What a whirlwind of a week this week! I feel like it was just Monday. I am seeing more and more all of the aspects teachers have running through their heads every minute of the day. There is so much to be done, taught, assessed, etc. I am really learning to value every minute of the day and how to use every second to benefit the students and their learning. I would rate my week as a four this week. The students did great for the lessons I had planned this week. I have about four students who are still having behavior challenges. I have had them on behavior plans and I have reached out again to their parents this week to figure out the best strategies to use. I would say my pleasant surprise this week would be my students having successful transitions to anywhere in the school from the classroom. This is a big for my students and I can see how well my classroom management techniques are working. The lessons I learned this week is to take the extra time to explain and walk students through activities before they take part in them. I have noticed the students do not remember what they are supposed to be doing in their centers and will try to interrupt me during guided reading. I am going to build upon this lesson next week by taking time Monday to go through each centers activities with all of the students so they know what is expected of them when they come to the particular center. I will also have fast finishers folder for the students to have when they finish early and I am still with the guided reading groups. This will prevent the students from interrupting the guided reading time and they will know what to do. I would say my short-term efforts for next week and the remaining of student teaching is to really focus on the blooms taxonomy and asking the higher level questions to students. This is one of my weaknesses when I am teaching. I have been able to add more of these questions in my lessons this week, but I would like for them to come more as second nature at some point. I want to build more off of students responses and help them to dig deeper into their understandings. This short-term goal aligns to my long-term goal of being successful in my student teaching and as a future teacher. I could of spent less time redirect students and repeating myself, if I would of taken more time to explain the activities and expectations before hand. I would say my apprehension took place when one of our students had an episode in the lunchroom. My apprehension kept me from handling the situation with more authority. This act held up the lunch line and the progress of lunch, when I was trying to reason with him. The first steps for next week is to make sure I have all of my materials ready to go. I also need to make sure all of my edTPA task are ready to go for Friday. The data I was able to analyze this week would be how the students are doing with addition up to 10. This helped me determine who needs more help with addition and who understands it. One piece of advice I would share with other student teachers is to stay confident, believe in yourself, and stand by your decisions and reasons.
NC Teacher Candidate Standards
Standard 1a- Teachers lead in their classrooms. I was able to be a leader by taking control of the behavior in the class with my classroom management techniques.
Standard 2a- Teachers treat students as individuals. I was able to treat students as individuals by building on the relationships with each student. Also, by assessing the strengths and weaknesses of each student.
Standard 3d- Teachers make instruction relevant to students. I was able to relate the black history content to the changes we see today. The students were able to connect how we are able to go to school together, play together, eat together, etc. no matter our skin color.
Standard 4d- Teachers utilize technology in the classroom. I was able to use many smart board activities for math with addition this week. The students loved these and were fully engaged in the material by using these.
Standard 5b- Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals. I was able to see where my students are and I am able to see how I need to change my goals and teaching to help the students be successful in all subject areas.
I am working on my resume. No support needed at this time.
Friday, February 22, 2019
Friday, February 15, 2019
Weekly Reflections: February 15th
High ho, heigh ho, off to student teaching we go! I can not believe how fast my student teaching weeks are going by. I have really enjoyed this experience thus far and have learned more than I had imagined. This week went well with my lessons and the students behavior. I feel with each day I am becoming stronger and more confident with my classroom management techniques. I would rate this week as a five. Although, most of the week was good we still had a few behavioral challenges in the middle of the week. My pleasant surprise this week would be how well the 100th day centers went. The kindergarten teachers had never done these centers before, but wanted to try them after I had suggested it. Each center had different activities for the students to take part in for their 100th day celebration. This was a great way to control the chaos and the snack time. The students really enjoyed this experience. The lesson I learned this week would be to stay consistent with my classroom management techniques. The students haven't felt good so I had not been as consistent as the week before. I learned this does not work and I should stay consistent with the classroom management techniques so that the students respond well at all times. I will build upon this next week by staying consistent with the classroom management techniques so the students behavior will not erupt. I would say my short-term efforts for next week and the remaining of student teaching is to really focus on the blooms taxonomy and asking the higher level questions to students. This is one of my weaknesses when I am teaching. I have been able to add more of these questions in my lessons this week, but I would like for them to come more as second nature at some point. I want to build more off of students responses and help them to dig deeper into their understandings. This short-term goal aligns to my long-term goal of being successful in my student teaching and as a future teacher. By including the blooms taxonomy in my teaching, I will be able to push my students to take their understandings to the next level. I could of spent more time teaching if I would have been more consistent with my classroom management. Instead, of spending more time correcting behaviors in the classroom. I would say I was apprehensive about sharing my ideas with the PTO during the meeting. I will feel more confident for the next meeting to share my ideas. The next week my steps would be to make sure everything is ready for my lessons and centers. I will then have more time to work on my edTPA task. I was able to review the sight word data this week to determine which words we need to focus on next week for the students. One piece of advice I would share with other student teachers is to start your own collection of resources to use for your class next year. For example, the 100's day items I can save and use with my class next year.
