Week of Reflection: January 29, 2021

  

• Rate and explain your overall experience of the week: 1 - Very difficult to 5 - Great week

                This week was a 4. It was a really good week. I was able to teach all day on Monday and Tuesday, and I taught up until lunch today and yesterday. I also recorded my first observation video. I felt really good about my lessons this week. Phonics was a little shaky, but it is the first time that I have taught it outside of subbing occasionally. My favorite moment of the week was when we were discussing the word "drop" in phonics (we were learning R-blends this week). I was showing my students an example of drop while dropping my smartboard pen from one hand to the other. One of my boys said "It's like when you drop a rock on a watermelon and break it." Which is a correct way to use the word. Our next word was 'trip' and the same boy said "Like when you trip over the watermelon." I am not sure where that came from but it was a great highlight of life in Kindergarten. You never know what they are going to say.

• Response to these questions to end your week:

• • Observe: What pleasant surprises/accomplishments did I achieve this week? I was very proud of the sequencing lesson that I taught this week. I felt like the students were very engaged.

  • Reflect: What lessons did my work/experiences teach me that I will build upon next week? When I was teaching math on Monday and Tuesday I realized that this is an area that I am really lacking. I will definitely be spending time studying the Eureka Math Lessons even more before I begin teaching them the week after next.

  • Focus:  How are my short-term efforts and my long-term goals still aligned? My short-term goals are to write task 2 this weekend and task 4 as soon as I am able next week. This is aligned with my long-term goal of passing edTPA.

  • Be Productive: What could I have spent more or less time doing? Honestly, I feel that I have spent my time wisely this week. Monday and Tuesday were spent teaching and when I got home I prepared for the next day. On Wednesday I had an accident where I spilled a Diet Dr. Pepper on my computer. This motivated my to back up all of my edTPA videos that night which was something I had been putting off.

  • Have Courage:  How did apprehension and indecision impact what I did and didn’t do? I can't think of any areas where these things impacted me this week.

  • Begin Anew: What is the first logical step(s) for next week? What mental clutter can I clear? I will spend the weekend writing Task 2 and starting my lesson plans for 2/8-2/12.

Adapted from: Cernoff, M. (2013, August 7). 7 Questions to End Your Week With. . Retrieved July 21, 2014, from http://www.marcandangel.com/2013/08/08/7-questions-to-end-your-week-with/

• What were some data you analyzed this week and how did it help inform your instructional decisions? There wasn't any official data that I looked at this week. I did pay attention to my informal assessments during phonics so that I could adjust and review things that students were struggling with.

• What is one piece of advice you can share with other student teachers? BACK UP YOUR EDTPA VIDEOS!! Go, right now if you haven't already. Mine were fine, but the panic I felt when I spilled that drink is not worth it. I should have listened to our wonderful University support sooner.

• NC Teacher Candidate Standards (Be sure to reference activities from your lesson plans to solidify your answer.)

• • Pick an element from standard one of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element. 1b: Teachers demonstrate leadership in the school. This week I had the opportunity to sit in on two different meetings at my school. The first was a grade level meeting with the Kindergarten teacm to discuss K-Day and how we could make it best fit the needs of our parents in the current Covid situation. The other was the School Improvement team meeting. I was not an active participant in this meeting but I was able to listen and gain insight into some of the concerns within my school.

  • Pick an element from standard two of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element. 2c. Teachers treat students as individuals. When I am planning my lessons, working with students in small groups, and just having conversations with them on the playground I try to keep this in mind and appreciate the differences and unique abilities of all of my students.

  • Pick an element from standard three of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element. 3a. Teachers align their instruction with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. As I was writing my lesson plans for next week, there were a couple of areas that I was not quite sure about how to align, so I asked my CE and read through all of the different standards to make sure that I was giving my students the best instruction possible.

  • Pick an element from standard four of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element. 4d. Teachers integrate and utilize technology in their instruction. This is definitely an area that I am working hard to improve. I am not great at the technology in our classroom, and I am not great at truly integrating it into our lessons as opposed to just using it for things like read alouds and videos. I am working on this and finding ways to allow our students to use it as well.

  • Pick an element from standard five of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element. 5c. Teachers function effectively in a complex, dynamic environment. This is something that I am working on as well. I like my routine and for things to remain the same. I am making an effort to research new ways to present information to my students and considering the ways I can change to better myself as well.

