Students Teaching Week 8-February 24, 2017

Rate your overall experience of the week: 3

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

• 
  
  
  •  Well, I made it through my third observation... it wasn't what I wanted but I have some adjustments and things seem to be getting better. I am surprised and how well the class has done since these adjustments and how their behavior has improved from last week.
    Reflect: What lessons did my work/experiences teach me that I will build upon next week?

• 
  
  
  •  Next week is going to be a much better week! I can already feel it. This week was a lot for me because it is the halfway point, I started my Math edTPA and I had my third observation which was just a lot. On top of all of that, the students were way out of control. They are getting the spring fever because of the weather change being off which can make a huge impact on their behavior I have found out. I plan to build on the classroom management and reviewing the rules every morning for students to be reminded of. Also, we are going to start doing a transition song for when students get up and come to the floor to learn. I am interested to see how this goes.
    Focus:  How are my short-term efforts and my long-term goals still aligned?

• 
  
  
  •  My long-term goal is to get every student on the required book level for first grade or higher. There are several students who are below grade level or barely on grade level. My short term goal is to improve students reading skills on their current level during GR groups. I will give students the one on one time needed to help improve their book level/reading skills. Also during WIN time I have been working with the lower students on nonsense words and sight word fluency.
     
  Be Productive: What could I have spent more or less time doing?

• 
  
  
  •  This week I am SO proud of myself for getting all of my lesson plans for next week, done Thursday night. This week I wish I would have spent more time on my portfolio and everything to go along with it. I have struggled to find time to work on everything to stay ahead. However, since I have completed my lesson plans, I can work on some of the requirements this weekend.
     
  Have Courage:  How did apprehension and indecision impact what I did and didn’t do?
  
  •  I think this week was an OK week. It started off rocky with the students behavior and observation. On Tuesday, we had our seminar with our supervisor to talk about everything that is required for our portfolio which added stress beyond belief (just to be reminded of EVERTHING that has to be done and how behind I feel). On Wednesday things started to get better since I had made some changes with the class from Monday and I was finally able to sit down and get a lot of my lesson plans out of the way. Thursday, everything was continuing to get better. I was able to complete my lesson plans and the students seem to be getting in the rhythm of the new rules. Now, Friday. So far so good! The students are on track and they are like me, ready for the weekend so they are exhausted from the week. So for this week I would say that behavior was my number one target to make it through the week. I addressed it and it has made the week go by better each day.
   

• Begin Anew: What is the first logical step(s) for next week? What mental clutter can I clear?

• The mental clutter that I can clear for next week it that  have another week under my belt. I'M HALFWAY DONE!! I don't have to look back, I can just keep moving forward and making improvements to be a better student teacher. Also, I got the General Curriculum out of the way last Saturday, which took away a lot of stress. The first step I want to take for next week is I want to start getting things rolling with my portfolio.

• 
  
  
  What were some data you analyzed this week and how did it help inform your instructional decisions?
  •  The data that I analyzed this week was collected from a clipboard that I carry around with my to write down notes on each student. I check a box that tells me if they understood it or not. Also, I can write down specifics which will let me know what I need to review the next day or just completely reteach.
  • I also kept track of students work for edTPA this week. I gave students a pre-test on Monday and they will be taking their post test today. Then, I plan to give them their re-engagement lesson on Monday to reteach what students did not understand.

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

• 
  Keep on keeping on and don't look back!! I think this is a very appropriate piece of advice to give each week since we are taking each week as it's own. It's important to stay positive each week and don't beat yourself about the small things. Tomorrow is a new day and you can only try to do better.

• NC Teacher Candidate Standards
• • 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.
    

    •  Leadership in the schools: This week I attended a grade level meeting with the teachers and the technology source lady. We sat down and talked about WIN time and how we could improve student engagement.
  • 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.
    

    •  I feel like I focused on treating students as individuals this week. I think that it is very important to maintain high expectations for every student and keep a positive attitude.
  • 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.
    

