EDU 450 Weekly Reflection 4

I would rate this week a 3. It has been a good week, but there is so much sickness going on in the PreK classrooms, it has been a very challenging week. Children are either leaving school early with very high fevers or missing many days after being diagnosed with the flu. In spite of this, the week has been productive as I began my first full week of instruction. I could tell that although we have been transitioning little by little classroom responsibilities, the children still were a little out of sorts when I took over instruction. They were restless and very excited during our first group activity on Monday, but by Tuesday, they were much more settled and ready to engage. I honestly don't feel like I have any brag-worthy accomplishments this week, except that, I made it. I made it through the first of the next ten weeks of student teaching, and have learned that I should try and be more firm in my expectations of students. I have noticed a tendency to let small behaviors go until there are several children doing something that becomes a disruption and it takes more time than it should to get them settled back down again. Especially during transitional times. I hope to incorporate more transitional activities in the next few weeks, as the activities that we use for transitional times like GoNoodle videos are unavailable until the light in our Smart Board projector is replaced. I was also able to attend a SIT meeting on Monday which I enjoyed very much. It was very brief, but covered some important information and helped me get to know my school a little better.

Next week, I will be teaching my edTPA lessons and I am still anxious about that. I feel right now that my short-term goals are getting in the way of my long-term goals and vice versa. When I think about the things I need to finish by the end of the week, I feel like there are so many small details I have to work out and submissions to keep up with, that the finish line gets fuzzy. When I think about long-term things like graduation, I feel stuck on what to do next in the short-term. I am hoping I will feel more focused after  my edTPA teaching week is over, and some of that stress is gone.

I think I could have spent more time preparing my materials for my lessons. I think it will be better for me to plan and gather my materials a week in advance and keep them organized by day so they are ready when I need them, instead of doing this the morning of the activity. As I already have my materials for next week ready, if I begin planning for week 3 now, I will hopefully stay ahead in my planning.

I did feel some apprehension this week, as I still feel a bit strange taking over someone else's classroom. It did not stop me from taking on classroom responsibility or inhibit my instruction, but it stays in my mind every day. I can't help but remember I am a guest in my CE's classroom, and even though she has been so welcoming, supportive, and encouraging to me, it still feels a little weird to "be in charge" of her classroom. I know it's only temporary and that I will feel better about it as I go on. Next week, I plan to continue working on lesson plans to stay ahead and portfolio artifacts to get those completed as soon as possible. I am currently looking at data on my students' ability to recall the names of various buildings, as well as each buildings purpose. The data collected from the lesson this week will allow me to determine students' readiness to move on to the next unit, or if we need to revisit some of the information and skill building activities before students are ready to move on. I think my advice for other student teachers this week would be to take your vitamins and do everything you can to stay healthy! The flu is so scary right now, we had a minimum of 7 confirmed cases by only Tuesday of this week.

In terms of strengthening my proficiency in the NC TCS, I am focusing on facilitating learning for my students by integrating more opportunities to engage in multiple learning domains related to the lesson content, and collecting data to inform my instructional plans so that I may reflect on my practice and better meet the needs of my students.

I have started to focus more on my student teaching video plans, recording every lesson so I have plenty of clips to use and rewriting my philosophy. I have also begun integrating my global awareness plans for the month of January into this weeks lesson, and am creating February global awareness plans. I think it will be good for me to narrow my focus and be more productive on specific tasks instead of doing a little all over the place. I met with my University Supervisor this Thursday, and she answered all of my questions, so I can not think of any additional support needed at this time.