• Other:

• • What components of your edTPA and portfolio have you started to complete? Task 1, Task 2, and Task 4 of edTPA. I have started working on the classroom management, professional development, and communication log pieces of my portfolio.

  • What support does your Clinical Educator need from your University Supervisor? What support do you need from your University Supervisor? None that we know of at this time.

Week of Reflection: January 22, 2021

 Week of Reflection: January 22, 2021
  
Rate and explain your overall experience of the week: 1 - Very difficult to 5 - Great week.
               This week was a 4. It was really good, but a bit more tiring than I expected. I started picking up part of the day this week by taking on morning duty through the time our students go to specials which is at 8:45. I am not getting there any earlier than I usually do, I am not doing anything drastically different, but I am exhausted this week. Maybe it has nothing to do with teaching, I'm not sure, I just know I am tired. Students have been great this week. Our Cohort A students tend to be quieter, so the lesson that I taught them on Tuesday felt kind of strange, but Cohort B is much more responsive so the last two days went better.
Response to these questions to end your week:
Observe: What pleasant surprises/accomplishments did I achieve this week?
              When I went to work on Tuesday my CE had prepared a little gift bag to welcome me to student teaching. It was a very thoughtful gift and a nice surprise to start my week and my official student teaching.
Reflect: What lessons did my work/experiences teach me that I will build upon next week?
              I learned that my Cohort A needs something different to become engaged in the morning. I am not quite sure what that is yet, but I am going to try some different things next week. We do a good morning song, and they have struggled to be "with it" since coming back from Christmas. I would like to find something different to do to get them excited about being at school and ready to learn.
Focus:  How are my short-term efforts and my long-term goals still aligned?
              My short-term goals are to research different strategies to help me be a better teacher, and this is aligned with my long-term goals since the ultimate goal is to be the best teacher that I can be. I also have short-term goals to complete the different parts of my edTPA, and that aligns with my long-term goal of completing edTPA and passing the first time.
Be Productive: What could I have spent more or less time doing?
              Overall, I feel that I spent my time productively this week. I spent all of my time during the day either teaching or observing my CE, and I spent time on the planning day talking to her about the different assignments that are due this week, and getting her help and advice as I am planning my lessons for the next few weeks.
Have Courage:  How did apprehension and indecision impact what I did and didn’t do?
              This is the first week so far that I don't feel that I struggled with either of these things at all. I did everything that I set out to do at the beginning of the week.
Begin Anew: What is the first logical step(s) for next week? What mental clutter can I clear?
               My goals for the weekend are to work on task 2 of edTPA and write my lesson plans for the first week in February since that is when I will begin teaching full-time in my classroom. I also plan to do some reading of some books that my CE recommended that she uses in her classroom.
Adapted from: Cernoff, M. (2013, August 7). 7 Questions to End Your Week With. . Retrieved July 21, 2014, from http://www.marcandangel.com/2013/08/08/7-questions-to-end-your-week-with/
What were some data you analyzed this week and how did it help inform your instructional decisions?
            This week I was able to attend Data Dives with my CE. This is a time when the grade level meets with the Title 1 staff, administration, and the school psychologist to plan interventions for students as needed. After this, my CE and I sat down and used the data to rearrange our literacy groups within the classroom. I appreciated her asking for my input and being able to look at the data and plan together in order to make sure that we are providing our students with the instruction that they need.
What is one piece of advice you can share with other student teachers?
            If you can, attend as many different types of meetings with your CE as you can. It may not always be possible, in the past some of ours have occurred during instructional time, so someone had to be with the children, but if they happen during specials or on workdays, really try to go. I think it provides great insight into how decisions are made about different things and offers you a great opportunity to get more information on your students.

