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?

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  •  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?

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  •  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?

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  •  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?

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  •  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.

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  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?

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  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