March 2018 Blog
Learning Experiences:
In SST 307: I have really enjoyed the learning experiences that took place during the month of March. Initially, I was on edge about working with new students in such high numbers, but when I got started, things seemed to flow smoothly. The top tweets of the week is an on-going learning experience. Tweeting allows us to connect with other valuable resources that have been shared via the internet. The flipped lesson component was also a meaningful learning experience. It allowed us to see how we could efficiently maximize the amount of instructional time for our students. We were able to flip one of the segments from our unit plan and present it to our peers. What an awesome idea! I realized that I was a bit long-winded, and it was quite difficult to keep from lecturing past the allotted time. The Apple Apps Evaluation project was also a meaningful assignment. I was grateful to see that the creators of the software also provides a way to critique the compatibility of the app for your students. Forcing me to do this assignment has motivated me to use this same evaluation process for any app that I select as a learning tool for my students. The social studies unit plan has also been a challenge to construct; however, my writer's block ended about a week ago and the information just seem to flow from my brain through my fingers and onto the paper. I was extremely grateful for that revelation!! Preparations for our virtual museum are also underway. We realized that we need to attend a re-enactment to strengthen the design of our website; however, the re-enactments are after the submission deadline. My teachers and I have been meeting to discuss how to manage my assignments with the little time given to confer with one another during the school day. I have made arrangements to stay after school to discuss my assignments in depth as well. In EDU 435, the main topic of discussion is EDTpa. These particular assignments are indeed the worst headache I have ever indured. After completing some of the commentaries and reviewing my learning segments, I now see how important it is to familiarize myself with the by-laws that govern EDtpa and how I will be scored. I'm grateful that my professors have devoted time to discussing Edtpa and allowed us as peers to share our concerns to develop a better understanding for our student teaching experience. I was also blessed to be among peers who don't mind lending a helping hand. Also, the peer review assignment allowed me to see the perspective of the scorer. It gave me insight on both the author and the scorer's position. The clinical experience checklist is also under construction. I have completed most of the assignments on the checklist but a few still remains. Time has been set aside for me to meet with my clinical educator to review the checklist prior to the deadline for submission. In EDU 350, the clinical observations and the EC interview has consumed much of my time for this class. Although timely, most of the assignments were familiar, so I did not experience too many obstacles while working. I was able to see what it takes to be an EC teacher and educate students who have multiple disabilities whether they are intellectual, physical or emotional. I was fortunate to interview such a bright and cheerful young lady who was born to be an EC teacher. In EDU 312, we have been preparing yet another EDtpa activity, including the 3-5 learning segments and the commentaries. We were encouraged to complete the learning portfolio and the case study prior to creating the learning segments. We are fortunate to have such understanding professors who are aware of our overwhelming course load and have no problem adjusting deadlines according to the needs of their students!
Outside Learning Research:
The Edtpa assignments demand that we conduct outside research of evidence based strategies for teaching. Our investigation is not limited to literacy resources. We are encouraged to find evidence based teaching strategies that can benefit students in any subject. I have been consulting the text, In Classroom Instruction that Works: Research Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement, (Marzano, 2001) for the best practices for educating my students. The text has given me very useful strategies for things like collaborative grouping, homework and practice, and servicing English Language Learners or groups with special needs.
Connections to NCTCS:
Standard 1c: I was fortuante to be able to sit in on a PLC meeting. During the meeting, the fifth grade teachers were discussing the progress of students on the NC Check Ins. I recommended that I could facilitate some small group math interventions during the times that I'm at the school. Since then, I have been facilitating small group interventions for Math three times a week.
Standard 2b: The social studies unit plan demands that the content within each segment cater to the cultural backgrounds and needs of my students. The concepts of my unit plan is built around the exploration and identify of immigrants and how their cultural backgrounds benefited and shaped the regions of NC.
Standard 3a: Whether it is the Edtpa learning segments or the lessons from the social studies unit plan, every objective/standard must be aligned with the NC Common Core Standards. This alignment of content with the Common Core standards guarantees that students are learning what is legally required.
Standard 3c: We are encouraged to integrate other content areas into our literacy and social studies lessons. I have learned that it is much easier to integrate social studies and science topics into ELA lessons than vice versa. You can use reading passages that are aligned with both social studies and science topics. The Social studies unit plan requires that we integrate other content areas into our lessons.
Connections to Future Classroom:
After witnessing how a PLC meeting is conducted after a quarterly assessment has been administered and scored, I will definitely continue the analytical process within my classroom. Using data like NC Check-Ins and Benchmark Assessments to inform future instruction drives improvement in student achievement. The use of small group interventions during the school-day to close learning gaps is a great way to ensure that each students has every opportunity for success. My clinical educator also uses centers or workstations during every class. I love how she uses a whole class context to introduce a lesson, and then she gives a general formative assessment. Depending on how the student performs determines what center or workstation the student goes next. While students are in workstations, the teacher is pulling students who need remediation in certain areas in small groups. This will definitely be a strategy that I continue in my classroom.
