Moving Forward...

Week Of Friday Feb 24th, 2017

Level of Difficulty: Yes

Observe

This week I have a lot of regrouping and rebuilding to do. There are some holes in my classroom and I have to fix them.

Reflect

I have certainly reflected upon many things this week. The most important part of this week was getting my mind right and being prepared (which honestly neither were prepared). I know I can do this, I just have to get in the groove. All I can say is everybody pray for me. This is just a time to build my grit and be more thorough and organized. I won’t let negativity distract me and I won’t let anything steer the ship in a wrong direction. I just need to focus.

Focus

Focus for last week would have been great for this week, but it didn’t happen. Just have to prove to myself I can do this.

Be Productive

I have been productive this week with writing, but not as productive in the classroom. I know what I need to do to hopefully prevent any miscommunications with my students. Just have to get in there next week and do it.

Have Courage

Courage is needed. Have to keep moving forward regardless of anything. Like I said, I know I can do this.

Begin Anew

Thorough explanation of expectations (this has not went well and needs to change), making sure students have clear instruction and know what to do, and be confident like I was in January.

Data

Started a post it “ticket out the door” in math to use as my own assessment of the day. I want to make sure students are on the same page before advancing. This has proven effective.

ADVICE

New Teachers: Classroom management, great and thorough planning, and always have a back up. If you see a lesson is tanking, STOP, regroup, and reteach.  Don’t just push through.

Standard 1 1A: Teachers lead in their classrooms

Honestly can’t think of one for this one for this week. I know what needs to be done, just have to build on this starting Monday.

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

Had two students break down on me this week in math. I understand kiddos, I know how stress can be. With both, I told them it is ok if they don’t understand or if they got the wrong answer. It is how we gather our courage and work together to fix it that matters. THIS is why I love teaching. THIS is why I wanted to be a teacher in the first place. We worked it out and I think that built their confidence in me as a teacher and as a person they can trust. Little victories like this over shadow any other thing that happens throughout the week.

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

I continue to learn HOW to teach some of these standards. I know the content for myself, but learning how to convey that to a 9-10 year old is different and it goes SO fast. I have found some great resources for this.

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

Working with the Lead teacher over 3-5 next week on this. I am hoping to create more rigor and creative thinking in my future lessons. Right now I just want a solid week of solid instruction.

Standard 5: Teacher Reflect on their Practice

Daily videos have helped me keep track of things a bit more. They also help me show evidence or lack thereof to use as I continue down the road.

Dr. Parker, I am sure I will text you a lot next week. Just want to make some changes that stick this week in hopes of moving forward.

Way Better Week!

Week Of Friday Feb 24th, 2017

Level of Difficulty: 6-7

Observe

I have observed a lot this week in terms of Students. Seeing how they learn, seeing what they understand and seeing what interests them. It really helps me drive the design of my lessons (which I am working on making them more interactive and interesting over the next few weeks.) I have also observed many recordings of my teaching from a year or two ago to now.

Reflect

I have reflected a lot on my skills as a facilitator in the classroom as well as how I deliver content (tone, inflection, pace etc….) I have been mindful of these things that need to be changed and perfected and I believe this is how we become great at what we do as educators.

Focus

My focus for the week is consistency, proficiency and efficiency. I have tried to focus all of my attention on hitting every point that I wanted to and maintaining student engagement. Knowing how to juggle these things will help us grow in our abilities as well!

Be Productive

Lesson plans have been top priority. Staying ahead of the game has given me more time to think through the next day, spend time with my family and not crack under the pressure. I feel a HECK of a lot more productive this week.

Have Courage

Full disclosure, Monday morning, I was very unsure of myself for some reason. I was not sure why, but I just felt very incapable. I KNOW this is not true and after a good pep talk followed my focusing my heart on God and a very productive Monday, I had built that confidence for the week!

Begin Anew

Goals for this week: Continue to progress, continue to establish my leadership among our students and take ownership of my time as a teacher.

