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.