final reflection -...

Final Reflection

Laura Capps

Miami Elementary

Planning

Plan book

One strength in the area of planning is my ability to create and maintain a useful and organized plan book. My plan book has one page per day with detailed boxes for each lesson throughout the day. I am able to scan entries quickly and know the details of the lessons for that day.

Long-Term Planning

One aspect included in my plan book is long-term plans. In addition to the daily plans mentioned above, I also have week-long plans in which lesson sequences are outlined. Because my school works on three-week cycles, my planning would start at the cycle-level. As a grade-level, my team would decide the focus and sequence for each of the three weeks in the cycle. Then I would plan a general sequence of lessons, deciding how much instruction, practice, and assessment would be needed for each standard addressed in the particular cycle. Only then would I start planning specific daily lessons.

Plan book daily pages

Cycle planning done

during grade level

meetings

Post-It Notes show

planning of small group

instruction

Cycle planning specific to

subject. Weekly plans for

3-week literacy unit on

inferences

Planning (cont.)

Long Term Projects

Another strength I possess in the area of

planning is the ability to plan for long term

projects. These projects span over the course of

multiple weeks or months even. One such

project was a famous Hoosier project.

Integrating social studies and writing standards,

students researched a famous Hoosier and

created an informational brochure about that

person. Students then wrote a historical fiction

piece from the perspective of their famous

Hoosier about an important event in that

person’s life.

Students researching important events in their famous Hoosier’s life in order to write their historical fiction piece

Students researching information and creating a draft of their informational brochure about a famous

Hoosier

Planning (cont.)

Guest Speakers

Another strength in planning is the ability to plan for guest

speakers to visit the classroom. On at least three different

occasions, guest speakers were integral parts of lessons

within my classroom. In the photographs below, students are

interacting with two different guest speakers. One was a

geologist from Purdue who spoke about the skills of a

scientist as well as earth science topics like weathering and

erosion. Another was an engineer from Caterpillar who

visited via Skype to discuss the engineering process. A third

guest speaker came to speak to students about Veteran’s

Day and the importance of our military.

Students listening to a presentation given via Skype by an engineer at Caterpillar

A geologist from Purdue facilitating an activity with students about rocks during a guest visit

Planning Reflection

Over the course of this semester, one of my biggest takeaways about planning is that effective planning is essential to effective teaching.

I have found that the quality of instructional experiences provided to students is dependent on the quality of planning done beforehand. The activities in which I planned for multiple student responses were the most meaningful experiences for students. I was much more able to make adjustments during instruction when I had considered multiple ways that students could respond to instruction. This type of planning takes more time and effort but it always was worth it.

Another takeaway from this semester is that team-level planning can be helpful for developing a logical sequence of instruction in order to meet standards and student needs.

Every three-week cycle, the 4th grade team would map out how we would meet the standards of that cycle. This allowed me to learn how to scaffold instruction in order to build student understanding of a skill or strategy. For example, when teaching number patterns generated by a rule, I was able to bounce ideas of other team members in order to determine how to best break down this complex concept into manageable parts.

The team-level planning also provided me with ideas and resources for how to teach content matter in multiple formats and using multiple modalities. Each teacher in the team shared ideas and resources during the meeting so that everyone could have a bank of options to choose from when planning.

Planning Goals

In order to continue growing and developing in the area of planning,

I have set the following goals for myself:

I will continue to utilize team members during the planning process. This has

proven to be useful and effective during this experience and is something I want

to continue doing in my next teaching position.

I will seek advice from others who have taught the standards before in order to

better determine the best and most logical sequence of instruction. I benefitted

from having an experienced mentor teacher who could provide a general idea

of how much direct instruction and practice is needed before assessing

students. Continuing to seek the advice of those who have experience will be a

value tool for me as I start my career.

Teaching: Instructional Strategies

Variety of Level of Support

One instructional strategy used across disciplines is varying the levels of support given during instruction. Some instruction is delivered in a whole class setting, while some is delivered in a small group or individualized setting. The variety of instructional delivery allowed me to ensure that all students received baseline instruction on a skill or strategy during whole group instruction, and then targeted instruction during small group instruction. The small group instruction provided opportunities for more scaffolded instruction for students who needed more support or extension for students who needed more challenge.