EDU450 Weekly Reflection 3

I would rate this week a 4, it was short but productive, overall. The children were out of school three days this week, for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and two planning days. I feel as though I was able to use this time to look ahead and get some preparations done for the upcoming weeks. Reflecting on this, I will use what I have learned about having time to get ahead in my planning and preparations to stay ahead. Now that I have had time to make plans for the next few weeks, I can continue planning and have time to make adjustments to lessons or materials instead of planning only for what is next. My short and long-term goals are still aligned, as everything I am working on is related to my lesson plan development, edTPA artifacts, portfolio requirements and overall effectiveness as a teacher. I feel like I have been productive this week and feel more at ease being ahead in my planning. That being said, I have not taken much time to "recharge," and do feel a bit exhausted from constantly filling my time with planning and building my portfolio. I think, with as much as I have gotten done, I could have taken just a bit more time to relax. On the other hand, knowing myself, if I had done this, I would have felt like I did not use my time wisely. I did not feel apprehensive about making decisions this week, but at times felt like I could not settle my focus on a single task. I want to get it all done, so I scattered my thinking a bit to work on little bits of many things.
Next week begins my first full week of teaching, and I am very excited. I think my planning and preparing has cleared a lot of the mental clutter I would be feeling if I wasn't ready. Data I have analyzed this week includes my student's ability to recognize capital and lower case letters. I created a checklist for analyzing this data so I will easily be able to see which students are struggling with letter recognition. I also conducted my student interest surveys this week, so I can begin to review the parental input and student interviews to set behavior management goals for my students and keep track of behavioral progress.
One piece of advice I would share this week goes back to what I mentioned above. Take time to care for yourself during this time, as it can easily become overwhelming to focus on nothing but lesson plans and assignments for student teaching. Taking a hot bath, watching your favorite movie, or taking time to do anything you enjoy can help you feel refreshed and ready for the next challenge. I am going to try taking this advice myself.
I am currently focusing on element 1c of NC TCS 1, beginning to develop professional relationships and networks. I have reached out to members of my school's SIT team and intend to join them for the upcoming meeting next week. For Standard 2, I am developing my plans for global awareness, as element 2b calls for understanding the influence of diversity and planning instruction accordingly. Element 3b calls for encouraging students to investigate the content area to expand their knowledge and satisfy their natural curiosity, and I am building on this skill by allowing children to explore their natural interests in our classroom learning centers, and building on child initiated questions by expanding thinking and introducing new ideas related to their interests. For element 4d, I am working to integrate technology with my instruction to maximize student learning by using the Smart board and use of IPads in the technology center. This is somewhat difficult due to the limited about of screen time (15 minutes per day) children are allowed at this age. Finally, for element 5c, I am integrating a variety of research-verified approaches to improve teaching and learning. I am actively striving to include high order thinking questions based on Bloom's Taxonomy, Marzano's high yield strategies, and skills aligned to 21st century learning.
For my portfolio requirements, I have still been working consistently on my classroom website, which is coming along nicely. I have nearly completed my resume and am preparing to set up my appointment to have it reviewed and approved. I have begun developing my classroom management plan and have conducted my student interest surveys and parent surveys. Next week I plan to discuss these further with my students and develop specific goals for them that will improve their behaviors. I have also begun preparing my global awareness activities and artifact for my portfolio, as well as collecting documentation for my professional development artifact and reviewing my philosophy of education for my student teaching video. At this point, I do not know of any support my CE needs from my University Supervisor and I am looking forward to my first observation where I can hear her feedback and ask some questions I have pertaining to portfolio artifacts.

EDU 450 Weekly Reflection 2

I would give this week a rating of 4. It was a good week, but it was extremely busy and I felt as though I was less productive than I would have liked. I was able to have my initial visit with my University Supervisor and go to Central Services to have my CCS badge and email address set-up. This will help me gain access to school internet and print services. I attended a staff training and an IEP meeting. These were very informative and I felt as though they helped me understand additional effective teaching strategies and ways to meet the needs of my students. My experiences this week taught me that I have a solid support system in my school and I will build on this by seeking advice from my CE, her assistant, administration, and my University Supervisor as needed. Having these resources available and utilizing them will benefit me all throughout the student teaching experience.
My short term efforts of building positive relationships with my students is working out wonderfully. One day this week, I had to be rather firm in redirection, moving one child away from another in line. While she spent a few minutes upset with me, very soon after the incident she came to me, just to give me a hug. Other short-term goals such as creating effective lesson plans and taking on classroom responsibilities align to my long-term goals of successful student teaching, graduating, and becoming an effective teacher.
I spent a lot of time this week editing my edTPA lesson plans and Task 1 commentary after receiving feedback and making plans for future lessons. I feel like I could have spent more time reviewing the Creative Curriculum and Second Step curriculum to better connect my lesson plans to curriculum units. I plan to work on this during my upcoming planning days.
I do not feel like apprehension held me back this week, as I faced classroom challenges with confidence and stepped in to support my CE with instruction and classroom management practices. Next week will allow me some extra time to prepare, as we have two planning days. I hope to use this time to review all of my CE's responsibilities as I prepare to begin my first full week of Student Teaching after we return. Mental clutter I can clear includes my nervousness about taking over the classroom and recording myself teaching. My CE seems to be very confident in my abilities, telling me that she thinks I will do great, which is very comforting to me.
Data I analyzed this week includes my students' ability to identify the numbers 1-5. I learned that many of my students need practice identifying these numbers, and will integrate number identification into my lesson planning and interactions during center time.
Advice I would share this week with fellow student teachers is to reach out regularly to professionals in your school. Talking to my CE, Assistant Principal, Principal, School Social Worker, and others has helped me feel comfortable in my role in the school and very welcome, as they seem to enjoy my active participation in school activities.
For NCTCS Standard 1, I engaged in collaborative professional development learning activities that benefited my classroom leadership. For Standard 2, I cooperated with the Speech Therapist and used suggested resources to support special learning needs. For Standard 3, I have been developing lesson plans based on the NC FELD. For Standard 4, I have consistently encouraged and supported students to effectively articulate thoughts and ideas. For Standard 5,  I participated in activities for professional learning and development provided in the training this week.
I have continued working on my classroom website, and begun my classroom management assignment. I plan to use my time over the weekend, and planning days to continue working on these, as well as make plans for my global awareness artifacts. My CE does not require any support from my University Supervisor that I am aware of at this point, and I am satisfied with the amount of support I am receiving in the form of feedback and availability of support when questions arise.