NC Teacher Candidate Standards (Be sure to reference activities from your lesson plans to solidify your answer.)
    Pick an element from standard one of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element.
        1a: Teachers lead in their classrooms. This week I feel that I was able to lead in my classroom by attending Data Dives and helping my CE plan intervention and guided reading groups based on the data.
    Pick an element from standard two of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element.
        2d: Teachers adapt their teaching for the benefit of students with special needs. This week I met with my CE and our EC teacher about my student who has an IEP. I was able to gain a lot of insight and think of some new strategies to use when planning instruction for him.
    Pick an element from standard three of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element.
        3d: Teachers make instruction relevant for their students. This week I was teaching my students a social-emotional lesson on feelings. I was able to relate this to different areas of their lives by asking them about things that they might feel worried about and teaching them some different coping mechanisms to use when they feel worried.
    Pick an element from standard four of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element.
        4c: Teachers use a variety of instructional methods. During the social-emotional lesson that I taught this week, I incorporated instruction that would meet the needs of different learners in my class. We had discussions, listened to a read aloud, did some writing, and practiced some different techniques to help us when we feel worried. I made sure that I gave techniques that could be used in different situations, and that each student would have at least one technique that they would feel comfortable using based on what I know about their personalities.
    Pick an element from standard five of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element.
        5a: Teachers analyze student learning. I think I addressed this standard in a few different ways this week. First, in the Data Dives, I was able to attend I was able to analyze our students' data from iStation and see where they need additional support. Also, during my instruction this week I was constantly analyzing and thinking about what was working and what wasn't so that I could adapt the next lesson to better meet the needs of my students.
Other:
What components of your edTPA and portfolio have you started to complete?
                        Task 1 is nearly finalized, Task 2 is recorded, I am completing Task 4 next week.
                        I have worked on the School Improvement Plan and Classroom management plan for my portfolio.
What support does your Clinical Educator need from your University Supervisor? What support do you need from your University Supervisor?
                        None that I am aware of currently.

Week of Reflection: January 15, 2021

• Rate and explain your overall experience of the week: 1 - Very difficult to 5 - Great week

                This week was a 4 for me. It has been really good. I haven't gotten as much accomplished on my work for GWU as I would like, but things at school went well and I was able to finish recording my edTPA learning segment.

• Response to these questions to end your week:

• Observe: What pleasant surprises/accomplishments did I achieve this week?

                        As I said above, the only thing that I really feel that I have accomplished this week is recording my edTPA lessons. I did have a pleasant surprise that my CE really liked the activity that I used to help my students remember what the parts of a Venn Diagram are and how we use them. That made me feel like I really can do this. I was feeling a little down before that.

• Reflect: What lessons did my work/experiences teach me that I will build upon next week?

                        One of the experiences that I had this week was having a lesson that just clicked. It felt right for me, the students were engaged and with me, and they remembered the things I had taught them last week so we were able to build on that this week. I will build on this by having more confidence in myself and my abilities to think of and implement good ideas.

• Focus:  How are my short-term efforts and my long-term goals still aligned?

                        My short-term efforts are still baby steps to help me achieve my long-term goals. I have had to adapt them a little based on some changes that were out of my control, but they are still aligned.

• Be Productive: What could I have spent more or less time doing?

                        I could have spent more time working on things that I need to submit for my portfolio. I could have spent less time worrying over little things that probably won't have too much of an impact on the big picture.

• Have Courage:  How did apprehension and indecision impact what I did and didn’t do?

                        I could have submitted my lesson plans for next week to my CE earlier and cleared something from my to-do list if I hadn't been apprehensive that they weren't good enough. She offered me some positive feedback, a few small changes, but nothing worth the amount of worry I went through.

• Begin Anew: What is the first logical step(s) for next week? What mental clutter can I clear?

                        Once I get through the edTPA Bootcamp tomorrow, I plan to immediately start planning the lessons that I will be teaching on January 25-29 so that I can get those submitted to my CE early and move on to other things.

Adapted from: Cernoff, M. (2013, August 7). 7 Questions to End Your Week With. . Retrieved July 21, 2014, from http://www.marcandangel.com/2013/08/08/7-questions-to-end-your-week-with/

• What were some data you analyzed this week and how did it help inform your instructional decisions?

            My CE and I spent more time looking through our students' iStation data and planning new small group assignments for them based on their needs. This will help me as I plan for these groups and as I plan differentiated instruction and supports in the whole group setting. 

• What is one piece of advice you can share with other student teachers?

            Don't be afraid to ask questions, even if you are a TA and have been doing this for a long time. There is a lot of stuff that we don't know or have access to as TAs and so there is a lot of stuff that we may not know. Our CEs may assume we know since we have been TAs for a while, but don't be afraid to tell them if you don't understand. They want to help us, they just need to know what we need.

