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.

Academic Language

Academic Language in Early Childhood Education consists primarily of vocabulary used to establish and build content understanding. Academic language allows for students to engage in content areas in the most meaningful ways and gain conceptual understanding of various disciplines. As children progress, the will build on the language demands of vocabulary to include language functions, syntax and discourse. Academic vocabulary used across disciplines  is modeled by Bloom's Taxonomy, and can help teachers scaffold lessons to build further conceptual understanding and procedural fluency. I have included a graphic representing Bloom's Taxonomy and associated verbs of learning engagement below, as well as a link to the source at the bottom of this entry.



My primary questions regarding academic language are based around building by own use of academic vocabulary and incorporating more use of Bloom's Taxonomy in intentional teaching. To build my understanding and ability, I can use resources such as the ERIC database, which holds extensive information regarding the use, function, and benefit of academic language in Early Childhood classrooms and environments.

https://www.teachthought.com/learning/what-is-blooms-taxonomy-a-definition-for-teachers/

In addition to the link to an article discussing Bloom's Taxonomy, here is a link to the ERIC database as mentioned above, as well as additional resources on academic language and vocabulary.

https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1105406

https://www.researchconnections.org/childcare/resources/32999

https://www.theedadvocate.org/academic-language-connection-school-success/

Ensuring Effective Teaching and Learning

Effective teaching and learning go hand-in-hand, as demonstrated by the process of edTPA, which is designed to optimize learning through intentional strategies and engagement opportunities for all learners. By planning, teaching, and assessing in an intentional manner, instructing becomes a learning process, providing educators with both experience and evidence in effective practice. In other words, this cycle helps teachers know what works.
Planning lessons with the needs of the student in mind can allow for more effective instruction, as the lesson is more tailored to the individual needs of the learner. Assessment is used to prove that the plan for instruction, as well as the instruction itself, is effective for the learner. As this process is implemented by educators, learning is taking place. Educators are learning more creative ways to connect with students, learning ways to apply research-based strategies, and learning more about creating a positive and enriching classroom atmosphere. The effective teaching and learning cycle truly creates an unending opportunity for educators to improve their practices, and grow in the field of education.
Looking back on my action plan, I set the goal for myself of rereading both the edTPA Handbook and the URLP Document before January 31. I have completed my reread of the URLP document, but have not yet begun my second reading of the edTPA Handbook. I will begin that as soon as possible, to maintain my personal goals.

Learning Reflection

Over the past few weeks, as my exploration of the edTPA process intensifies, I am learning more and more about the complexity of lesson planning, the finesse of instruction, and the proper means of assessment, reflective practice, and reteaching versus reengagement. These processes all coincide with one another in a delicate balance that all result in an effective teaching process and a highly qualified teacher.
Planning commentaries, Instructional commentaries, and Assessment commentaries are not for the faint of heart. Although I have been creating lesson plans for years, I have never fully immersed myself in the step-by-step thinking of edTPA. That being said, this intensive process is orchestrated to bring reflective practice into teaching, before planning occurs. edTPA is giving educators greater insight into the why of our planning, more differentiated thoughts of how instruction will be given, and more self-reflective thinking as to what can be adapted to meet the needs of students. This may include anything from inclusive/adaptive devices, to changing teaching style. One means of avoiding the need to reteach is to plan integration and inclusive practice into the planning of the lesson, as there is a higher retention rate when lessons are taught to meet the multiple modalities.
Multiple modalities is a relatively new term, as well, although again, high quality educators have been doing this all along. We know that Harold Gardner theorized multiple intelligences and that students have varying ways of learning, from kinesthetic, to musical, to existential. Multiple modalities is just this. As education has developed to meet the needs of learners, we have come to understand more about various modalities of learning, and how to go about integrating what we want to teach with the learning styles and needs of the learner.
Though this is a sliver of all that edTPA is comprised of, it is truly eye opening to me that this process will benefit educators, learners, families, and communities by offering the best practices throughout a student's school career, preparing learners for life outside the classroom as a contributing member of society. I am excited to delve deeper into the edTPA process, as I can feel myself becoming not only more knowledgeable about the processes of planning, assessing and instructing, but more comfortable navigating the processes as well.

What Makes Learning an Engaging Experience?

To those who are new to teaching, or unfamiliar with the demands of being an educator, the question of how to keep students engaged may present only more questions. How to keep everyone's attention and focus on the lesson at hand is not easily included in regular lesson planning, as this is heavily reliant upon differentiation based on the needs of students. Professional educators are equipped with knowledge, techniques, and resources to keep learning exciting, and actively engaging for all students.
To elaborate, hands-on, active approaches to learning have been very effective with the young children (ages 4-5 years old) I teach, as these children enjoy engaging in a wide range of experiences. After all, most experiences are still new to them. I have also found that I am able to maintain student interest in lesson content with a multitude of techniques and research based practices, including positive energy and enthusiasm for learning, asking questions giving children the opportunity to share what they know, and even giving them the opportunity to "teach" me something new. Engagement goes up exponentially when four-year-old's can correct their "mixed-up" teacher! Young students do have limited attention spans, although by alternating between very focused activities and vigorous gross motor activities, teachers can maintain student focus for longer periods of time, maximizing learning opportunities, often with students believing they are only engaged in play.
Reflecting on the best teachers I have had, and applying my knowledge of research-based practice, I can see that these teachers stood out to me because they were adapting themselves to my learning needs. In contrast, teachers I remember less fondly were very rigid in following "the plan," with little interest in differentiation or integrating multiple modalities of learning. Following the plan with no willingness to make adaptations leaves a large gap between the style of the teacher and the needs of the learner.
As professional educators, we know how to plan, how to teach, and how to assess. However, we must be sure that our process is entirely student-centered, and be prepared to deviate from the plan, if that is what our students need. Keeping children actively engaged makes learning fun and meaningful, while ensuring lesson content is relevant and developmentally appropriate demonstrates the professional approach to teaching every student needs to succeed. All students learn differently, and being a highly qualified professional educator gives us all we need to adapt and meet the needs of all students. For more information on creating engaging learning opportunities, click here, here, or check out the infographic below.