April 26, 2019

I would rate this week as a 5 out of 5. I was able to finish everything in my portfolio except one observation which is going to be this upcoming Monday. The light is so close at the end of this tunnel.

OBSERVE

This week I went and observed a 1st grade classroom at Boiling Springs as well as a 2nd grade classroom at Jefferson. These were both great observations and I was able to take away lots of notes for my future classroom.

REFLECT

I have been reflecting as we wrap up this student teaching experience and I am realizing that I am going to have a hard time saying my goodbyes to my kiddos.

FOCUS

This week my main focus was finishing all component to the portfolio.

BE PRODUCTIVE

This week I could have spent more time on preparing for the presentation instead I was just solely focused on getting the components finished.

BEGIN ANEW

Next week I want to practice and feel well prepared for our portfolio presentations.

1b. Teachers demonstrate leadership in the school .

This week I lead by consulting to first and second grade teachers and getting to observe half of their day to see some similarities and differences and see different school environments.

2a. Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults.

This week I focused a lot on just assisting my CE. I also tried to soak up what time I have left with these precious students by loving on them and trying to create a positive image of school for them to remember.

3c. Teachers recognize the interconnectedness of content areas.

This was a theme that I saw a lot this week in my observations. I got some really great ideas of how to make this look in my classroom as well.

4e. Teachers integrate and utilize technology in their instruction.  

This week I helped assist my CE in using the Smartboard more for her phonics lessons like I had done previously. I was flattered that she wanted to continue using a resource that I had used during my student teaching.

5b. Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals.

As this semester ends I can see that I have grown tremendously professionally to help meet my goal of being the best teacher that I can be.

My CE and I do not need any additional support from my university supervisor right now.

April 12, 2019

I would rate this week as a 5 out of 5. This week if felt so weird not teaching during the day! We have had a fun week of Easter parties, egg hunts, and Easter centers and crafts.

OBSERVE

This week I went and observed one of the 1st grade teachers in our school as one of my first observations. I really enjoyed this and got to see the different dynamic from kindergarten to 1st grade.

REFLECT

I have been reflecting a lot this week as I am working to put together my video and looking back at all the pictures and videos we have done this year.

FOCUS

This week my main focus was to start organizing all my pictures and videos to make sure I had enough evidence to back up my philosophy.

BE PRODUCTIVE

This week I could have spent more time on my website and starting to video the tutorials of my technologies.

BEGIN ANEW

Next week I want to finalize everything for my portfolio while I have this break to solely work on this.

DATA

Some data that I worked with this week was related to the numbers for next year’s classes. This was looked at and analyzed during our grade level meeting this week.

1b. Teachers demonstrate leadership in the school .

This week I lead by consulting to a first grade teacher and getting to observe half of their day to see some similarities and differences.

2a. Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults.

This week I focused a lot on just loving on my kids and realizing that in a few weeks I will not be seeing them everyday. I felt I was able to do this more as the assisting role.

3d. Teachers make instruction relevant to students.

I feel like we have really been trying to enforce those 21st century skills into all instruction areas to help better prepare these students for first grade.

4b. Teachers plan instruction appropriate for their students

This week I still helped plan as a grade level for the next few weeks that we have left of school.

5c. Teachers function effectively in a complex, dynamic environment.  

I noticed that even though I was not teaching this week it was much more natural for me to correct students and help with the behavior.

My CE and I do not need any additional support from my university supervisor right now.

April 5, 2019

I would rate this week as a 5 out of 5. I had my 5th and final observation, got all of my standards checked off, and PASSED EDTPA!!!! What a weight that is now lifted off of my shoulders.

OBSERVE

This week I observed some great listeners. After watching my video from my observation I saw how attentive my students have become and just overall how much more mature they are becoming, and better listeners.

REFLECT

This week I really am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Finishing my observations, getting the opportunity to talk and conference with my principal and talk with my university supervisor about the growth that I have shown over the course of the semester. Then reflecting on all the hard word that I have put into my edTPA and then getting that score to prove it.

FOCUS

This week my focus was on making sure I had proof in my binder of all the remaining standards that I needed to get checked off as well as having sufficient evidence in my PDP.

BE PRODUCTIVE

This week I could have spent more time on my portfolio instead of on my binder, but in the weeks to come my portfolio and observations can be my sole purpose.

HAVE COURAGE

This week I had the courage to open that score report from Pearson that revealed my scores. I was so nervous and anxious about these scores.

BEGIN ANEW

Next week I want to finalize who I am going to go observe and where and focus on each element of my portfolio and start getting sections ready to put in my LiveBinder.