In SST 307: I have really enjoyed the learning experiences that took place during the month of March. Initially, I was on edge about working with new students in such high numbers, but when I got started, things seemed to flow smoothly. The top tweets of the week is an on-going learning experience. Tweeting allows us to connect with other valuable resources that have been shared via the internet. The flipped lesson component was also a meaningful learning experience. It allowed us to see how we could efficiently maximize the amount of instructional time for our students. We were able to flip one of the segments from our unit plan and present it to our peers. What an awesome idea! I realized that I was a bit long-winded, and it was quite difficult to keep from lecturing past the allotted time. The Apple Apps Evaluation project was also a meaningful assignment. I was grateful to see that the creators of the software also provides a way to critique the compatibility of the app for your students. Forcing me to do this assignment has motivated me to use this same evaluation process for any app that I select as a learning tool for my students. The social studies unit plan has also been a challenge to construct; however, my writer's block ended about a week ago and the information just seem to flow from my brain through my fingers and onto the paper. I was extremely grateful for that revelation!! Preparations for our virtual museum are also underway. We realized that we need to attend a re-enactment to strengthen the design of our website; however, the re-enactments are after the submission deadline. My teachers and I have been meeting to discuss how to manage my assignments with the little time given to confer with one another during the school day. I have made arrangements to stay after school to discuss my assignments in depth as well. In EDU 435, the main topic of discussion is EDTpa. These particular assignments are indeed the worst headache I have ever indured. After completing some of the commentaries and reviewing my learning segments, I now see how important it is to familiarize myself with the by-laws that govern EDtpa and how I will be scored. I'm grateful that my professors have devoted time to discussing Edtpa and allowed us as peers to share our concerns to develop a better understanding for our student teaching experience. I was also blessed to be among peers who don't mind lending a helping hand. Also, the peer review assignment allowed me to see the perspective of the scorer. It gave me insight on both the author and the scorer's position. The clinical experience checklist is also under construction. I have completed most of the assignments on the checklist but a few still remains. Time has been set aside for me to meet with my clinical educator to review the checklist prior to the deadline for submission. In EDU 350, the clinical observations and the EC interview has consumed much of my time for this class. Although timely, most of the assignments were familiar, so I did not experience too many obstacles while working. I was able to see what it takes to be an EC teacher and educate students who have multiple disabilities whether they are intellectual, physical or emotional. I was fortunate to interview such a bright and cheerful young lady who was born to be an EC teacher. In EDU 312, we have been preparing yet another EDtpa activity, including the 3-5 learning segments and the commentaries. We were encouraged to complete the learning portfolio and the case study prior to creating the learning segments. We are fortunate to have such understanding professors who are aware of our overwhelming course load and have no problem adjusting deadlines according to the needs of their students!
Outside Learning Research:
The Edtpa assignments demand that we conduct outside research of evidence based strategies for teaching. Our investigation is not limited to literacy resources. We are encouraged to find evidence based teaching strategies that can benefit students in any subject. I have been consulting the text, In Classroom Instruction that Works: Research Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement, (Marzano, 2001) for the best practices for educating my students. The text has given me very useful strategies for things like collaborative grouping, homework and practice, and servicing English Language Learners or groups with special needs.
Connections to NCTCS:
Standard 1c: I was fortuante to be able to sit in on a PLC meeting. During the meeting, the fifth grade teachers were discussing the progress of students on the NC Check Ins. I recommended that I could facilitate some small group math interventions during the times that I'm at the school. Since then, I have been facilitating small group interventions for Math three times a week.
Standard 2b: The social studies unit plan demands that the content within each segment cater to the cultural backgrounds and needs of my students. The concepts of my unit plan is built around the exploration and identify of immigrants and how their cultural backgrounds benefited and shaped the regions of NC.
Standard 3a: Whether it is the Edtpa learning segments or the lessons from the social studies unit plan, every objective/standard must be aligned with the NC Common Core Standards. This alignment of content with the Common Core standards guarantees that students are learning what is legally required.
Standard 3c: We are encouraged to integrate other content areas into our literacy and social studies lessons. I have learned that it is much easier to integrate social studies and science topics into ELA lessons than vice versa. You can use reading passages that are aligned with both social studies and science topics. The Social studies unit plan requires that we integrate other content areas into our lessons.
Connections to Future Classroom:
After witnessing how a PLC meeting is conducted after a quarterly assessment has been administered and scored, I will definitely continue the analytical process within my classroom. Using data like NC Check-Ins and Benchmark Assessments to inform future instruction drives improvement in student achievement. The use of small group interventions during the school-day to close learning gaps is a great way to ensure that each students has every opportunity for success. My clinical educator also uses centers or workstations during every class. I love how she uses a whole class context to introduce a lesson, and then she gives a general formative assessment. Depending on how the student performs determines what center or workstation the student goes next. While students are in workstations, the teacher is pulling students who need remediation in certain areas in small groups. This will definitely be a strategy that I continue in my classroom.
Jacobi, it sounds like you have had a very busy and eventful month! At least you are a pro at doing flipped lesson plans since you do them for your current class! I’m sure it was a breeze. I can definitely agree with you that edtpa gives me a very bad headache but it will pay off in the end and I’m sure next semester we will be thankful we had practice with it. Keep up the hard work, we are almost there!
ReplyDeleteJacobi, edTPA has been the reason of my ongoing headache as well. Being in the classroom has really helped me piece together the different components of edTPA. All the hard work will pay off in December when we are done, that's what I keep reminding myself. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteJacobi, it sounds like you are superman! It's awesome that you have a CE who is so willing to work with your schedule and help you stay on track. I completely understand the EdTPA pain, and I am really feeling the pressure of that right now too! However, it was so encouraging to hear about all the good things from our current student-teaching friends last night! I have no doubt that you can make it and that you will be an awesome teacher!
ReplyDeleteJacobi, I think my eyes are playing a trick on me. Did I read that you can find valuable resources on TWITTER??!?!?! Who is typing this blog for you? Just kidding - I am proud to see how you are embracing all of the experiences of this semester. Proud. Of. You.
ReplyDelete