    •  Aligning the NC Common Core Standards to instruction is the number one thing that I have done every single day. It's super important to include the standard to each lesson plan so I know what to teach and students are learning the information that the state requires.
  • 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.
    

    •  Asking questions and allowing students to work in groups to develop critical thinking and collaboration with one another. It's great for students to be able to the critically and work with others.

    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.
    • Blogging is a great way for me to reflect on my practice. Reading through these questions allows me to look back through the week and remember what all I did this week and how I can improve to make my teaching better next week. Also, reflecting on my lessons once I have printed them out. It's a great thing to go back through and see what didn't work and what did.
• Other:
  What components of your portfolio have you started to complete? 
  Management student 
  What support does your clinical educator need from your university supervisor?
  None
  What support do you need from your university supervisor
  None

Student Teaching Week 7- February 17, 2017

Rate your overall experience of the week: 4

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

• 
  
  •  I am SO surprised and feel accomplished that I have survived my first Valentines week as a "teacher". It amazes me how crazy the week was but how normal it was all at the same time.
   
  Reflect: What lessons did my work/experiences teach me that I will build upon next week?

• 
  
  •  Next week is going to be a somewhat different week for me. I will be starting my edTPA for Math next week which makes me super nervous. However, I am excited to get things rolling and over with. Looking at next week, I know that I need to build on classroom management during math time and make sure students are engaged at all times.
   
  Focus:  How are my short-term efforts and my long-term goals still aligned?

• 
  
  •  My long-term goal is to get every student on the required book level for first grade or higher. There are several students who are below grade level or barely on grade level. My short term goal is to improve students reading skills on their current level during GR groups. I will give students the one on one time needed to help improve their book level/reading skills.
    Also during WIN time I have been working with the lower students on nonsense words and sight word fluency.
     
  Be Productive: What could I have spent more or less time doing?

• 
  
  •  This week, I could have spent more time lesson planning. However, I have spent so much time lesson planning this week, but I need to spend more time with my edTPA Math lessons.
     
  Have Courage:  How did apprehension and indecision impact what I did and didn’t do?
  
  •  I think this week was an overall good week. Nothing that happened this week made me have any concern or fear. I think that Valentines days scared me at first thinking that it was going to be terrible but it wasn't so bad after all.
   

• Begin Anew: What is the first logical step(s) for next week? What mental clutter can I clear?

• The mental clutter that I can clear for next week it that  have another week under my belt. I don't have to look back, I can just keep moving forward and making improvements to be a better student teacher. Also, I look forward to finishing up next week to know that I am halfway done with student teaching.

• 
  
  What were some data you analyzed this week and how did it help inform your instructional decisions?
  •  The data that I analyzed this week was collected from a clipboard that I carry around with my to write down notes on each student. I check a box that tells me if they understood it or not. Also, I can write down specifics which will let me know what I need to review the next day or just completely reteach.

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

• 
  Keep on keeping on and don't look back!! I think this is a very appropriate piece of advice to give each week since it was Valentines day and some of us are almost to the half way point! It's important to stay positive each week and don't beat yourself about the small things. Tomorrow is a new day and you can only try to do better.

• NC Teacher Candidate Standards
• • 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.
    

    •  Leadership in the schools: This week I attended a grade level meeting with the teachers and the technology source lady. We sat down and talked about the mid-year math assessment.
  • 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.
    

    •  I feel like I focused on treating students as individuals this week. I think that it is very important to maintain high expectations for every student and keep a positive attitude.
  • 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.
    

    •  Aligning the NC Common Core Standards to instruction is the number one thing that I have done every single day. It's super important to include the standard to each lesson plan so I know what to teach and students are learning the information that the state requires.
  • 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.
    

