Week of 01/16-01/20

Rate your overall experience of the week: 4

Seven questions to end your week:

Observe: What pleasant surprises / accomplishments did I achieve this week?

I started my first full week of student teaching, and it was amazing! Of course there were some struggles, but I had so much fun! I am surprised at how easy it was to take over, because of how much I had observed my teacher last semester and this semester. My students surprised everyday with the good and the bad, but I love them very much. 

Reflect: What lessons did my work/experiences teach me that I will build upon next week?

I have finally figured out how to differentiate and close a lesson, but I did not put the correct way in my lessons this week. I will build upon the knowledge I have gained this week of differentiation and closure, and make my lesson plans for next week even better! 

Focus:  How are my short-term efforts and my long-term goals still aligned?

My long-term goal is to find a job before I graduate. Some short term efforts that I have been pursuing are contacting my superintendent back in my hometown of Mitchell County. He referred me to a human resources lady, and I have a meeting with her to talk about job options in my surrounding area. I am so excited! Also, I have been working on strengthening my resume, and signing up to hopefully take the General Curriculum for one last time. 

Be Productive: What could I have spent more or less time doing?

I could have spent more time on revising my lessons this week. Adding a hook and closer that was solid to each of them, even though I had already submitted the plans. 

Have Courage:  How did apprehension and indecision impact what I did and didn’t do?

I feel like I am getting better with not being apprehensive about asking my CE questions about things that I need help with. My CE is super understanding, that sometimes I have no idea what I am doing. Enforcing positive and negative reinforcement has been a lot easier for me this week, because I am not nearly as apprehensive as last week. 

Begin Anew: What is the first logical step(s) for next week? What mental clutter can I clear?

I am going to work on portfolio and website this weekend. I will start writing lesson plans for the following week, this Monday, and continue the trend of writing lessons like I have, because that has helped so much! I will look over my lesson plans this weekend also, and make sure that they have everything I need in them. I will focus on my hooks and closure for next weeks lesson plans. 

What were some data you analyzed this week and how did it help inform your instructional decisions?

I have started collecting grades and analyzing data for every subject. While this is a lot of data to keep up with, it is very helpful. My CE gave me a very unique grading format, because it shows each individual problem, and which student missed what problem. Also, it shows which kind of problem the class as a whole is missing the most. I love this type of grading system, because I know exactly what kinds of questions I need to cover in future lessons. 

What is one piece of advice you can share with other student teachers?

Get ahead of your work as much as possible. I love being able to not stress about finishing my lesson plans on the weekend, and I can actually relax a little while I work on other things that are not due until later on. Teaching is already a little stressful, so I do not want the stress of falling behind on top of that. 

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.

I am the full-time teacher now, I believe that I am fully learning my class in every subject, and also I am leading in my teaching profession, because I have implemented observe me and other teachers want to try it out too! 

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.

Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults. I hope I always establish this kind of enviroment for my students, but I think this week I really understood what that meant. I want my students to feel safe and happy in my classroom, and the way portray myself and handle situations. I want to focus on being the best role model that I can possibly be for my students. I have learned a lot about home lives this week, and it breaks my heart, but that makes me want to provide them with a nurturing enviroment even more. 

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.

Teachers align their instruction with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. This week while writing my lesson plans, I made sure that I aligned the content that I was teaching with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. I also discussed with my CE about if I was on the right track with the standards or not. We also talked about making lesson plans for stuff that is not in the 2nd grade curriculum, because my CE loves to prepare them for the 3rd grade. Finding the different standards keeps getting easier, thank goodness!

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.

Teachers use a variety of instructional methods. I have facilitated learning in different ways than my CE normally does this week, and my students love it. I actually let the students come up to the Smart board while we review math problems, and they love that! Apparently they have never used a Smart board until this year,s o we had a lot of fun with that. I cannot wait to implement more technology into the classroom! 

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.

Teachers analyze student learning. Like I mentioned before, my teacher has a great way for me to easily look at class data, and figure out what I need to do to strengthen student learning. Also, I am reflecting on my teaching practice by using the #ObserveMe in my classroom for my colleagues to give me feedback on my teaching and how I can strengthen that. 

Other:

What components of your portfolio have you started to complete?

Working on website, portfolio and resume. 

What support does your clinical educator need from your university supervisor?

N/A

What support do you need from your university supervisor?

Not at the moment.