• NC Teacher Candidate Standards (Be sure to reference activities from your lesson plans to solidify your answer.)

• Pick an element from standard one of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element.

                        1a. Teachers lead in their classrooms: During my edTPA learning segment, I gave my students several opportunities to collaborate with each other. I also used this time to remind them how important it is to be respectful of each other and to give everyone a chance to participate.

• Pick an element from standard two of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element.

                        2d. Teachers adapt their teaching for the benefit of students with special needs: I am not sure whether this belongs under this week or next week, but since I was planning it this week I included it here. Next week I will begin teaching the social-emotional lessons to our students. We have one student who has been diagnosed with ASD. I know that this can make understanding feelings a bit difficult for this student, so I asked my CE and our EC teacher for some additional resources that I can use when teaching these things to him.

• Pick an element from standard three of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element.

                       3c. Teachers recognize the interconnectedness of content areas/disciplines: This week as I was teaching the edTPA learning segment I used the books The Hat and The Mitten by Jan Brett. Both of these books take place in winter, and we have been learning about winter during our science and social studies lessons, so I was able to relate the books back to the other things our students had been learning.  

• Pick an element from standard four of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element.

                        4c. Teachers use a variety of instructional methods: As I taught my edTPA lessons this week, I made sure to teach the concepts in different ways in order to meet the needs of the different learners in my class. I used hand motions, a Venn diagram, and hula hoops that the students got to move and stand in to help them remember the definitions of compare and contrast as well as how they can use a Venn Diagram to help them organize their thoughts when they are comparing and contrasting two items.

• Pick an element from standard five of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element.

                        5a. Teachers analyze student learning: As I was teaching cohort A this week, I was already thinking about what worked and what didn't work in my lessons. Although I didn't change those things at this time since it is my edTPA learning segment and I wanted it to be the same for both groups. This helped me to see how teachers are constantly assessing student understanding during instruction and how they use this information to adapt for the next lesson, and sometimes in the middle of the lesson, they are teaching.

• Other:

• What components of your edTPA and portfolio have you started to complete?

                        I have almost completed edTPA task 1 in preparation for the Bootcamp tomorrow. I have finished recording my learning segment for task 2. I have not worked on any other elements of my portfolio this week because I have been devoting my time to edTPA.

• What support does your Clinical Educator need from your University Supervisor?

• What support do you need from your University Supervisor?

                        Neither of us feels that we need any additional support at this time.

Week of Reflection: January 8, 2021

 

• Rate and explain your overall experience of the week: 1 - Very difficult to 5 - Great week
• This week was around a 3 for me. Not because it was especially difficult, but the first week after a break is always a bit tough. The students have to get readjusted to the schedule and rules, and so do I. I also started filming my edTPA this week which added some stress. Today ended up being a snow day (more of a rain day, but oh well), so that made the week a little bit shorter.
• Response to these questions to end your week:
• Observe: What pleasant surprises/accomplishments did I achieve this week?
• I was proud of myself this week for recording my first edTPA lessons. With Cohort A I was able to do Lessons 1 and 2. With B I was only able to record 1, but I felt like it went better than Lesson 1 did for cohort A. I was pleasantly surprised by how well both groups did with the lessons I was presenting. They made some great connections on their own. 
• Reflect: What lessons did my work/experiences teach me that I will build upon next week?
• I was very nervous about the first lesson. Even though I have been an assistant for years, and I have been with these students all year, I was still nervous to teach the lesson. Partially because it was the first lesson of my student teaching career, and partially because it was my edTPA lesson and that is such a big deal. By the end of the week, I was much more comfortable with myself and with my students, so I plan to build on that feeling and become more relaxed and comfortable with myself and my teaching. 
• Focus:  How are my short-term efforts and my long-term goals still aligned?
• All of my short-term goals are pieces of my long-term goals. I have reviewed the Syllabus for Student teaching, and the requirements for the portfolio and I have started to break these things down into bite-sized pieces so that they aren't so overwhelming, and so that I can have a full picture of everything that I need to do to be successful this semester. 
• Be Productive: What could I have spent more or less time doing?
• Overall, I am pretty satisfied with my productivity for the week. I balanced work, school, and family pretty well. I know that this will become more difficult in the weeks ahead, but I am going to try to keep a balance. I used my time at school wisely and did a lot of my planning while I was there so that I could spend more time with my family when I was at home. 
• Have Courage:  How did apprehension and indecision impact what I did and didn’t do?
• Apprehension definitely caused me to hold back in the first lesson that I taught this week. I was nervous and it caused me to feel like the whole lesson was bad. After talking with my CE I was able to see that it was actually a good lesson and that I just need to relax and look for the good. 
• Begin Anew: What is the first logical step(s) for next week? What mental clutter can I clear?
• My first steps for next week are to write a rough draft of Task 1 and to prepare the lesson plans that I need to have to my CE by Wednesday. I would like to have both of these things completed tomorrow so that I can take some time on Sunday to review and revise. 