NC Teacher Candidate Standards
Standard 1a- Teachers lead in their classrooms. I was able to be a leader by taking control of the behavior in the class with my classroom management techniques.
Standard 2a- Teachers treat students as individuals. I was able to treat students as individuals by greeting each student individually each morning at the door.
Standard 3d- Teachers make instruction relevant to students. I related the instruction to students by having them think about a time they took part in an event the characters in our stories did.
Standard 4d- Teachers utilize technology in the classroom. I was able to use many smart board activities for math with addition this week. The students loved these and were fully engaged in the material by using these.
Standard 5b- Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals. I was able to see where my students are and I am able to see how I need to change my goals and teaching to help the students be successful in all subject areas.
Other
I was able to work on the global awareness piece of the portfolio this week. My CE and I do not need any support at this time.
NC Teacher Candidate Standards
Standard 1a- Teachers lead in their classrooms. I was able to be a leader by taking control of the behavior in the class with my classroom management techniques.
Standard 2a- Teachers treat students as individuals. I was able to treat students as individuals by greeting each student individually each morning at the door.
Standard 3d- Teachers make instruction relevant to students. I related the instruction to students by having them think about a time they took part in an event the characters in our stories did.
Standard 4d- Teachers utilize technology in the classroom. I was able to use many smart board activities for math with addition this week. The students loved these and were fully engaged in the material by using these.
Standard 5b- Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals. I was able to see where my students are and I am able to see how I need to change my goals and teaching to help the students be successful in all subject areas.
Other
I was able to work on the global awareness piece of the portfolio this week. My CE and I do not need any support at this time.
Friday, February 8, 2019
Weekly Reflections: February 8th
This week I have learned and witnessed the effects of the flu, stomach bug, and other illnesses have on a classroom and a school. Our school has had a lot of staff and students out for the flu. My class alone we had many students out for the flu and stomach bug. The students who were in class did not feel good and we were constantly sending students to the office. I was out Monday with the stomach bug and have not felt very well all week. I have taught and done the best I can this week for my students. We have discussed many times this week how important it is to wash our hands and to keep our hands out of our mouth and face. The reward system is still working very well for the students this week. I would rate my overall experience this week as a four. Although, we all did not feel very well, we were still able to have a successful week at school. I was able to teach the students who were here and the students participated in each lesson. My pleasant surprise this week would be that one of the students who has challenging behavior was able to have a great week and was rewarded with a trip in the treasure box. He was so excited and could finally see how when you have good behavior you are able to receive rewards. The lessons my work experience taught me this week were to always be flexible. Since, the students were sick and I was sick, I had to change the schedule of some of the lessons around. I have learned how to be more flexible with my lessons and teaching when unexpected events take place. I will build on this knowledge by making sure I am able to fit all of the lessons I need to in next week and always remaining flexible, you never know when events will take place. I would say my short-term efforts for next week and the remaining of student teaching is to really focus on the blooms taxonomy and asking the higher level questions to students. This is one of my weaknesses when I am teaching. I have been able to add more of these questions into my lessons this week, but I would like for them to come more as second nature at some point. I want to build more off of students responses and help them to dig deeper into their understandings. This short-term goal aligns to my long-term goal of being successful in my student teaching and as a future teacher. By including the blooms taxonomy in my teaching, I will be able to push my students to take their understandings to the next level. I could of spent more time teaching and less time helping students who did not feel good, if the students would have felt better. This comes with the territory so it is just learning how to help the students feel as comfortable as possible when they are at school, especially when they are sick. I would say I was a little apprehensive about throwing my ideas for the 100th day of school out to the whole kindergarten grade level. I ended up having courage and sharing my ideas of what we could do with our students on this day. The ideas included dressing up like 100 years old and having fun centers where students could have a 100 snack at one, build a tower with a 100 cups, use their 100 board to count, etc. The teachers ended up loving the idea and are excited to take part int he festivities with their classes on Monday! The first step for next week is to make sure I have all the materials ready for the 100 day of school activities and to make sure I have all of the other materials ready for the rest of the lessons for the week. The data I was able to review this week was on the students understanding of their sight words. I can use this data to help guide me on which sight words to focus on during my teaching and guided reading groups next week. One piece of advice I would share with other student teachers is to wash your hands as much as possible and to take your vitamins. I will definitely make sure to wash my hands more and pray I do not get sick anymore this semester!
