Week of 02/20 - 02/24

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’m only giving this week a 4, because I still do not have my CE with me for half of the day, but this week has been rather productive and fun! We had 8 students out on Monday with the flu! They just started trickling back in this Thursday and Friday. So I have been a cleaning freak this week! I decided to switch up our usual social studies/science/TRC writing time, and my students have loved it! I have decided to focus on Social Studies this week, and then Science the next week during this time. We did a Google Cardboard this Friday, and my students were crazy excited to go to “Paris” all week, because we had a lesson on supply and demand that went along with the theme of Paris. I have found it a lot easier to break out of the usual mold of the classroom and do my own thing. I have also completely planned my EdTPA lessons this week and that is a great feeling! 

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

From the data from the math spiral tests and novel test, I know what I need to recover next week with the students. The test scores were actually really great! However, the module test is next week, and I need to make sure that I go over the topics that most missed. 

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

My long-term goal is implement more technology into my classroom, and for that to increase student engagement. This week I brought in the Google Cardboard for a closure to a Social Studies week unit. This really engaged the students all week while we did the unit, and they were super excited to visit “Paris”! I intend to implement one new technology tool every week until my ten weeks are up. 

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

I could have spent more time redoing a few of my lesson plans, because some of the lessons I have been teaching are getting little boring for students, and I want them to be engaged more than anything! I am going to spend some time researching hooks for my lessons that the students would be excited to do!

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

With my CE being out, I feel free to really make the classroom my own, without the fear of stepping on any toes. I have become a lot less apprehensive in my classroom, and have had the courage to implement new strategies that I have been researching. 

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

I am going to be processing my EdTPA lessons this weekend, so they will be perfect for next week! 

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

I had take the data from every test we take throughout the week, and that definitely helps to shape my instructional decisions for the next week. Mostly derringer skill review time. We will cover any skills that we have not yet mastered during this time, and that has helped the students to become more confident in those skills.  

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

Get everything completed early, because sometimes even though I do complete stuff early, I still feel really behind. So, I could not imagine actually procrastinating about anything at this point. Also, keep a planner that you stick by through everything! Sometimes dates sneak up if you're not careful!

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 know that it is my job to lead in my classroom every single day. When something does not goes as planned or something happens with a student in my classroom, it is now my responsibility to lead and take care of whatever is happening. I am leading 21 little life in classroom, and that is on of the greatest responsibilities. 

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. 

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.

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 am implementing technology into almost every one of my lessons, and my students are becoming more and more engaged. 

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?

Prayer for my CE and her family, please. 

Week of 02/13 - 02/17

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’m only giving this week a 4, because of the fact that my CE is still not constantly in the classroom and I miss her terribly. Everyday this week my CE has had to leave at lunch time to be with her mother. Therefore, I had the end of the days either by myself, with the assistant or a substitute. Being completely honest, whenever my CE is not in the classroom with me like that, I feel like I can branch out more in my teaching style. I know that I would be able to do this with my CE in the room, but the pressure is not there whenever she is not in the classroom. However, I miss my CE terribly, and I cannot wait for everything in her life to get better and see her truly happy again. We have also had a lot of sickness in our classroom this week. We have had two out with the flue, one out for strep and one with the stomach bug. Cleaning everything in my classroom has been the key this week! I also had my 2nd observation this Monday, and I believe that the observation went really well! I tried some different teaching strategies for the first time, and surprisingly the students caught on very quick and these strategies helped them to be more engaged in my lesson. My students have been great this week, and they have improved so much form last week!

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

I have been a lot better with my time management during instruction time. I can tell that I have improved on how long I make my lessons, because I get in almost everything that I need too before the end of the day, and do not feel rushed anymore for time. I am going to build upon some of the data that I have collected from students Eureka Mid-Module tests and form a skill review based on questions that the majority of the class missed. 

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

My long-term goal is create a safe and nurturing enviroment for my students. What I am doing right now to increase the effectiveness of my goal is to implement more “praise and proximity” for my students. I notice a  huge difference in my classrooms attitudes when i praise a student for good behavior, instead of calling down a studbook for bad behavior. 

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

I needed to spend time working on my EdTPA, because at this point I feel super behind. I also should have spent more time arranging my behavior plan for my student, but that is kind of hard to do when your CE is out. Still, my CE has not been around when I have time walkabout EdTPA, so we have been having some phone conferences, but I still feel like I am hardly getting anywhere with planning EdTPA. 

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

With my CE being out, I feel free to really make the classroom my own, without the fear of stepping on any toes. I have become a lot less apprehensive in my classroom, and have had the courage to implement new strategies that I have been researching. 

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

I am planning my EdTPA lessons this weekend, and bringing them to my CE to look over on Monday. 

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

I had 6 students pass a Eureka Module Quiz this past Wednesday…that being the case, I have changed all my skill review time to being items that all the students needed to work on form that quiz, because everyone was struggling. 

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

Get everything completed early, because sometimes even though I do complete stuff early, I still feel really behind. So, I could not imagine actually procrastinating about anything at this point. Also, keep a planner that you stick by through everything! Sometimes dates sneak up if you're not careful!

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 know that it is my job to lead in my classroom every single day. When something does not goes as planned or something happens with a student in my classroom, it is now my responsibility to lead and take care of whatever is happening. I am leading 21 little life in classroom, and that is on of the greatest responsibilities. 