Data

Many of the assessments from Math this week has helped me see what particular misconceptions students have about fractions. The tiniest little aspect of an explanation could help or hurt understanding. We have to be very mindful of our instruction for this reason.

ADVICE

New teachers: Stay ahead of the game. Learn how to make lessons meaningful but also effective. Some things may seem interesting for a lesson, but if you can not deliver the content in a way that is meaningful AND helping students understand fully WHAT the objective is, you may be spinning your wheels.

Standard 1 1A: Teachers lead in their classrooms

For this week this meant taking ownership of students, classroom duties and offering help even when not asked around the school (car duty! Yeah!!!)

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

We have had a lot of student drama this week. Some physical scuffles and some just verbal. I have had to have a few heart to hearts with students. My friend who has autism in the class asked me how I control anger because he has issues with this. Giving him advice was such a joy to me and it is in these moments that I remember WHY I decided I wanted to be a teacher.

(And I played 4 square, basketball and catch on Friday) we have had to begin “recess patrol” to make sure everyone is “playing nice” because of our incidents this week. This really connected with me and the students. Many of the students who are not engaged in class or do not give any verbal feedback saw me in a different light. There were at least 9 kids gathered around wanting me to play ball or 4 square with them. I am interested to see how they are in the classroom on Monday.  It may be a good start to really helping them want to learn instead of being a reluctant learner.

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

I continue to learn HOW to teach some of these standards. I know the content for myself, but learning how to convey that to a 9-10 year old is different and it goes SO fast. I have found some great resources for this.

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

I am still trying to learn how to differentiate in every area, so that has been a focus this week. Next week, I will begin to build in more of this. It seems to be lost in many classrooms and we can’t rely on resource teachers for everything right?

Standard 5: Teacher Reflect on their Practice

Always reflecting. This week it is how can I make my lessons more interactive and still retain the effectiveness of the purpose.  (INTENTIONAL!)

Dr. Parker, thanks for continually being there for me and believing in me. I also appreciate you helping me to remain accountable and driving my progress. You really don’t have to take that extra step, but I am glad you have.  It is really helpful!! :)  I am continuing to grow at my school and they have assured me: “YOU ARE GOING TO WALK ON THAT STAGE!!!” So I have an ultimatum to continually inspire me and encourage me!

All Flash and No Smash Is NO Good

Week Of Friday Feb 17th, 2017

Level of Difficulty: The most so far

Observe

Wow! What a week. This has definitely been a turning point in my student teaching experience. In my life, I have always believed that when something is difficult and seemingly impossible, it is a sure sign that I need to push through it to conquer that difficulty. When you come to a roadblock or “speed bump” (that sounds better), you can either stop, turn around and go back from where you came OR you can make a new path to get to the place you want to go. Without going into detail, I had that choice to make this week. Fortunately, with the help and support of everyone around me, ESPECIALLY my Supervisor, I feel stronger and more confident in my direction. I am by NO means out of the red in my mind, but I am moving full speed ahead to where I WANT to be. All that to say I am ready to finish student teaching strong!

Reflect

I have really had to get my lesson planning nailed down this week so that has been top priority. I created a lesson, my plan was to tie in Health, fractions and real world application to, let’s just call it “The Smoothie Project”. The concept for learning was to have students cut up bananas and strawberries into fractions modeling equivalency. It really didn’t go as I expected. It was a great idea and full of potential, but all of us agreed it needs to be totally reworked to be an effective lesson for the next go round. I knew better. I didn’t plan well. All of the knowledge I have about instruction, class management and content was a 1-2 out of 10. I totally dropped the ball. But like I said earlier this will be my motivating force for the rest of the semester and into my career.

I am being fully transparent not to complain or ask for sympathy, but for future teachers to know how important this time really is and to clear my chest and my heart.

