Blog 12

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- 5. This week was very rewarding with my students. My last week full time teaching is finished and I am getting a little sentimental. Graduation is just one month away and I am very excited to see what the future holds.
• Seven questions to end your week:
• • Observe: What pleasant surprises / accomplishments did I achieve this week? This week, we were off on Monday, I took the reading foundations test on Tuesday, I was able to get back teaching on Wednesday and saw growth in some of my low flyers. One student has been writing his numbers the correct way as well as letters he was not able to write before. Another student was able to make rhyming words using the endings -at, -an, and -in. It was a great week with my students and I am excited to start giving the classroom back to Ms. Stone so I can spend more time in the classroom loving on my students for the last few weeks.
  • Reflect: What lessons did my work/experiences teach me that I will build upon next week? Next week is Thanksgiving and I want to do fun educational thanksgiving games and lessons that teach the history behind thanksgiving.
  • Focus:  How are my short-term efforts and my long-term goals still aligned? My short term efforts are to complete all components of my portfolio on time and this goal is aligned to my long term goal of graduation.
  • Be Productive: What could I have spent more or less time doing? I could have spent more time working on my portfolio instead of focusing on lessons but now that I am done full time teaching, I will be able to work on my portfolio more often.
  • Have Courage:  How did apprehension and indecision impact what I did and didn’t do? I was unsure how to begin to hand back lessons to Ms. Stone and she assisted me in making the decision.
  • Begin Anew: What is the first logical step(s) for next week? What mental clutter can I clear? Next week, I will work more on components in my portfolio.

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? This week, I have noticed that my students enjoy getting up in front of the class to write or draw something on the board. In future lessons and my future classroom, I will utilize this strategy.
• What is one piece of advice you can share with other student teachers? Write out a calendar with one piece of the portfolio to work on each day until it is due.

• 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.
    • 1A- By having my students stop throughout the day and take small brain breaks, I am demonstrating leadership in my classroom because the students listen whenever I have them sit back down and they know I will let them know when we have another.
    • 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- Differentiation in my lessons as well as my math small groups are focused on what my students individual needs are and how I can meet them while teaching content.
    • 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. 3A- By aligning each of my lessons with the NC standard course of study, I am showing evidence of knowing the content I am teaching.
    • 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- Teachers use a variety of instructional methods in their classroom. In my classroom, I have students use the SMARTboard during lessons, other math manipulatives, working with groups and partners, and using whiteboards for students to practice writing letters, words, and sentences.
    • 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. 5A- By reflecting on my lesson plans each week, I am meeting this NCTCS.
• Other:
• • What components of your portfolio have you started to complete? I have set up all of my tabs in livebinder and began adding content to each tab.
  • What support does your clinical educator need from your university supervisor? None
  • What support do you need from your university supervisor? None