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. 

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.

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 am implementing technology into almost every one of my lessons, and my students are becoming more and more engaged. 

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?

Prayer for my CE and her family, please. 

Week 02/06 - 02/10

Rate your overall experience of the week: 3 

Seven questions to end your week:

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

I have had a very surprising week! My CE’s mother was rushed to the Emergency Room Friday afternoon, so I was alone in the classroom for half a day Friday. They then put my CE’s mom into Hospice care, so my CE has been with her mom all week, and I have had a sub all week long. Also, my assistant teacher was out sick until this Thursday! My CE usually helps me to plan for the next week in advance,so I had double the duty this week. However, it was a real taste of what actually having my own classroom is going to be like. I have been so stressed out this week, because I did not want to mess anything and I wanted my CE to be proud of how I have ran the classroom since she has been out. I have came into school at 7:20 everyday and have not left until 5 or later…this has been an exhausting week. My students have been so wonderful to me though, except for Thursday when they were the worst they have ever been. 

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

I have learned that if my CE is not there to help me plan, I have to come up with a lot of the material all on my own, and that has made writing my lessons slow down a lot, but they will get done.

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

My long-term goal is improve my students TRC scores when they take it for one final time in may. My short term goal right now is to differentiate the WIN groups, so that I can have a chance to work independently with every group on their TRC skills. We have still yet to find a WIN group set up that works for the whole class. Most things we try end in disaster, but we are going to keep trying. 

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

I needed to spend time working on my EdTPA, because at this point I feel super behind. I also should have spent more time arranging my behavior plan for my student, but that is kind of hard to do when your CE is out. 

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

I had a really hard time picking out what kind of lessons I wanted to teach next week, because I have all the data form the tests that are going to help me form next weeks lessons, but actually finding the materials and making the materials up is more difficult than I imagined. 

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

I am calling am CE first thing Monday morning and we will be discussing what I need to work on for the following week and then when would be best for EdTPA. 

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

I had 6 students pass a Eureka Module Quiz this past Wednesday…that being the case, I have changed all my skill review time to being items that all the students needed to work on form that quiz, because everyone was struggling. 

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

Sometimes surprises hit you out of nowhere, and you feel like you will have no idea what to do. Have a couple of lesson plans a week planned, just in case you have extra time that needs to be filled with instruction, instead of just wasted time. I had a lot of examples of that this week, because some of the lessons were not working at all, and I juts had to switch topics, because the students were getting way to confused. 

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 know that it is my job to lead in my classroom every single day. When something does not goes as planned or something happens with a student in my classroom, it is now my responsibility to lead and take care of whatever is happening. I am leading 21 little life in classroom, and that is on of the greatest responsibilities. 

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. 

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.

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 am implementing technology into almost every one of my lessons, and my students are becoming more and more engaged. 

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?

Prayer for my CE and her family, please. 

Week of 1/30 - 02/03

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 have gotten a lot completed this week, and rally feline I am progressing through my student teaching experience. This is week 3 of my student, and I feel very confident in my teaching now. Looking back at where I was a year ago… I am so surprised at where I am now with my confidence in teaching. 

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

My CE and I have been trying to figure out a new way to do our WIN time, and this week we tried three different ways of having WIN time! I have learned that you really do have to try things out in classroom, because they can look great on paper, but do not work with actual students at all. I have learned to not stress too much over something if it does not work the first time, because I can just fix it and make it better the next day. 

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

My long-term goal is improve my students TRC scores when they take it for one final time in may. My short term goal right now is to differentiate the WIN groups, so that I can have a chance to work independently with every group on their TRC skills. 

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

I want to spend time on my EdTPA more than I have, because all I have is an idea, and not a date. I am going to schedule some time in my days to work on EdTPA, to have a solid foundation on that, so that I can pass. 

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

I still feel pretty apprehensive about behavior management. I love being nice to my students and doing that through positive reinforcement, but making a student move their clip is hard for me to do, because I never know what action is bad enough for that. I feel like I have progressed through this more as I have been in the classroom, but sometimes that is a very hard line to draw. 

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

I am going to finish my resume this weekend, and start applying to jobs in Cleveland County and Mitchell County and my surrounding areas. I am very excited to start applying to jobs! I am also going to be working on my PDP, because my observation this Friday should help me form my PDP goals, so that I can be the best teacher I can be. 

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

We started a new unit in Eureka this week, and a lot of it is still review, but instead of working with two-digit number, we are working with three-digit numbers. However, the arrow method got introduced this week, and has blew my students minds. I am having to reteach and review this method during our skills review time everyday this week, and they do seem to be improving! This is just a process I am having to get use to, because this is the real side of teaching. I could teach a lesson perfectly, but sometimes the concept is too complicated and I have to learn how to teach it another way. 

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

Encourage yourself daily. Everyday you get out of bed, tell yourself that today is going to be a great day no matter what. Always smile and laugh your way through the day, and love on all the children. I promise your day will be good, if you have that kind of mind set. 

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 know that it is my job to lead in my classroom every single day. When something does not goes as planned or something happens with a student in my classroom, it is now my responsibility to lead and take care of whatever is happening. I am leading 21 little life in classroom, and that is on of the greatest responsibilities. 

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. 

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.

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 am implementing technology into almost every one of my lessons, and my students are becoming more and more engaged. 

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?

Just prayers as I continue this journey.