Focus

This weekends focus is to build a SOLID foundation, to gain momentum and to really develop my teacher voice. Planning is priority!!! I have really had to think through each day because Math class (separate from my homeroom) is a little different and I want to show my CEs that I am committed to perfecting my planning. I am not concerned about the FLASH of my lessons, but more about the effectiveness and thoroughness of my plans.  As Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers once said: “All flash and no smash is not a sign of proficiency” (yes I have a weird source of life coaching sometimes! )

Be Productive

Short and simple: Be productive! Lessons, Materials, using ALL my resources and getting that decompression time is CRUCIAL if I am going to survive and thrive in this!

Have Courage

I need lots of courage this next week, but really, I feel that I have already established a good foot hold. I have played music in front of 2000 people before, I have spoke in front of GWU professors before, I have left my PAYING job to work my tail off for NO money even though I have a family and bills to pay. (I DO NOT say this to brag) I say all of this to say: Teaching students is a little intimidating when you are in the lead and responsible for all aspects of the classroom.  But I CAN do this.

Begin Anew

My new outlook is one of refresh, reboot, start over. I really started this Thursday, but Monday of next week will be the true beginning of a new start. I will be better prepared, stronger, more confident and establish that I am IN THIS! :)  Am I gonna be perfect? No one is. Am I going to have my crap together? Definitely. Am I going to be working toward proficiency? Absolutely!! AM I GONNA ASK QUESTIONS? YES!  Just not the day of instruction.  PROACTIVE is the word of the month!!

Data

Monday this week I was able to experience “Data Dives” which is a time that GL Ts come together and review the previous quarters and the progress we have made. The data we looked at in particular was the ELA and Math Benchmark assessments. It showed our grade level, the school’s overall levels as well as our district. It was a very interesting look at this and helped me understand better how we use our assessments effectively and precisely.  

ADVICE

Standard 1 1A: Teachers lead in their classrooms

So with my constant struggle to assert my authority in the classroom, I feel the end of this week was stronger than ever with classroom management. I still have a way to go, but I believe that the students are catching on to the fact I mean business.

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

I am always mindful of student needs and want to always try and make them feel safe and appreciated. We gave my friend Garrett an opportunity to present his (solo) article about the Earth. He wrote an extra research paper (we wrote one together, and he made this ALL on his own time) and had been asking to present it for a few weeks. I was able to give him a 10 minute spot in our super busy schedule and he did GREAT! He has VERY low self esteem and he has been my sidekick since the beginning of school in August. I want to continue to show love to all of these little people because they are the reason I am doing this!

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

I have had a few “duh” moments when teaching so far and it is because I wasn’t “polished” like I should be. This is an area all teachers NEED to be aware of because you may go in thinking you know something, but it is still a good practice to take a crash course to refresh your knowledge and understanding to better serve your students and not look foolish. The way my brain is wired, I have to have a plan and points to hit or they could slip my mind. Teaching requires us to be on our A game because students WILL call you out.

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

And yet again, this week has really challenged me and made me aware of my shortcomings. I have worked diligently with my CE(s) this week to fix my weak areas and build a solid foundation within my lessons amongst other things. It has helped me to ask even more questions and to know what the RIGHT questions are to ask. Down time is a no no. Content needs to be relevant to the objective. Our students’ understanding is the bedrock of great teaching.

Standard 5: Teacher Reflect on their Practice

LOTS of reflection this week. LOTS to improve on! But I am getting there. I am really trying to improve many different aspects of my teaching skills and abilities. We ALL have it in us, or else we wouldn’t have come this far. My advice: Learn from your mistakes, don’t let them destroy you or your confidence, and don’t give up. Anything worth having in life is worth fighting for. YES, people will continually say, Teaching?? Really? And I will say YES REALLY! With a smile.

I just want to thank Dr. Parker for really being a great Supervisor. He has really made sure I am in a good place mentally and personally. Thanks for encouraging me and giving me the direction to move forward. For this next week, my goal and vow to myself is to take each day at a time, focus on one weak area (as quickly as possible) a day/week and build on the last one. By the end of student teaching, I plan to have built a SOLID foundation and structure to build on for years to come. All flash and no smash is no good!

