Blog 11

Week of Reflection: (list the date of the Friday for week just completed)

  

• Rate your overall experience of the week: 1-Very difficult | 5 – Great week- 4- This was an excellent week in my classroom. I saw major improvements in behavior in my focus student. This week ended on a sad note when I found out Friday morning a student that has grown near and dear to my heart will be moving out of county. My CE and TA both helped me realize this is something that happens a lot as a teacher which is a sad reality that I have to live with. However, I know I made an impact on this student in his time in my classroom.
• Seven questions to end your week:
• • Observe: What pleasant surprises / accomplishments did I achieve this week? This week I was more prepared for my lessons each day and the lessons went great throughout each day this week. On Monday, we had a field trip to Lewis Farm and it was fun being outside the classroom with my students.
  • Reflect: What lessons did my work/experiences teach me that I will build upon next week? Next week, I will begin diving deep into my portfolio to finish up on time with a strong presentation.
  • Focus:  How are my short-term efforts and my long-term goals still aligned? My short term efforts are to finish up my full time teaching and add things to my portfolio so that I can achieve my long term goal of graduating.
  • Be Productive: What could I have spent more or less time doing? I could have spent more time planning intentional lessons for the students to really interact with the material and next week I will plan lessons so students are thinking critically and interacting with lessons.
  • Have Courage:  How did apprehension and indecision impact what I did and didn’t do? I was unsure how this week was going to play out since we had a field trip at the beginning of the week. It went well with student behavior and yelling out during lessons.
  • Begin Anew: What is the first logical step(s) for next week? What mental clutter can I clear? Add more to portfolio and video and finish up full time teaching strong!

Adapted from: Cernoff, M. (2013, August 7). 7 Questions to End Your Week With. . Retrieved July 21, 2014, from http://www.marcandangel.com/2013/08/08/7-questions-to-end-your-week-with/

• What were some data you analyzed this week and how did it help inform your instructional decisions? The TA tested my students on letter sounds and I realized some of my students cannot recognize letters in different fonts than the one they are primarily familiar with. I will do an extension activity that highlights the letters in different fonts.
• What is one piece of advice you can share with other student teachers? Tab your standards in your notebook as you are writing your lessons so you can remember each standard within your lessons.

• 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. - 1B- This week, the students who were doing the right thing without being asked were given a golden ticket to model to the other students what good behavior gets.
    • 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. -2D- This week I have learned a lot about differentiation and how to differentiate for each of my students needs. I have the students who need greater support in lessons by giving them resources to use to support their learning such as tracing words and sentences. The students who need a greater challenge are assisted by using books above their level.
    • 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. - 3B- Since I have been working with other Kindergarten teachers, I am learning some things about kindergarten I didn't know before which helps me teach the content.
    • 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. - 4C- In my lessons, I am using group work, partnerships, SMART board games, math manipulatives and other materials to help my students learn best.
    • 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. - 5C- I have learned to adapt to a complex environment such as the kindergarten classroom. All of my students are on different levels of behavior as well as learning.
• Other:
• • What components of your portfolio have you started to complete? I have now began working on my video for my presentation while finishing up other components.
  • What support does your clinical educator need from your university supervisor? None
  • What support do you need from your university supervisor? None