DATA

The data that I got to observe this week was related to the MTSS data within our classroom and grade level. This was during our grade level meeting. We analyzed each student from each class to determine if they needed to be moved to a different tier or even be pulled out of their tier plan for next year.  

1c. Teachers lead in the teaching profession.

This week I lead in the teaching profession by getting all of my standards checked off as proficient and working towards finishing my student teaching strong.

2d. Teachers adapt their teaching for the benefit of students with special needs.

This week we got to analyze and pull one of our students out of their tier plan from all the growth observed and documented in their progress monitoring which was such a thrilling moment.

3c. Teachers recognize the interconnectedness of content area disciplines.

This week we incorporated our upcoming zoo field trip with learning about the different types of animals and then where these animals live in Africa.

4b. Teachers plan instruction appropriate for their students

This week we did a lot of hands on learning especially in math where were are working on solving and writing addition and subtraction problems.

5b. Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals.

This week through conferences and edTPA scores I have moved one step closer to my goals of becoming a professional teacher and having a classroom of my own.

My CE and I do not need any additional support from my university supervisor right now.

March 29, 2019

I would rate this week as a 4 out of 5. I FINISHED MY TENTH WEEK! But, this week I was a little under the weather once again! I can definitely tell that my immune system is still trying to adjust to being around these little kiddos 24/7. But that is just what comes with this profession. If there is any advice I can give to student teacher it is to take care of yourself, get enough sleep, eat well, and take your vitamins!

OBSERVE

This week I observed some great problem solving skills. In several subject areas like identifying whether or not a letter sound was voiced or voiceless, how to fill in the missing numbers in a subtraction sentence, and how to sort a series of animals by different characteristics.

REFLECT

This week I felt the love from my students when I was not feeling well and losing my voice they recognized and whispered for the rest of the day with me. This not only touched my heart, but showed how much my students are maturing and beginning to think of others and show empathy.

FOCUS

This week as a grade level our main focus was putting the finishing touches on K-Day. All I can say is I am worn out! This was a successful day, but a very tiring day. I am thankful for all the faculty and other grade level teachers who helped make this important day happen.

BE PRODUCTIVE

This week I could have spent more time on my portfolio instead of on my lessons and binder.

HAVE COURAGE

Friday during K-Day my sole job was to welcome parents and students into the school and direct them to their assigned rooms, make sure they were successfully signed in and putting them at ease through this process.

BEGIN ANEW

Next week I want to focus more on getting some applications finished so the job search can begin!

DATA

The data that I got to observe this week was related to the MTSS data within our classroom. I saw how much these students have grown through observation and through our progress monitoring data that we have collected.

1c. Teachers lead in the teaching profession.

This week I lead in the teaching profession by helping assist with the Kindergarten registration.

2d. Teachers adapt their teaching for the benefit of students with special needs.

This week my CE and I analyzed data from our progress monitoring for those tier students in our class and brainstormed some ways to better instruct these students.

3a. Teachers align their instruction with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study

This week I increased my flashcard use during transitions especially to the carpet. This week they were all Spring themed, number words, and zoo animals since this is our new unit we are starting.  

4f. Teachers help students work in teams and develop leadership qualities. .

I have started assigning table captains for each week. This is to try and boost leadership qualities. The students love this opportunity to have a purpose and role each week like: passing out papers, getting to go sit at their tables first, collecting materials and just having the title of captain.

5b. Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals.

This week I worked a lot on my PDP goals which are mainly focuses on positive behavior management strategies, and differentiation strategies for tier students.

My CE and I do not need any additional support from my university supervisor right now.

March 22, 2019

I would rate this week as a 4 out of 5. We had a jam packed week from celebrating St. Patrick’s Day on Monday, having a PBIS dress to impress ball on Thursday, and supporting the GWU men’s basketball team Friday by making a school wide video helping cheer them on. We also met our blurt goal meaning we go to visit the treasure box and we earned 2 paws from other teachers putting us at our 100 paws earn so far in the school year.

OBSERVE

This week I observed a great use of technology. I have been trying to expand our technology use and looking back from the beginning of the school year students are feeling much more comfortable using the iPads and Smartboard especially with ease. I remember at the beginning of the year so many students were getting so frustrated with these elements of the classroom and would give up, and now they are excelling.

REFLECT

This week I feel like we made better progress with our behavior as a whole class. Last week were were unable to go to the treasure box due to, too many blurting out and earning our 5 out of 5 marks on the board. This week we only received 2 out of our goal of 5! This seems to be an incentive that works for my students. Next week our goal will drop to 4.

FOCUS

This week as a grade level our main focus was preparing for the upcoming K-Day next week which will be the day our school will open their doors to rising little kinders to register for school. We have presentations, testing center, school tours, parent Q and A’s and much more planned for this day.

