I have my own room. The teachers I am working with are very thorough and seasoned and I have learned a lot from them already. Their style of teaching as well as their classroom management are top notch and this is an area that needs to be addressed for me as a teacher.

Math is always a tough subject for me and teaching it can feel daunting, but I have some really good resources to help me along the way. Moving from the lecture, model, practice method to the instruct, model, explore, show reasoning mindset is going to benefit me but most importantly the students. When students learn the WHY of what they are doing they are more likely to engage and actually learn as opposed to just finding the right answer. My hope is to learn how to develop this style of teaching and perfect it over the years.

This is it...short and sweet.  I hope to give a little more insight through the week as we plan for this semester and I can share what I have learned.  Till then.....

Beginning A New Year (Student Teaching 2.0)

Let me be transparent.....

I had to pause and regroup last semester.  This was a hard decision and dilemma I was in.  I won't go in to all the details, but the first go around did not go around.  Let me back up... I was in my final semester for my Elementary Ed degree and I dropped the ball.  I was only left with the option to change majors or take a break and try again the next semester. Many factors contributed to this, but it is over and done with and I learned a lot on my end so that I can be a way better teacher. The upside is that everything aligned in a way to give me a second chance.  Not to get religious, but I know that God had this planned out for me because I still feel the need to be in the classroom (though I have asked Him a few times if he is sure) :)

             What does this new year look like? 

Well, I have had the opportunity to spend some quality time in the classroom last semester (near the end) with my NEW CE (Cooperative Educator). She teaches with another teacher (one class is Math and one is ELA).  They both teach their own homeroom class for Science and Social Studies is integrated throughout the day/curriculum. I will be teaching 5th grade, we are 1 to 1 (tech), we have a resource teacher who comes in for EC as well as AIG students.  This semester we are integrating some advanced 4th graders into the classes so I am not sure how that is going to work as of right now. This might sound a bit overwhelming to you, but it is actually a way better situation for me I believe. I have a way better support group with my new CEs and I have had opportunities to teach a little to show them what they are in for! The Principal is very supportive as well!  I have met the group of 4th graders coming up and was able to interact with them a little during an "Amazing Race" math challenge I assisted with on the last week.

How Have I Prepared?

Thankfully, I had a list of questions and concerns that I shared with each teacher. They assured me they will not let me go down with the ship. I made it clear that ANY feedback no matter how severe will be the only way I can progress.  If I am screwing up...let me know...QUICKLY! If I am in need of better classroom management, tell me. If I need to talk louder, tell me.  If I need to model the lesson better, tell me! My biggest issues last semester were classroom management (behavior and content/lessons/centers), thorough lessons, and organization.  I feel much better about these areas going in this time.  I know they are still a work in progress, but like I said, I have learned from my mistakes. We use modules that students are able to work on throughout the week which is nice because it helps give them different options on what they work on for stations.  We will begin to set up reading groups early in the semester and my favorite part is that we have an HOUR for Science! 

What's Next?

I begin meetings and teacher workdays next week. The anticipation is killing me; partly because I am ready to get to work and partly because I am nervous (which is to be expected) Again, I will still need a lot of preparation to begin taking the driver seat, but I am confident I will be ready! This post is intended to inspire myself and hopefully someone else going into student teaching. It takes determination, hard work, will, and positivity to do anything worth doing.  Most everything that has been a challenge for me has been worth fighting for and every opportunity that has pushed me has always been the best choice.  So fight for the things you love and don't give up.  See ya in the classroom!