Adapted from: Cernoff, M. (2013, August 7). 7 Questions to End Your Week With. . Retrieved July 21, 2014, from http://www.marcandangel.com/2013/08/08/7-questions-to-end-your-week-with/

• What were some data you analyzed this week and how did it help inform your instructional decisions?
• Our students completed their iStation middle of year assessment this week. Although we haven't fully analyzed this data yet, we did begin looking at it to see which students will be needing extra support in the future. We will be analyzing this data further next week to adjust our guided reading and writing groups and determine which students may need additional support from our Title One teachers. 
• What is one piece of advice you can share with other student teachers?
• My one piece of advice comes from being an assistant for many years more than from student teaching. I feel like most of us already know this, but relationships are so important. Taking the time to know your students and know when something doesn't seem quite right with them makes such a difference in how you teach them. Is there a student who is normally on it and with you every step and today they aren't? That is a good indicator that something isn't quite right. Maybe they just didn't sleep well, but it could be something bigger so it is always worth asking them about. I find this to be even more true now that we only see the students face to face 2 days a week. 

• NC Teacher Candidate Standards (Be sure to reference activities from your lesson plans to solidify your answer.) 
• Pick an element from standard one of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element.
• Standard 1a: Teachers lean in their classrooms: As I mentioned above, my CE and I began looking at iStation data in order to appropriately plan and provide instruction for our students moving forward in this semester. 
• Pick an element from standard two of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element.
• Standard 2a: Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults: With our current Plan B set-up (cohort A on Monday and Tuesday, and cohort B on Thursday and Friday) it had been almost 3 weeks since we had seen our students. Because of this, we took extra time at the beginning of Monday and Thursday to welcome them back, and show that we cared about the things that they had done over the break. We also spent a lot of time reminding them of the rules and worked to ease them back into the routine of school which is also an example of a way to show them that we care about them as people, not only about the academic side of things. 
• Pick an element from standard three of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element.
• Standard 3a: Teachers align their instruction with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study: When I was planning my edTPA lessons, I made sure that they matched the NCSCOS; and that they were on a topic that I felt my students would be interested in and ready for. I considered the other things that we have learned this year and the way that we have built on prior knowledge throughout the year and continued this process in my lessons.  
• Pick an element from standard four of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element.
• Standard 4a: Teachers know the ways in which learning takes place, and they know the appropriate levels of intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development of their students: This is an area that I am definitely still working on. I feel like I have a decent understanding of these things, but I am still working out what the differentiation for them looks like. I feel like I have started making progress in that area in my edTPA lesson plans, but I am continuing to finalize them this weekend. 
• Pick an element from standard five of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element.
• Standard 5c: Teachers function effectively in a complex, dynamic environment: I think that this is definitely something that all teachers are working on with the way things are right now. This week my CE and I discussed in depth different things that we will need to do if our school changes to Plan A or Plan C. I have spent some time this week researching and reading about different strategies to use in a fully remote situation, and we planned the ways that we will change things and help the students adapt if/when things change. 
• Other:
• What components of your edTPA and portfolio have you started to complete?
• I have completed my edTPA lesson plans and I have recorded the first two lessons.
• My CE and I discussed the student that I will work with for the Classroom Management element of the portfolio. We also discussed the next steps that I should take for the School Improvement Plan element. 
• What support does your Clinical Educator need from your University Supervisor?What support do you need from your University Supervisor?
• There is no additional support needed by either of us at this time. I have already emailed with a lot of questions and my US responded quickly.