Week 6: There's A Test For That

Week Of Friday Feb. 3rd , 2017

Level of Difficulty: 3-4

Observe

Benchmarks, Assessments, Reviews….these are what made up a majority of this week. I did get to assist and observe my CE as we walked students through the testing process to equip them to feel comfortable and capable of doing great on their Benchmarks. This is not my favorite thing about teaching or school (I was never great at tests. Even to this day do not care for them), BUT I know it is required and it is a good indicator of where students are and how they have grown. I don’t feel they are beneficial to some students however. I like the idea of having different levels instead of percents. Seems to me that would be less difficult to comprehend and hopefully not discourage students as much.

Reflect

As this was my first “official” week of full time teaching, I was not as apprehensive as I thought I would be.  However, I still feel I need to get in a better groove planning wise so that I have enough time to get everything turned in and approved by my CE and Supervisor. As I continue, this week I feel more ahead of the game, but I am just making sure I have back up lessons/ideas, plenty of content and things to keep students engaged.

Focus

This week’s focus is to begin full time teaching and continue to develop my weak areas. I really want to sculpt and nail down my lesson plans from here on out. I have seen what works really well and what doesn’t. I will continue to work with CE to help develop my weak areas and continue to progress.

Be Productive

Spending my time efficiently has been the only way to stay ahead. Now that my schedule is a little more locked down (finally finished with testing for a while) I can know exactly what I will need for each week. My goal is to have everything submitted and approved by Friday/Saturday each week for the following week.

Have Courage

Begin thinking about #Observeme and using it to develop more in my classroom. Amber really got the ball rolling on this one and I think it will be to our benefit as student teachers. This is definitely a great way to develop more as an educator as well as a student teacher.

Begin Anew

This week, I will begin thinking ahead of a PBL lesson/mirco unit I would like to do just to develop, execute and assess how it goes. I have been gathering a lot of data to assist in this process so that I am assured that it will benefit all learners.

Data

We worked through both ELA assessments and Math assessments/Benchmarks this week.  I really learned a lot about how these give a decent indication of how much students understand about the content and standards. It is very important to teach students what they need to know, BUT also it is important to go as far as possible so that students can develop an appreciation for whatever subject we are learning about. It also helps them to develop those 21st Century schools. I feel sometimes Teachers and Administration can get so caught up in scores that they miss the opportunities to really help students to learn and retain as well as apply their knowledge in the real world.  Still working on this.  

ADVICE

Take time for yourself. If it is only one day, one half a day or an hour a day, do something that makes you happy. Stress can build up super quick and you don’t want to turn that frustration on your students or your loved ones. Any great leader will tell you this so take it to heart!

Standard 1 1A: Teachers lead in their classrooms

As I continue now as lead teacher (still student of course) I have worked on how I want my classroom to operate and be mindful of how my CE wants the class to operate as well. We have worked really hard developing plans and tactics for this like dealing with “side talkers”, keeping students (reluctant and just bored) on task, how to be respectful in the classroom and out of the classroom as well as how to act toward other adults at school and in life. Also taking critiques from other teachers and my Supervisor is a big part of leading in the classroom.

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

I am continually looking for opportunities to encourage and inspire my students. I love listening to their stories and sharing words of wisdom with them. Even though my school is mostly rural and mostly upper(lower), middle and upper middle class students, they all have struggles and tough things in their life that they go through. I really am intentional about being understanding but firm and knowing when to go a little easier on them if I know they are struggling. Never assume bad behavior is just for bad behavior sake. That does happen, but there are always situations that we have to analyze before we jump to conclusions.

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

This week was also very informative to me in that I was able to spend a lesson in the classroom with our county Math coach: Dr. Ana Floyd. She started our fraction unit 4.NF.1 this week to demonstrate some methods and strategies dealing with fractions as well as classroom management. I learned a lot about this area and intend on using this mindset and approach in all areas.