NC Teacher Candidate Standards
Standard 1a- Teachers lead in their classrooms. I was able to lead in my classroom by taking control of the unexpected events that took place. I had plans ready for when I had to be out. I helped the students when they became sick and needed to go home. I also was able to more lessons around to help give my students the best learning possibilities I can.
Standard 2a- Teachers treat students as individuals. This week we have had two boys who do not get along when they play together. We have taken steps to keep them apart in the room and outside. I have been able to treat the students as individuals and help each one see who they should play with and who they should not. I have helped the students see how they need to make good choices for themselves.
Standard 3d- Teachers make instruction relevant to students. This week we talked about jobs and related the content to the students real life. This was done by asking students what jobs their parents have, what jobs they have, and what jobs they want when they are older.
Standard 4d- Teachers utilize technology in the classroom. I was able to use many smart board activities for math with addition this week. The students loved these and were fully engaged in the material by using these.
Standard 5b- Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals. I was able to see where my students are and I am able to see how I need to change my goals and teaching to help the students be successful in all subject areas.
Other
I have worked on my edTPA stuff this week. My CE and I do not need any support at this time.
NC Teacher Candidate Standards
Standard 1a- Teachers lead in their classrooms. I was able to lead in my classroom by taking control of the unexpected events that took place. I had plans ready for when I had to be out. I helped the students when they became sick and needed to go home. I also was able to more lessons around to help give my students the best learning possibilities I can.
Standard 2a- Teachers treat students as individuals. This week we have had two boys who do not get along when they play together. We have taken steps to keep them apart in the room and outside. I have been able to treat the students as individuals and help each one see who they should play with and who they should not. I have helped the students see how they need to make good choices for themselves.
Standard 3d- Teachers make instruction relevant to students. This week we talked about jobs and related the content to the students real life. This was done by asking students what jobs their parents have, what jobs they have, and what jobs they want when they are older.
Standard 4d- Teachers utilize technology in the classroom. I was able to use many smart board activities for math with addition this week. The students loved these and were fully engaged in the material by using these.
Standard 5b- Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals. I was able to see where my students are and I am able to see how I need to change my goals and teaching to help the students be successful in all subject areas.
Other
I have worked on my edTPA stuff this week. My CE and I do not need any support at this time.
Friday, February 1, 2019
Weekly Reflections: February 1st
This week I think I have finally found my teacher voice! Monday I had a classroom meeting with the students. I explained how we need to respect each other so that we can learn as much as we can. I had the students come up with rewards they would like and they came up with the consequences we should use for our behavior system. The students suggested having iPad time if they were able to get clipped up to blue, this would be either at the end of the day for a few minutes or in the morning for a few minutes. The students have responded so well to the new rewards and consequences. Yesterday the whole class was able to go home with smiley faces! The students were rewarded with a special surprise, this was chocolate chip cookies. I am really trying to strengthen my classroom management techniques and have made great strides toward this goal this week. I have seen when you have more control of the classrooms behavior they become more engaged in the lesson and seem to absorb more of the content and skills. I would rate my overall experience as a four this week. Although, the students did much better this week. We still had a few students who we are still working with on their behavior. We had one student who had four outburst in one day. My CE and I are working with their parent, assistant principal, and counselor to figure out some research-based strategies to help this student. I would say my pleasant surprise and accomplishment this week would be getting a better hand on my classroom management techniques. Seeing the whole class be able to go home with smiles was an awesome accomplishment and proud moment for me this week. I would say that the lesson I learned this week from my work experience would be that some students need different ways of communication when they are upset. I have learned with one of the students that he responds so much better to me when I get on his level and really listen to why he is upset. I am then able to talk to him and we are able to calmly find a way to fix the problem together. Also, I have learned that some students need consistency in their day or their whole day is messed up and they cannot function to the fullest extent. I will use this knowledge and build on it next week to help strengthen my relationship with the students individually. I will help them to be able to learn and grow to the best of their learning abilities by creating the safe environment and relationship with them to gain their trust and respect. I would say my short-term efforts for next week and the remaining of student teaching is to really focus on the blooms taxonomy and asking the higher level questions to students. This is one of my weaknesses when I am teaching. I have been able to add more of these questions into my lessons this week, but I would like for them to come more as second nature at some point. I want to build more off of students responses and help them to dig deeper into their understandings. This short-term goal aligns to my long-term goal of being successful in my student teaching and as a future teacher. By including the blooms taxonomy in my teaching, I will be able to push my students to take their understandings to the next level.