EDU 450 Weekly Reflection 1

I would rate this week as a 5, it was a great week!

This week, I was pleased to see how quickly my students have adjusted to returning to school after the holiday break. I was able to assist my CE in collecting mid-year work samples from students and contribute to the school-wide Backpack Ministry program, which provides food to families of students in need, by donating 90 pounds of oranges. I was able to put in place some classroom management strategies and engage the students in brief periods of instruction to assist the transition of classroom control from my CE to myself.

My experiences this week have shown me that the students will need some time to adjust to my role in the classroom and I will build their understanding of the transition by actively assuming greater responsibility each day. Because I was only present a few days each week last semester, I believe my daily presence in the classroom will help them gain understanding of the transition.

I am currently focusing on building relationships with my students and discussing upcoming plans with my CE. I believe establishing bonds with students will deepen their connections to my teaching and creating a well-developed plan will allow for a smooth transition of classroom responsibility.

I think I could have spent more time involving myself in my CE’s instruction, however, want to take this on at a careful, consistent pace, so as not to cause confusion among students, I am currently seated close to the group during instruction and plan to accompany my CE at the front of the group next week before taking over the instruction.

I did not feel any apprehension or indecision this week, and instead took on all classroom responsibilities offered, taking initiative many times, especially in regards to classroom management and maintaining classroom order. I assisted students in maintaining proper volume, gained their focus before transitions, maintained order during brief moments of down time between transitions, and led the line multiple times throughout the day.

Next week, I will take on more classroom responsibility and take more opportunities to involve myself in instruction as I prepare to take over teaching. I do not feel as though I have much “mental clutter” to clear, however can make a sequential plan to be successful.

Data I have analyzed this week includes my student IEPs and work samples. This will shape my instructional decisions by allowing me to analyze the abilities and areas of weakness of my students, specifically which skills they need to build on.

One piece of advice I would share with other student teachers at this point would be to enjoy your students. They each have personality and strengths that will shine if we take a few moments to appreciate them as individuals.

To increase my rating for element 1 of the NC TCS, I used positive management of student behavior by assisting children with conflict management multiple times each day. For element 2, I focused on engaging my student with autism in classroom activities, per his IEP. I provided him with support and encouraged his peer interactions, which were successful. For element 3, I prompted student curiosity beyond required coursework when we noticed a burnt-out light bulb. We discussed the filament inside a light bulb and how, when it goes bad, the light bulb doesn’t work anymore. For element 4, I am working to establish classroom practices that encourage all students to develop effective communication skills. When children have a problem, I am encouraging them to talk to one another and share how they feel, instead of intervening immediately to solve the problem for them. For element 5, I am actively seeking opportunities to expand my professional knowledge and build my professional skills. I have several planned professional development experiences and will be shown by my CE some of her data collecting resources and technologies outside of my student teaching requirements.

For my portfolio, I have begun building my classroom website and my resume, as well as my lesson plans and School Improvement Plan. My CE is looking forward to meeting my University Supervisor this coming Monday, as am I, and I feel comfortable at this point in the semester. Support I would like to receive throughout the course includes feedback and clear submission dates and expectations.