Peer Support

Another strategy used frequently was peer

support. Strategic groupings allowed me to

use students as models for cognitive

processes or language supports. Students

worked together in pairs or small groups in

order to accomplish tasks across disciplines.

Small group

instruction: re-

engagement

on division

Whole group instruction: A

lesson on analyzing a text to

make inferences

Teaching: Instructional Strategies (cont.)

Methods of Student Engagement

Another instructional strategy used frequently was to design and implement tasks that engage all students at the same time. These activities were sometimes informal checks for understanding or practice activities to develop student use of a skill or strategy.

One example of this strategy is shown in the picture on the left. This is a student work sample from a close reading activity. Students worked through a specific method to analyze and annotate a text. All students worked through the steps, providing engagement throughout the task. Student performance on reading tasks has improved since the implementation of close reading activities; most students have moved up a full grade equivalent.

Another example shown to the right is using dry erase markers to practice math concepts. All students used their desks as a work space to solve a practice problem given. After students tried the problem independently, they would share with partners and finally discuss possible solutions with the whole class.

Student work sample

from a close reading

activity

Students solving

function table

problems on their desks

using dry erase markers


Methods of Student Engagement

I also used learning activities and materials that motivated students to engage in the content. I designed and implemented a variety of activities that were creative and used interesting materials. Two examples are shown in the images to the right. The top image shows a character map made from sticky notes. Students wrote traits on one color note and text evidence from the story on the other color note. The other image shows students practicing dialogue by writing a movie script based on a photograph. Students created their own story based on the image and wrote the dialogue for the story using correct punctuation.

Character map

with sticky notes

Dialogue practice

using photographs

I also used guest speakers to

engage students in learning

content. Bringing in an

expert motivated students

to learn and brought

excitement to the lesson.


A Variety of Modalities

In order to meet the diverse needs and preferences of my students, I used different modalities, including visual, audio, and tactile investigations. One major source of visual input was the wall of anchor charts in the classroom. Students helped create these charts and used them for reference frequently. Another source of visual and audio input is videos. I used videos from Flocabulary, BrainPop, Math Antics, and more to engage students and to present content.

I also created hands-on activities to allow students to use their process skills like observation, communication, and evaluation while engaging in content. As shown in the image on the bottom left, students engaged in an activity to build a wind powered vehicle. They had learned about wind energy and this activity provided them with the opportunity to further explore the power of the wind.

Hands-on exploration of

wind power in order to

create a wind powered

vehicle

The wall of anchor charts

created for multiple

content areas


Technology

Various types of technology were used across content areas

in order to enhance, extend, and supplement instruction.

Within the classroom, there was a Smart Board as shown in

the photograph on the right. This piece of technology was

used frequently during math instruction to model and

explain solutions. In the photograph, students were given a

problem on the Smart Board and are solving it using their

desks as workspace. The Smart Board was used to show

videos, images, and PowerPoints as well.

Each student had their own IPad, so that was another piece

of technology used frequently. Students could practice

math on programs like IXL, Xtra Math, and Accelerated

Math. They could read and listen to books through programs

like Epic and Tumblebooks. Students had individual goals for

reading and math on Accelerated Reader and

Accelerated Math. Students also could use their IPads as a

resource to look up unknown words or do research.

Students using

the Smart Board

to practice math

problems

A student using their

IPad to conduct

research about a

famous Hoosier


Student Engagement in Higher Order Thinking

I engaged students in higher order thinking tasks as much

as possible once the basics of a skill had been mastered. I

used evaluation activities, such as error analysis of math

problems and examination of photographs from history in

order to infer about the time period. Students were given

questions as prompts and worked in groups to discuss the

questions and evaluate the materials.

Another type of higher order task was design tasks.

Students were engaged in designing a solution to a real

world problem. One example was to design a new

product due to hypothetical lack of resources. Students

had studied natural resources and how some are non-

renewable and might run out in the future. Students used

the engineering design process in order to create a new

pair of shoes using the constraints given due to a

hypothetical shortage of resources.