I could of spent more time on my portfolio this week if I would have made sure I had all of my materials ready to go for the week, instead of taking time to do this at the end of each day. I would say I was able to let my apprehension subside this week and was able to do what I felt was right and I was able to follow my gut. I stopped worrying about the students liking me and took on the role of the leader in the classroom. These moves paid off and I was able to gain more control over my classroom. The first steps for next week are to create signs for the new rewards and consequences for the class. I will also make sure to have all of the work ready to go for the week, instead of taking time to do this after each day. I will also upload the new signed video forms I have received this week into the signed forms file. The data I was able to observe this week would be the students sight word assessment data. I was able to see which words the students are struggling with so I know to use more of them in my instruction next week. I will also plan opportunites during the week to help students to have more practice with the words they are sturggling with. One piece of advice I would give other student teachers is to try as many strategies as it takes to help a student either emotionally or for their education. Students needs are all different and how students respond to different techniques is different. You have to keep trying till you find what works for that particular student. This will help the student be successful in their development emotionally and in their educational journey.
NC Teacher Candidate Standards
Standard 1a-Teachers lead in their classrooms. I would say I really was able to portray this standard this week by taking control over my classroom and helping the students to see me more as a leader then as their friend. The students seem to respect me more and are more in tuned to the lessons.
Standard 2c-Teachers treat students as individuals. I was able to connect and build more on my relationships with the students individually. I was able to see what techniques worked to communicate with a particular few of our students when they become upset or angry.
Standard 3d-Teachers make instruction relevant to students. This week we discussed wants and needs, I was able to relate the material back to our everyday lives and what we want and need. The students really enjoyed this and were able to really relate to the material by relating it to real life situations.
Standard 4d- Teachers utilize technology in their instruction. This week I have been able to utilize a lot of smart board activities in the classroom. These activities were used for phonics, reading, and math. The students love the interactive aspect of the smart board programs and seem to really stay more engaged in the lesson when I use them.
Standard 5b- Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals. I worked on completing steps to help me reach my goals in my professional development plan this week.
Other
I have completed my PDP this week. My CE and I do not need any support at this time.
I could of spent more time on my portfolio this week if I would have made sure I had all of my materials ready to go for the week, instead of taking time to do this at the end of each day. I would say I was able to let my apprehension subside this week and was able to do what I felt was right and I was able to follow my gut. I stopped worrying about the students liking me and took on the role of the leader in the classroom. These moves paid off and I was able to gain more control over my classroom. The first steps for next week are to create signs for the new rewards and consequences for the class. I will also make sure to have all of the work ready to go for the week, instead of taking time to do this after each day. I will also upload the new signed video forms I have received this week into the signed forms file. The data I was able to observe this week would be the students sight word assessment data. I was able to see which words the students are struggling with so I know to use more of them in my instruction next week. I will also plan opportunites during the week to help students to have more practice with the words they are sturggling with. One piece of advice I would give other student teachers is to try as many strategies as it takes to help a student either emotionally or for their education. Students needs are all different and how students respond to different techniques is different. You have to keep trying till you find what works for that particular student. This will help the student be successful in their development emotionally and in their educational journey.
NC Teacher Candidate Standards
Standard 1a-Teachers lead in their classrooms. I would say I really was able to portray this standard this week by taking control over my classroom and helping the students to see me more as a leader then as their friend. The students seem to respect me more and are more in tuned to the lessons.
Standard 2c-Teachers treat students as individuals. I was able to connect and build more on my relationships with the students individually. I was able to see what techniques worked to communicate with a particular few of our students when they become upset or angry.
Standard 3d-Teachers make instruction relevant to students. This week we discussed wants and needs, I was able to relate the material back to our everyday lives and what we want and need. The students really enjoyed this and were able to really relate to the material by relating it to real life situations.
Standard 4d- Teachers utilize technology in their instruction. This week I have been able to utilize a lot of smart board activities in the classroom. These activities were used for phonics, reading, and math. The students love the interactive aspect of the smart board programs and seem to really stay more engaged in the lesson when I use them.
Standard 5b- Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals. I worked on completing steps to help me reach my goals in my professional development plan this week.
Other
I have completed my PDP this week. My CE and I do not need any support at this time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)