Week of reflection: March 5, 2021

 Week of Reflection: March 5, 2021

  

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

            4.5 - submitting edtpa was very stressful, but other than that I have had a great week. This week is Read Across America week. We have been learning about Dr. Seuss, and reading lots of his books. We have also done a different spirit day each day. The students have had so much fun learning this week. They even thanked me for making learning so much fun for them this week. That was the best compliment I could have gotten.

• Response to these questions to end your week:

• • Observe: What pleasant surprises/accomplishments did I achieve this week? Submitted edTPA!!! Also, the compliment from my students was the best surprise ever.

  • Reflect: What lessons did my work/experiences teach me that I will build upon next week? I asked my CE to show me how she would teach a concept in math today. We are working on number bonds and writing number sentences, and I wasn't sure of the best way to word it to explain it to them, so she did part of the lesson today so I could see it in practice. I will use this information to plan my teaching of math for next week.

  • Focus:  How are my short-term efforts and my long-term goals still aligned? Since I have submitted edTPA, my new short-term goals are to work on and complete my portfolio and this is still aligned with my long-term goal of graduating and being the best teacher I can be.

  • Be Productive: What could I have spent more or less time doing? Since submitting edTPA, I could have spent less time worrying about it. It is out of my hands and I need to let it go until April 1.

  • Have Courage:  How did apprehension and indecision impact what I did and didn’t do? Aprehension made my work on edtpa all night to make sure it was good enough to submit. I pray that it was.

  • Begin Anew: What is the first logical step(s) for next week? What mental clutter can I clear? This weekend I plan to make a master list of the parts of my portfolio that are left to do so that I have a clear picture of what I need to do.

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 tier 2 and 3 students did an station assessment this week so my CE and I looked at their data to determine if any of our groups needed to change.

• What is one piece of advice you can share with other student teachers? Breath. You are doing great, enjoy the ride!

• 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.

                    Teachers demonstrate leadership in the school: this week I participated in several meetings at school including a grade level meeting and a meeting with our Title One specialists.

• 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.

                    Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults. This week I got to have my first "classroom talk" with my students. The thing that I really took away from this is how important it is to keep expectations high, but to also have a positive way to respond when things don't go as expected. My students were very disrespectful for another adult in our building this week, and I had to have a talk about being respectful and doing the right thing. I ended on a positive note, and gave them lots of positive reinforcement for the rest of the day every time they did anything correctly. I also challenged them to a class vs. Mrs. Ramsey competition today. They got a point every time they were respectful and remembered our rules, I got a point every time their didn't. At the end of the day, they beat me and got a reward. This sent a message that I care, and that I have high expectations because I care about them.

• 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.

                    Teachers know the content appropriate to their teaching specialty. This week was Read Across America Week, so I planned my lessons to incorporate the moral of different Dr. Seuss books, and to have fun with them too. Today we made Oobleck which my students loved!! I was able to connect literacy to every other content area, and I will continue this next 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.

                    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. My CE and I decided to move our math time starting next week. We have noticed that our students are tired and struggling to focus by the time we do math now that they are back 4 days, so we are going to move math to first thing in the morning and leave afternoons for math centers, science, social studies, and themed lessons. 

• 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.

                    Teachers analyze student learning. Related to the story above, my CE and I analyzed how we think our students learning could be improved and decided to move our schedule around.

• Other:

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

  • What support does your Clinical Educator need from your University Supervisor? What support do you need from your University Supervisor? No additional support at this time.