Week of Reflection: Feb. 26, 2021

 

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

• This week was definitely a 5!! Having a classroom full of children for the first time in almost a year was one of my favorite moments ever. Our kids came in and got right to the business of making friends and following all of our new procedures. We spent time each day reviewing the rules and how we do things, and they did an amazing job with it. On Monday and Tuesday we used our time in the morning to let them get to know each other, and it was so much fun to watch all of the little (and big) personalities come together and make our classroom complete. My lessons all went pretty well, although everything takes a little longer. Every day got a little faster as they got more into the new routine.    

• Response to these questions to end your week:

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

  • The most pleasant surprise this week was how smoothly having all of the children back went. I was nervous, but they have all handled it so well and you would never know they all just met!

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

  • Math is still my most difficult subject. This week was worse towards the end because it was the students first time coming for 4 days and they were all so tired. Today (Thursday) we really struggled to get through math. I hope to see that improve next week, but I am going to look at some ways that I can make it go better for my students as well.

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

  • Short -term efforts :write the last of my edTPA. Long-term goals: pass edTPA.

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

  • I could have spent more time on edTPA this week. I honestly just came home so tired from having all of the children that it has been a struggle to focus on anything. Trying to do edTPA, write my lesson plans for next week, and be a mom has wiped me out.

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

  • I can't really think of anything that fits this question this week.

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

  • Finish edTPA!!!!

• 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? We didn't really look at any data this week. I did a review in phonics every day, so I made some observations there, but nothing "official".

• What is one piece of advice you can share with other student teachers? Don't feel like you have to recreate the wheel every week. I am going through the resources and materials that my CE uses each year and finding as much as I can to use for my centers. I have had to find or make some things because of lessons that I want to teach, but I always ask her what she has first. They have been doing this a long time and probably have most of what you want or need for your lessons.

• 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. 1c: Teachers lead in the teaching profession. This week I spent some time research Whole Brain Teaching. My CE uses a lot of the principles from it, and so I do because I have learned it from her. I spent some time this week really getting to know what it is and why it works for myself.

  • 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. This week my CE and I really embraced this standard by working hard to make the transition to a whole classroom as easy as possible for all of our students. We planned lots of activities to help everyone feel comfortable, and spent a lot of time reviewing so that all of our students could be successful with new routines as well as the old ones with more people in the room.

  • 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. 3b: Teachers know the content appropriate to their teaching specialty. This week I feel like I did this by planning Dr. Seuss lessons for next week. Next week is Read Across America week, so I tried to spend a lot of time thinking about ways to incorporate Dr. Seuss into the different content areas all week.

  • 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. 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 week we did this through the activities that we planned for our students to learn to do school as one big class, and I did this through my study of the Whole Brain Teaching method and research. 

  • 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 was evidenced by the way that I embraced the change of all of the students returning this week and worked hard to make it a great week for everyone. 

• Other:

• • What components of your edTPA and portfolio have you started to complete? Finishing the last of edTPA tonight.

  • What support does your Clinical Educator need from your University Supervisor? What support do you need from your University Supervisor? We do not need any additional support at this time.