    •  Asking questions and allowing students to work in groups to develop critical thinking and collaboration with one another. It's great for students to be able to the critically and work with others.
    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.
  • 
    

    •  Blogging is a great way for me to reflect on my practice. Reading through these questions allows me to look back through the week and remember what all I did this week and how I can improve to make my teaching better next week. Also, reflecting on my lessons once I have printed them out. It's a great thing to go back through and see what didn't work and what did.
• Other: 

  What components of your portfolio have you started to complete? 
  Website, Philosophy and Management student 
  What support does your clinical educator need from your university supervisor?
  None
  What support do you need from your university supervisor
  None

Student Teaching Week 6- February 10, 2017

Rate your overall experience of the week: 3

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

• •  This week I have a very pleasant surprise from Dr. Suttle. I had my second observation on Tuesday during Phonics/Grammar. This visit was very surprising to me and I was completely caught off guard. However, I was able to to successfully complete my second observation of students teaching. That it such an accomplishment so far. 
      Also, I feel better now that I have edTPA dates set in place to start. This makes me feel better now that I can start planning for this process.
   
  Reflect: What lessons did my work/experiences teach me that I will build upon next week?

• •  From my observation this week, my experience has taught me to continue giving proximity praise to students. I can see how well it works for students to have good behavior and work hard. Also, I started using the popsicle sticks this week to call on students which has help so much. The students love when I use them because they want to know who I am going to pick.
   
  Focus:  How are my short-term efforts and my long-term goals still aligned?

• •  My long-term goal is to get every student on the required book level for first grade or higher. There are several students who are below grade level or barely on grade level. My short term goal is to improve students reading skills on their current level during GR groups. I will give students the one on one time needed to help improve their book level/reading skills.
     
  Be Productive: What could I have spent more or less time doing?

• •  This week, I wish I would have spent more time lesson planning. However, I have spent so much time lesson planning this week, but things kept coming up that I haven't had time to completely finish the lesson plans. Each week this is something that I know I could have spent more time doing. I just get so overwhelmed and can never just sit down and complete them all at once.
     
  Have Courage:  How did apprehension and indecision impact what I did and didn’t do?
  
  •  I think this week was an overall goo week. Nothing that happened this week made me have any concern or fear. I think the observation threw me for a loop but once I realized that it was my second observation complete, I was super happy.
   

• Begin Anew: What is the first logical step(s) for next week? What mental clutter can I clear?

• The mental clutter that I can clear for next week it that  have another week under my belt. I don't have to look back, I can just keep moving forward and making improvements to be a better student teacher.

• What were some data you analyzed this week and how did it help inform your instructional decisions?
  •  The data that I analyzed this week was collected from a clipboard that I carry around with my to write down notes on each student. I check a box that tells me if they understood it or not. Also, I can write down specifics which will let me know what I need to review the next day or just completely reteach.

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

• 
  Keep on keeping on and don't look back!! I think this is a very appropriate piece of advice to give each week! It's important to stay positive each week and don't beat yourself about the small things. Tomorrow is a new day and you can only try to do better.

• NC Teacher Candidate Standards
• • 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.
    

    •  Leadership in the schools: This week I attended a grade level meeting with the teachers. We sat down and regrouped GR groups and WIN groups based off of test scores from the midyear assessment. This was stressful but also very interesting to be a part of.
  • 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.
    

    •  I feel like I focused on treating students as individuals this week. I think that it is very important to maintain high expectations for every student and keep a positive attitude.
  • 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.
    

    •  Aligning the NC Common Core Standards to instruction is the number one thing that I have done every single day. It's super important to include the standard to each lesson plan so I know what to teach and students are learning the information that the state requires.
  • 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.
    

