Weekly Reflection - January 27th-31st

Weekly Reflection - Week of January 27th-31st

Madison White 

Rate your overall experience of the week: 1-Very difficult | 5 – Great week

I would rate this week a 5! I had my first observation, and I believe it went very well. After watching my videos, I reflected upon some small changes that I will make for the future that will hopefully benefit my classroom management skills. Also, this week in literacy we talked about the water cycle. I love teaching about this, and I think my excitement got my students more engaged and excited about the things I had planned for them.

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

This week, I felt accomplished getting all of my lessons done by Thursday night. This was my first time planning for a full week, and it was super stressful. I felt that I managed my time as best as possible, and finished everything in decent timing. I also made some time to grade papers, and complete my post observation follow up as well.

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• Reflect: What lessons did my work/experiences teach me that I will build upon next week?
  Focusing on the feedback that I got from my first observation, I will definitely try to work on my classroom management skills. I do not have a very loud voice, but will try and use different strategies such as proximal praise and blurt beans to prevent interruptions and keep my students working at a quiet level or to get their attention. I am also going to use name calling sticks and constant floating around the room to keep students focused and engaged as much as possible.
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• Focus:  How are my short-term efforts and my long-term goals still aligned?
• My short term efforts and long-term goals are still aligned. I am working week by week to assemble pieces of my portfolio to be ready in May. I am also preparing EdTPA pieces in order to be ready for submission.
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• Be Productive: What could I have spent more or less time doing?

This week, I could have spent more time in the mornings before school writing lesson plans and preparing materials for the days ahead. Normally, every morning I get to school and prepare for the day, but if I only did that 1 day a week I could use that extra time to be doing other things.

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• Have Courage:  How did apprehension and indecision impact what I did and didn’t do?
• This week, I began to feel more and more comfortable in my classroom. I have taken over all subjects but 1, so I feel more at ease and in a routine. The last 2 weeks, I would be anxious to teach in fear of messing up, but now I feel more confident in the choice and lessons I am teaching my students. 
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• Begin Anew: What is the first logical step(s) for next week? What mental clutter can I clear?
• For next week, I will make sure I have all of my materials ready on Sunday night. After tomorrow, I will hopefully be able to clear the mental clutter of having EdTPA Task 1 done. I will make sure to add finishing touches to it, but it will mostly be completed, so I can move onto task 2,3, and 4.

What were some data you analyzed this week and how did it help inform your instructional decisions?

This week, our school had our large Data Dive meeting. We analyzed the data from each student in our classroom and sorted them into WIN groups that will begin next week. From IStation testing, many of our students are benefiting from CORE on grade level curriculum, some for advanced learning using some third grade standards, and some in tier groups based on their needs of math and literacy. After we determined the 7 students that will be in my group, I focused on looking at their data to determine what the focus standards of my group needed to be. This first week, we will focus on reading fluency and place value.

What is one piece of advice you can share with other student teachers?

As other student teachers are being observed this week, I would remind them to not take the feedback to heart and only use it as a growing experience. I realized that I am not perfect, nor am I expected to be! Use the feedback and take notes of things that you can use in the further weeks. This will show improvement and growth, which is what is best for all of us.

• NC Teacher Candidate Standards (be sure to reference activities from your lesson plans to solidify your answer)

Standard 1: Teachers demonstrate leadership in the school This week, I was able to attend the second grade data dive. Our team and CTC coordinator looked through the IStation results to place students in WIN groups based on their needs.

Standard 2: Teachers treat students as individuals: Each week, I try to work with my students on an individual level. I constantly walk around the room to ensure all students needs are being met. In my observed lesson plan, I kept high expectations for my students because they had many resources to use in order to be successful.
Standard 3:Teachers align their instruction with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study.
This week, I have been teaching the water cycle. This has been a great way to integrate science into my literacy lessons. I have made connections to the standard course of study, and addressed different subject areas in one lesson. 
Standard 4:Teachers use a variety of instructional methods.
This week, I used many different instructional methods to teach my students. I love using anchor charts and videos, as well as interactive games and visuals. Since our class has been studying the water cycle, we built a water cycle in class, watched videos, and created dances to help remember the vocabulary terms. 

• Standard 5: Teachers function effectively in a complex, dynamic environment.

For planning next week, I have been researching different kinds of activities to incorporate in the classroom. I do not want my students to feel like they are having a typical "routine" but coming into class doing something new every day. 

• Other:
• What components of your portfolio have you started to complete?
  This week, I began organizing my professional development log, as well as parent contact log. I will begin writing in each of these starting in my full ten weeks on Monday.
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• What support does your clinical educator need from your university supervisor?

Right now, my clinical educator does not need any support from my university supervisor. If any question arise, I will forward any questions to you.

What support do you need from your university supervisor?

I would like some advice and examples of evaluation criteria for different lessons. I seem to be having trouble creating these easy. I am a very visual learner, and would like to see some examples to guide me. It would be great to have a template to use each week, then modify it for each subject I am teaching.