BE PRODUCTIVE

This week I could have spent more time on my portfolio which is what my focus is going to be for the remainder of the semester as we finish.

HAVE COURAGE

This week I took charge when a family member of my CE’s passed away and she was pulled from the classroom and a sub was not able to come in so, the assistant and I stepped up and kept students calm and continued our regular schedule like normal. Any change with little ones brings about stress and worry.

BEGIN ANEW

Next week I want to focus more on getting my philosophy of education finished so I can start working towards my portfolio completion.

DATA

The data that I got to observe this week was related to social studies and learning about landforms and bodies of water. This was a difficult standard to tackle with the amount of time that I am given in the afternoons, but I was impressed how well students were able to identify these! After working with many visuals and movements their mastery was truly shown during our I have who has game where they had to look at their pictures on their given cards of different landforms and bodies of water to first identify and then ask if someone else has another type.  1a. Teachers lead in the classroom.

This week I lead in the classroom by pushing students to meet their behavior goal of no more than 5 blurts for the week.

2a. Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults.

I have continued to work on my proximity praise for my students.

3a. Teachers align their instruction with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study

This week I incorporated more flashcards during transitions especially to the carpet. This week they were all Spring themed words that are high frequency words that students should associate with the season especially with insects which we have been learning about.

4d. Teacher integrate and utilize technology in their instruction.

This week I saw students really excelling in the technology aspect of our everyday having two opportunities to experiment with technology in our small group times.

5b. Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals.

This week I critique my PDP to become better SMART goals.

My CE and I do not need any additional support from my university supervisor right now.

March 15, 2019

I would rate this week as a 3 out of 5. This was a better week, but I can tell that students are ready for a break! As a class this week we set a goal to strive to get less than 5 disruptive blurt outs. If we met this goal then we would get to go to the treasure box on Friday. But we sadly did not meet our goal this week. But this was a way for students to talk about doing better next week to have this as a treat!

OBSERVE

This week I observed some great teamwork efforts especially during a scavenger hunt that we had. This week we were learning about positional words and students had to work with their table groups to read their starter card and find all the cards to lead them to their mystery hidden object. At first I was a bit skeptical of how well students would be able to execute the task but I am seeing my students develop great teamwork skills.

REFLECT

This week I had the opportunity to attend a professional development opportunity by attending the PBIS monthly meeting with all the grade level PBIS reps. This was a great opportunity to hear first hand not only how our school is doing based upon data on behavior management, but to also learn the newest strategies that the school is trying to implement. I also learned what is to come for PBIS and MTSS in the future.

FOCUS

This week my main focus was to stay on top of my lesson plan writing. I was feeling the domino effect from the edTPA week.

BE PRODUCTIVE

This week I could have spent less time trying to think of creative ways to grasp my students attention with elaborate things rather than using what I already have and building upon that. Students don’t always have to have the biggest and greatest things I found that you can get students excited if you seem excited about it.

HAVE COURAGE

I had courage this week to take away the treasure box and follow through with it without giving them chance after chance to earn it back. I did however let my two behavioral kids go and explained to the class that they sometimes get more chances when it comes to expectations and since they have had another great week they get rewarded. But overall as a class we needed to work better together on blurting out and being less disruptive.

BEGIN ANEW

Next week I want to focus more on lesson planning and getting proficient in all the areas that I have left for my student teaching.

DATA

The data that I got to observe and analyze this week was mainly dealt with behavior. I have analyzed the patterns of success with my behavioral managed students and have found what calms them down rather than reacting to situations. We have been having much better days and now weeks so they now are rewarded with more treasure box visits and check-ins with other adults throughout the school.

1c. Teachers lead in the teaching profession.

This week I lead in the teaching profession by attending the PBIS meeting for the grade levels.

2a. Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults.

This week I really tried to keep the positive proximity up especially with my more challenging students to encourage better behavior as well as giving physical praise such as pats on the back, and high fives.

3a. Teachers align their instruction with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study

This week I incorporated more flashcards during transitions especially to the carpet. This week they were all St. Patrick’s Day themed words that are high frequency words that students should associate with the holiday.

4f. Teacher help students work in teams and develop leadership qualities.

This week I tried to promote more team building with lessons and activities. This is harder for kindergarten because most students do not want to share anything but we are working on what it means to be a good team player.  

5b. Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals.

This week I continued to implement some of the behavior management strategies and the information that I learned in the PBIS meeting to better educate myself and to complete wha is needed for my PDP which relates to both of these.

This week my focus was on filling in all the information on my logs with parents, specialist people etc.

My CE and I do not need any additional support from my university supervisor right now.