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

Again, this week was all about getting everything lined up for a routine I can follow each week for lesson planning. I have looked extensively at the curriculum map and cross checked with each CE on the best method or direction to plan for each day. Keeping in mind, we have field trips, specials, sick students, possible snow days ( NOOOOOOOO ) to contend with, it is important to be prepared for anything and everything possible!

Standard 5: Teacher Reflect on their Practice

I was able to attend our boot camp last weekend to begin preparation for edTPA and also to be encouraged by all of my classmates. We are all doing a great job as far as I am concerned and it was nice to talk with each other about struggles, funny moments and ideas that we can use. This goes back to building that PLN and I feel we have done great at this, even if we live far from each other. I would also say having our Math Coach come in gave me a new appreciation for seasoned, exemplar teachers.  

My goals for this week/weekend are to have my edTPA lesson progression locked down and begin planning for that. I also will pick an area of teaching to get a feel of how that progression will work/flow. I will also begin updating and finalizing my website. I am trying to keep each week updated in the “what are we up to” section of the site. This way parents can be in the know and students can show them and explore the topic at home with them. (Hopefully this will workout!)

I think I have asked enough questions for my CE and Dr. Parker to handle this week so everything seems to be moving right along.  Have a great week next week friends!

You Got This!!

Week Of Friday Jan. 6th, 2017

Level of Difficulty: 3/4 (working on transferring power mmmmmuuuuuhahahaha!!)

Observe

As I begin the process of moving into the full time role as Student Teacher, I am working on developing rapport with my math group. So far, I was able to teach a mini lesson last week and this week I will begin assisting and really developing a style to match the math CE as well. She is really great with her class and I have learned a lot from each teacher I have worked with. I will continue to lead in the class changes, lunch line, recess, specials etc…  I also have watched a ton of Youtube and reflected extensively on different websites to work out a better classroom management style.  I will update soon on this.  Another tool I would like to use as a development resource is #observeme for my fellow classmates and teachers to give me options, critiques and advice.  (Thanks Amber Townsend for leading the way on this for this semester!!!)

Reflect

For the start of this week, I have been pondering what full time teaching will look like. There are no reservations, but I continue to want the best for my class and to develop the best methods possible for each student to learn. I have one student in my Math group who is VERY stubborn and I love it! I know, I am a glutton for punishment. This interests me because while doing a symmetry lesson I attempted to get her to participate. Every student was asked to come to the board and help me figure out how to create symmetry with different shapes. This student continually raised her hand and so I asked her to show her work on the board. She said “no, come look!” I walked to her desk and she had created the shape on the board on her desk with the coins that she had in her wallet. I proceeded to ask her how to split the heart and make it symmetrical and she was unclear. We worked it out together with her classmates and she finally figured it out!  THEN she wanted the whole class to see what she did!

We continually read and talk about differentiated learning, but this situation made it very real in my eyes. It showed me WHY it is important and HOW to incorporate a way for this student. Sometimes, students need a different platform. This doesn’t mean let them do whatever they want to do, it means sometimes we have to offer them choices on how they provide us feedback for our assessment purposes. This could be PBL, using technology to present work, find what interests the student etc. Forcing a student to perform is very negative and counterproductive in my mind. All this to say, I want to be super intentional with my lesson plans and my instruction. It will benefit us all, but for the next 10 weeks, I will see this in action and continue to mold my learning and my pedagogy through real life experience.

Focus

Not to sound like a broken record, but I am continually working on classroom management. This is not to sound like I don’t have it together, but my hope is that by the end of the semester, I will have developed my teacher voice and learned what works and what doesn’t. This week, I am continuing to establish my presence more and set clear expectations as well as follow through with my students. Short term, my goals are similar with this, but I feel the less I have to repeat myself, the more I will feel like I am progressing. The most important part for me with CM is making sure each student is understanding and that I am able to convey the information and direction efficiently.

