Blog #2 Making a Difference

Week Of Friday, September 8th, 2017

Level of Difficulty:

Observe

This week I have started to take over a little more responsibility within the classroom setting. I am still observing and taking notes from my CE and seeing all the details that go into her teaching and facilitating. This last week was a great example for me to follow and I will continue to build upon that as I move forward.

Reflect

After Boot camp and school this week, I have really thought even more about how to be intentional with my lessons and my class time. I know this is always being taught to us, but when you really experience the classroom, it makes way more sense and my goal for the rest of the year is really develop my lesson plans with clear, effective and researched based content so that I can be the best teacher possible.

Focus

This weeks focus as well as the next few weeks will be on edTPA. I feel that once we are through the process of teaching and writing these plans and submit the final product we will be able to focus our full attention on becoming better teachers. Not that this isn’t going to make us look at instruction and data more carefully, but it is only one part of being a teacher.

I also want to focus on being better at voice inflection and lesson delivery. I am a little bit boring as I look back at my videos from the week. Getting students attention and eye contact assures me that they are listening and paying attention.  Last week, I created a Google form interest survey and I have been asking students what they like and how they learn the best.  This will help me create more interesting lessons and differentiating to meet the needs of all our students.  If they are not interested, they are not going to retain information or care about what they are doing.

Be Productive

OK….I have purchased a new binder, notebook and planner. This is going to help me be more organized. I have a folder labeled for each subject, EdTPA, and all the standards. I will be collecting each paper/worksample for each lesson (1. So if I need to make a quick copy for a student I can, and 2. So I will have a surplus to choose from when I get hired.)  I will also add notes or important reminders that I need to do my best work possible.  For the edTPA folder section, I will keep all of my paper samples from my 3 focus students.

I am not lying when I say I am very unorganized.  I am good at organizing, but sustaining and maintaining is the hard part for me!  My CE has really helped me by giving me advice and also having a back up plan.  She said not to worry because we will get through it all, but I said it is something I need to learn because I will be on my own soon.  She is very encouraging however.

The other thing I am staying on top of is lesson plans and Unit plans. Each day will be planned and I will be ready.

Have Courage

My courage for the week is to continue to be confident in my ability and to try new things. Creating content/learning segments/tech-tool integration is fun but you have to make sure you try it out first before bringing it in. You also have to make sure it is relevant.  But NOW is a great time to try it out and see what works for you and what students like. That way when we have our own classroom, we will have a toolbox of ideas and lessons to use.

Begin Anew

Begin taking over responsibility and strengthening my teacher voice!

Data

We have PLC meeting every Tuesday after lunch. This is a great way for me to really see HOW teachers use data to drive instruction.  Our school uses a program called iReady which tracks math and ELA in a nice, detailed and informative package! Today we learned how to add lessons to individual students based on their diagnostic exams. This is a great tool for differentiation. It is not meant to take the place of a teacher, but it is used to assist the teacher and give students practice developing and improving their skills.

For edTPA I think it will be a great resource for the WHY for our lesson progressions and how we instruct. It shows if they are at, below or above grade level and what specific areas they are struggling with.

ADVICE

I have said it before, but understanding how to write solid lesson plans is important to your success as an educator. It is very difficult to write one lesson for every student, but you can add in sections and tweaks in your lessons that help all learners learn. That doesn’t mean every time you will get it right and it doesn’t mean that they will all learn at the same time. Knowing when to add additional support and practice will allow you to be more flexible in your lessons and help students. Another good habit to get into is write notes throughout the day about things you observe.  Ex--- (-Jimmy learns best when he is working with a group SOLUTION: Be sure to make small group activities a norm for lessons.. -Anna has a hard time following along if she is in the back of the room. SOLUTION: Mover her to the front. Etc……

Standard 1 1A: Teachers lead in their classrooms

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

Learned all names for the most part and I am sure to call them by the name they prefer. I have let students know that I love to laugh and be silly, but when I am teaching or when we are in the halls I am all business.  This has helped me as well as them because I have a hard time not making people laugh occasionally, but I also think it is hard for students to decipher if I am in charge or “one of them”. My CE has really done a great job of helping me establish that I am a teacher just as much as she is.

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

This week we are finishing up Scientific Method and one lesson I will lead this week is on surface tension. We are conducting an experiment to see how many water drops will fit onto a penny before rolling off. The main concept is Scientific Method but I will also be teaching about how surface tension causes the water to build up before falling off the penny

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

Using the data from PLC meetings and from pre assessments this week, we have moved right along with lesson planning. Our two ELA groups are pretty divided (AIG heavy for group 1 and EC/grade level students in the other block. This is because of how our resource teachers’ schedules are. My CE and I are always thinking ahead in our plans and also planning for other unexpected circumstances etc…  I think using the data from the interest survey has really helped me know my students a little better as well as working with them this past week to see what their strengths and weaknesses are academically AND personally.

Standard 5: Teacher Reflect on their Practice

Again, always reflecting. I have learned a lot since last semester and continue to learn how I can improve on many levels. I.E.:  Knowing how to transition, remembering every detail to describe what students are to do, reminding them of expectations (behaviorally, content, and how they treat others...especially the teachers :)  )  I know I still have a lot to grow in, but I know that the more I develop good habits personally, organizationally, I will get better at everything.