    •  Asking questions and allowing students to work in groups to develop critical thinking and collaboration with one another. It's great for students to be able to the critically and work with others.
    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.
  • 
    

    •  Blogging is a great way for me to reflect on my practice. Reading through these questions allows me to look back through the week and remember what all I did this week and how I can improve to make my teaching better next week. Also, reflecting on my lessons once I have printed them out. It's a great thing to go back through and see what didn't work and what did.
• Other: 

  
  

  What components of your portfolio have you started to complete? 
  Website, Philosophy and Management student 
  What support does your clinical educator need from your university supervisor?
  None
  What support do you need from your university supervisor
  None 

Student Teaching Week 5- February 3, 2017

Rate your overall experience of the week: I would rate this week at a 3. This was the first full week in a while. It was long and exhausting but I made it through another week. Also, I had my first observation and it went well. There are areas of improvement and I am focusing on those areas.
 

• Observe: What pleasant surprises / accomplishments did I achieve this week?
• This week was the first full week with the full load. I am am very impressed with how calm I have been throughout this whole week. The schedule has been different because of the Math Assessment that the students are having to take, which has cause a lot of confusion and craziness. However, myself and the students have made it through another week. I am also very pleased at how my observation went. It wasn't a complete disaster and I am just proud that I made it through my first one.
• Reflect: What lessons did my work/experiences teach me that I will build upon next week?
•  There is always room for improvement! I think my main focus to build upon next week is proximity praise. I know that was the main point from my observation to focus on. I need to continuously praise my students for their hard work and accompishments.
• Focus:  How are my short-term efforts and my long-term goals still aligned?
• My short term effort for next week is to focus on proximity praise and management. This aligns with my long-term goals of working on my PDP and finding new ways to improve my classroom management skills.
• 
  
• Be Productive: What could I have spent more or less time doing?
• I can always spend more time lesson planning and finding new ways to hook the students. Making my lessons engaging and interactive is one of my weaker points when I have to follow a specific program.
• Also, I need to spend more time focusing on edTPA. I have finally decided what week I will be doing Reading for edTPA. I want to go ahead and start on that so when the week comes, it will be as smooth as possible and be confiedent.
• Have Courage:  How did apprehension and indecision impact what I did and didn’t do?
• At first, I was kinda bummed about my observation lesson on Tuesday because I knew of things that I could've done better and at how some of my students were acting. However, I knew that it was my first observation, I was nervous and I am not perfect. So, I brushed it all off and kept going and working to make my next observation better.
• Begin Anew: What is the first logical step(s) for next week? What mental clutter can I clear?
• I can go ahead and clear the stress and panic of my first observation out of my head. It is over and done with. I can finally breath. From that observation I know I need to work on how I handle classroom management and include proximity praise. This was the one thing that stuck with me from my post observation meeting.
  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.

      •  Leadership in the schools: This week I attended a grade level meeting with the teachers. We sat down and regrouped GR groups and WIN groups based off of test scores from the midyear assessment. This was stressful but also very interesting to be a part of.
    • 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.

      •  I feel like I focused on treating students as individuals this week. I think that it is very important to maintain high expectations for every student and keep a positive attitude.
    • 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.

      •  Aligning the NC Common Core Standards to instruction is the number one thing that I have done every single day. It's super important to include the standard to each lesson plan so I know what to teach and students are learning the information that the state requires.
    • 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.

      •  Asking questions and allowing students to work in groups to develop critical thinking and collaboration with one another. It's great for students to be able to the critically and work with others.
      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.
    • •  Blogging is a great way for me to reflect on my practice. Reading through these questions allows me to look back through the week and remember what all I did this week and how I can improve to make my teaching better next week. Also, reflecting on my lessons once I have printed them out. It's a great thing to go back through and see what didn't work and what did.
   

What were some data you analyzed this week and how did it help inform your instructional decisions?
-This week, the data that I analyzed was students DIBELS and TRC test score with the first grade teachers. We looked at the results and were able to group the students based on their test scores.
What is one piece of advice you can share with other student teachers?
-Make sure to get your sleep! I know this is something I joked about last semester but it is something serious. I have the bedtime clock on my phone to tell me when to go to bed so I can get 8 hours of sleep every night. I have really enjoyed using this fro student teaching.