Be Productive

To be more productive this week, I am intentionally and thoroughly looking ahead. My CE and I have been able to work on plans during our Teacher Workdays, but we won’t always have that luxury. Taking each moment I can, I am thinking about what I can check off my list and how I can stay ahead (for my sanity and so I can create quality instruction) as well as not putting extra stress on my Supervisor :) !

Have Courage

Courage for this week is to be strong in my abilities. We all still have much to learn (always a student) but I think sometimes, myself included, we are not confident in all that we have learned and experienced. I was reminded of this by a fifth grade teacher on my hall.  She asked me how it was going Monday and I said good, I think. She said she has seen me in action and that I look like I know what I am doing. This was very good for me to hear and I told her I wasn’t sure if I was on point or not.  She said “You don’t give yourself enough credit. I have seen you as I walked by the classroom, YOU GOT THIS!!”  Confidence is learned by doing/trying something you are unsure of. If you fail, learn from it and try again. Kids can tell if you are unsure so it is important to convey that confidence to them.

Begin Anew

One new thing I want to implement this week is being more proactive as a leader in the classroom. I have been working on this over the past month, but now as I transition, my focus needs to be set and directed at running the show. I will still need help, but it will be in the form of feedback from week to week and in real time from my CE.

Data

This week, we worked on Data Notebooks that show the progress each student has made since the first of the year. They will be showing these to their parents on Friday and then we will have an assembly to award students who have achieved A or A/B honor roll for the last quarter as well as other outstanding students. We are also working through a writing assessment on Wednesday-Friday. It is cool to see where these students have progressed and giving them a chance to take ownership of their work.

ADVICE

Work on developing an organization system. This goes for paperwork, Google files, lessons, financial aid paperwork, EVERYTHING! It will make life easier as well as show your CE and Principal that you are professional. You will have to be intentional about this. The more you practice your system, the better you will be at it and the more accurate you will be.  

Standard 1 1A: Teachers lead in their classrooms

• This week will be a lighter week on instruction. Since this is the case, my goals are to continue to implement classroom management and work with my CE on how to develop the best strategies to encourage participation. Making sure students are on task and putting forth their best work is important to me.

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

• Tattle tales, lunchroom spot thieves, pencil thieves etc. are going to happen in our classrooms. How you deal with this is very organic to me. Each situation is different, but having a plan in place that students already understand is a great idea. This seems like not a big deal, but I find myself every week trying to break up arguments and confrontations. Not only does it help the teacher out to have a way of dealing with these situations, it is our job while we have our students to show them how to be good citizens in our society.

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

• We are beginning Poetry soon, so I am brushing up on my knowledge on this area of ELA. We are also beginning fractions too, so this is top priority. Not only am I brushing up but I am using the instruction methods I have learned as well as researching new ways to instruct to include real world application as well as visual stimuli to encourage students to not “memorize” the content.

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

• I began this week during teacher workdays to prepare for next week (Week 5). I am beginning to think about how I want to lead as we progress through our ELA block as well as how I will teach the math content. We are on a pretty set schedule, but we are able to move around content if we need to. This enables me to plan in advance which is nice! The more I work with the classes, the better I can prepare to differentiate and create plans that flow as well as make sense to all students.

Standard 5: Teacher Reflect on their Practice

• This is ongoing for me. Each time I see my CE do something awesome I take note. I am on Twitter constantly seeing what everyone is doing and trying. I am constantly reading blogs (I try to read everyone in class each week) as well as other articles to get a better understanding of pedagogy, new and old tips as well as how other teachers deal with stress and other factors of education.

My agenda for the weekend is to attend the edTPA seminar and learn as much as I can to prepare my heart and soul for making the best submission possible. I have already started working on creating lessons for the following week, but I do plan on working on any revisions I need to make.

My CE and I have discussed all of the necessary transitions and requirements for the next process in student teaching. I believe everything is great as of now. She continues to support me and give me great feedback so I am confident in moving forward.