Students working in

pairs to design

shoes with no

rubber or plastic

Students working in

groups to evaluate

photographs from

MLK’s famous

speeches

Instructional Strategies Reflection

One major takeaway from this experience is that a teacher needs to have a variety of strategies at their disposal in order to effectively teach all content to all students.

Every student learns differently and at a different pace. Therefore, teachers need to have a wide range of strategies in order to meet the needs of their diverse students. Being able to use multiple learning modalities and flexible configurations of student groupings will allow me to provide multiple means of input and varying levels of support for all students.

Another takeaway is that teachers need to be able to use these strategies flexibly and be willing to try other strategies when previously used ones are not working.

Even the best laid plans sometimes need adjustment. This is very true in teaching and is a lesson that I have learned the hard way throughout this experience. Sometimes, one strategy is not effective for some students and a good teacher needs to be able to use another strategy in order to reach those students. For example, when teaching area and perimeter of complex shapes, I first used direct modeling on the Smart Board and guided practice opportunities to teach students how to solve these problems. Data showed that this was not effective for about 75% of students. Therefore, I tried using peer support, so that students were hearing how to solve the problem in language at their level. Some students still needed more support, so I created manipulatives to further help these students understand the concept and process. I had to remain flexible in my use of instructional strategies in order to meet all student needs.

Instructional Strategies Goals

In order to continue growing and developing in the area of instructional strategies, I have set the following goals for myself:

I want to use more inquiry-based approaches in which students develop understanding of processes and procedures before direct instruction. I used this approach a few times during STAR and math and it was engaging yet challenging for students. This type of instruction was student-driven, rather than teacher-driven, making it more meaningful for students. In future experiences, I want to use this approach more often, especially during math instruction. This can help teach for understanding of concepts in addition to process and procedure.

I also want to provide more opportunities for students to take risks. A few times throughout this experience, I implemented tasks in which students had to take risks and solve problems without having been explicitly taught the steps to solve them. Students did not respond very well to these tasks due to fear of failure. One example was the pre-tests given during math instruction. Students were asked to solve problems before instruction and many shut down due to uncertainty of how to solve the problems. In future teaching positions, I want to provide many experiences for students to take risks, so that they do not fear failure but instead are excited by the challenge. I want my instruction to incorporate more of these types of activities.

Teaching: Differentiation

In order to effectively differentiate instruction to meet the needs of

all students, I used a variety of strategies during instruction. One

strategy used consistently was small group instruction with grouping

based on needed skills and/or general demonstrated ability in that

subject. This allowed for instruction based on targeted needs. I

planned differentiated lessons based on the group with me during

station time. One example of this was during math stations when my

instruction was focused on division. One group of students needed

a lot of support with division, so I used manipulatives and spent

more time on the concept and process of division. Another group

had demonstrated near mastery of division, so I provided them with

challenge problems using larger dividends and word problems with

multiple division steps. Student performance on the assessment for

division showed 19 of 23 students demonstrated mastery and the

other 4 students demonstrated partial mastery of the skill. This data

indicates that the differentiation was effective in meeting diverse

student needs.

Small group instruction: re-

engagement on division

Leveled reading group practicing a skill not yet mastered by all students

Teaching: Differentiation (cont.)

Another grouping strategy used during instruction was strategic

partnerships and small groups during practice activities. The

groupings provided peer support, especially for students with

specific learning needs. It also allowed for partners of similar

abilities to be challenged while doing the same activities as the

rest of the class. By providing more complex math problems or

higher level thinking questions to a specific group, I could provide

differentiation quickly during instruction. As shown in the picture to

the right, students could easily be given differentiated

expectations while working in partners. These students are working

to practice multi-digit multiplication problems. Some students were

solving 2-digit by 2-digit problems while others were solving 3-digit

by 2-digit or 4-digit by 2-digit, depending on the level of skill

mastery of the partnership.Students working

together to practice

multi-digit multiplication

problems.


