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.