If I need ya Dr. Parker, I will Tweet ya!  Haha!  

Week 3: Confessions of a Broke Student Teacher

Week Of Friday Jan. 20th, 2017

Level of Difficulty: 4 (Writer’s Workshop 3 day micro unit and starting to plan for each week)

Observe

First off, I would like to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. and the inspiration he brought to the world.  We were off in remembrance of MLK on Monday, so we had an extra day to reflect, prepare, and somewhat relax before the start of the week.  I was able to talk with my students on Tuesday about the significant impact this man had on our Nation and how could follow in his footsteps by following our dreams and believing in something bigger than ourselves.

This week, I began planning a little more in depth and watching my CE when I wasn’t fully teaching.  My plan was to start full time teaching next week, but we have two teacher workdays and benchmarks the rest of the week...so that will be pushed back another week. That is good and not so good, but it will be beneficial in the end I believe.  My CE is a GREAT example to follow and I have learned a lot from her. I will continue to monitor these traits and learn from them for FT student teaching. I am learning more and more about the importance of classroom management, transitions, being thorough with your plans and developing that teacher “stare” (as well as authority).  Students know when you have your guard down. They know when you won’t follow through.  They also know when you mean business.  I will continue to watch my CE and others in this area.  This is going to be my goal for the end of the month.  My “I CAN” statement is: I CAN develop respect and strong leadership in my class. (all three)

Reflect
From a work perspective, I believe I worked pretty hard. I created a  3 Day micro unit developing a writer’s workshop.  The first lesson was WAY too much.  So I broke it down into 3.  We developed a research paper about the bald eagle. The first lesson almost totally bombed, but the second one (during which I was observed by Dr. Parker) went a lot smoother.  Now I know in Elementary you don’t always have that luxury to teach one lesson twice a day, but we have block scheduling, so that is a plus.  This was a great experience for me because it showed me how a pretty typical FULL day of teaching will be.  I have taken over many of the responsibilities (herding the students around, getting them from here and there, morning read aloud [we are reading Esio Trot!!] and other teacher duties.) so I am getting a good taste of what the next few months will fill like.  My thoughts this week is that this is a great fit for me as a professional.  Other thoughts are….what in the world!  Haha!  Just kidding.  I really do feel more comfortable and I know with time and more experience, things will flow better for all of us. I’m rooting for all of us!!  

Focus

So, a few snow days, benchmarks, classroom/teacher swaps and teacher workdays have pushed back my LRP.  BUT, I am constantly and consistently working on my short term goals.  I continue each day to build rapport with my students.  My classroom management skills are still developing but getting better than a month ago. Today is Wednesday, but I plan on speaking with students to remind them that I will be taking the lead soon and make sure we are on the same page. Still chipping away.

Be Productive

This week was rather productive, and next week will be less demanding.  But I have a completed curriculum map now that my team has developed. I will use next week to plan for the following week when I will take full control of the class. This way I can have a solid week under my belt and make sure everything is top notch.  

Have Courage

Courage for this week would be to not to be held back by my own self doubt. As most of you know, I am pretty positive for the most part. But all of us have that tendency to be frozen with fear from time to time or not believe in our abilities. Friends, I have seen a lot of your work. Our crew is VERY equipped to do great things. That doesn’t mean we are perfect, but we are grinders. We work hard until our lessons, skills and abilities are top notch. My mantra is try something you think you can not do. If you fail, try it again. If you see it is not going to work, scrap it and rebuild. We want to do our best and be proficient in our requirements, but this is a great time so see what bombing on a lesson looks like and how we can recover from it. Have courage to grow.

Begin Anew

So for next week, I will not let doubt control me. This means really digging in a researching my trouble areas, build great lessons and submit them to my CE and Dr. Parker, and continue to listen to any criticism (constructive of course) and analyzing it to see how I can grow from it.

Data

As we continue to look at benchmarks and other assessments from this week and next week, I can get a better idea of how to teach and how other elements are affected by this. Parents and students are obviously very concerned about getting good grades and scoring high on these tests. I see how it puts pressure on teachers and students.  I feel assessments have their place, but it can create unnecessary fear.

ADVICE
For upcoming Student teachers I would recommend really thinking about how you design your lessons. There is a great book I have been looking through at Barnes and Noble (broke college student style) called: Growth Mindset Coach by by Annie Brock  (Author), Heather Hundley. It has some great insight into lesson design, but also in how to build your teacher skills in management, relationships etc.  Teaching a lesson during your first year of a K-6 degree is way different than full time student teaching, at least for me. Earlier, you can teach a well planned and executed plan and split. When you are in the lead however you have to take into consideration controlling behavior all day, resource teachers and other distractions and moving from one portion of the day to another. One day might be super productive.  The next day, you may think you are in a different classroom. It is important to plan accordingly in your lesson.  How are you going to model learning?  What are you going to do with ADHD students to keep them on task? MAKE YOUR LESSONS MEANINGFUL!  Students get bored easy.  Just my two cents.

Standard 1 1A: Teachers lead in their classrooms

This is a constant struggle, but getting better for sure.  My CE is continually encouraging me in this area and giving me ideas to strengthen the way I lead our room. I am also attending planning meetings and PLC meetings and offering input.  I am not stepping on toes but showing that I care and I want to do the best job possible (always interviewing :) )

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

Two times today I was able to establish my leadership for my students, but also I am

continually working on building relationships with them so that they will want to do good. Not just behaviorally, but that is the starting point. I don’t want to be the constantly nagging teacher, so the more I can get them to focus and follow directions the first time the less correcting I will have to work toward.  

One day, I pulled a student aside as we changed classes who is an exemplar student in academics as well as behavior and respect. I have noticed him the last few weeks really standing out. He is quiet (which doesn’t mean behaved) but he doesn’t speak when I am teaching, he doesn’t goof with his friends and he always tries to answer. I am not saying he is perfect, but he is what we would probably all love to have in our class.  Anyway, I spoke with him and explained that have noticed how he is a leader and how he is modeling such a great example of behavior and interaction. I let him know that I am starting a new system next week to reward those doing the right thing when no one is looking as well as immediate rewards for great behavior during group time and lessons.  I want those who are doing great to feel that recognition even if it is not for a reward.  This can go a long way in developing that rapport with all students.

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

I worked on my Writer’s Workshop a lot this week and I did plenty of research on how to make it all work. I wanted to get more familiar with how other lesson planners design their content to help me. My CE and I developed more strategies that worked well with this lesson (mostly her ideas) but she has helped me see how to better develop students’ understanding and how the lesson will flow better.  #teachingishard

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

This goes along with the previous statement. I am really seeing a lot of what works, what doesn’t.  What needs to be improved?  What can remain but be modified? How can I engage more or how can I provide more understanding or vigor to higher performing students?  How can I make lessons more personable? These are questions I ask everyday.

Standard 5: Teacher Reflect on their Practice

In our PLC today (Thursday) I received a free account to one of our teacher resources for ELA. I kind of geeked out about it because I am a broke Student Teacher and every free thing is awesome!  This will help me develop ways to lead students correctly toward proficiency in their assessments and their writing in general. (I might be able to share some PFDs if anyone needs something)  Again, growth mindset coach is a great book to check into for reflection.

Tasks for this weekend are to develop and hopefully complete my website to have it up for parents next week.  I will have two teacher workdays next week to work with my CE and my Math CE on lesson plans. Hopefully I can plan a math lesson or two that I can teach next week. I also will work on my Global Awareness for January.  

The CEs are good to go for now. I have spoken with my Math CE about edTPA and we picked my 3 focus students.  It should be interesting.  :)   I am confident in the next week and will begin completing my first full week of lessons starting this weekend.  Here we go!  I am rooting for you all!