Another strategy used consistently was to provide

multiple means of input during instruction. I used

visuals, like anchor charts and videos to introduce,

explain, or review topics. I also would provide

audio input by reading texts aloud at least once

so all students had heard the text. Students also

had other versions of audio books available to

them, such as Epic and Tumblebooks. I

incorporated manipulatives when possible in order

to enhance instruction and meet the diverse

needs and preferences of all students. Included

are images of an example lesson in which multiple

means of input were used in order to teach the

concepts of area and perimeter of complex

shapes.

Paper

manipulatives

Practice problems

with colored

rectangles and

structured work

space

Video used

to

introduce

concept


In addition to using differentiation strategies during instruction, I also differentiate during assessment of student learning. One common method of differentiation during assessment was to provide small group testing for a select group of students. These students either were identified as ELL students or had IEPs that stipulate assessment should be done in small group setting. I would pull these students to a table within the room and sit with them during the assessment. An additional accommodation made was providing an oral presentation of the assessment. I would read the entire assessment to students in the small group one time. Then students were told to read the assessment aloud to themselves. Phonics phones were provided as needed to aide in the oral presentation of assessments. This differentiation was proven effective multiple times throughout the semester. One example was an assessment over inferences taken by a student with a specific skill deficit in reading. She took the assessment without a phonics phone and without reading it to herself. Her score was a 25%. The next day, she re-took the same assessment with a phonic phone and reading it aloud to herself. Her score jumped to a 75%.

A phonics phone used

by many students during

assessment


Another differentiation strategy used during assessment was to shorten the length of the task. Students still were being assessed on the same standard or skill, but the number of questions was reduced. This made the assessment more manageable for some students and allowed them to finish the assessment in a reasonable time frame. One example of this was to shorten the spelling lists for two students. They practiced the same word patterns as other students but had fewer words to study. Both of these students had average scores of about 60% on their spelling tests before the differentiation. After the size accommodation was made, their average scores rose to around 80% correct on weekly spelling tests.

Providing differentiated structures made written assessments more manageable for students with specific learning needs. Sentence frames were a common structure provided for students learning English or with specific learning disabilities in literacy. One student has benefitted greatly from using sentence frames. His scores on written assignments before sentence frames were on average 4/10. After using sentence frames consistently, his average score has increased to 8/10 for written response assessments.

Differentiated spelling list

Sentence frame for written

response

Assessment

Assessment Design Process

When designing and planning for assessment, the grade level standards were the foundation of the assessment. After reading the standards, I determined the evaluation criteria needed to be demonstrated by students in order to meet the standard. Finally, I decided what type of assessments were best, based on the standard and evaluation criteria. I planned informal formative assessments, formal formative assessments, and summative assessments

District curriculum maps were the primary source for knowing the standards being assessed. These were reviewed often during grade level meetings. The maps stated which standards were assessed during each 3-week cycle for math, reading, and writing.

Grade level meetings also were used to decide if the cycle assessments provided by the district had the evaluation criteria needed for students to demonstrate mastery of the standards for that cycle.

Cycle assessment

provided by the district

Math curriculum map

Assessment (cont.)

Informal Formative Assessments

Two main forms of informal formative assessments used were active listening-learning strategies (ALLS) and observations of students. I often used ASL signs and other non-verbal movements to allow students to respond to questions during instruction. I also would observe student conversations during partner work in order to gauge student understanding and use of the targeted concept or skill. I used these informal assessments to make instructional adjustments in response to student confusions, misunderstandings, or mastery of the concept or skill.

Formal Formative & Summative

Assessments

Paper and pencil assessments

These assessments included short written quizzes, exit tickets, Quick Writes, graphic organizers, and one-question skill checks.

Rubrics

Rubrics were used to assess projects, like an informational brochure about a famous Hoosier or a story map for a short story.

Study Island quizzes

This app on student IPads became the main form for summative cycle quizzes. Students are assigned the same 4-question assessment over one of the targeted standards for that cycle.

In order to gather sufficient data on student learning and mastery of

skills, I utilized multiple forms of assessment.

Rubric used to assess

informational brochure

A student using his

IPad to complete

an assessment

Assessment (cont.)

Over the course of the semester, I have further developed my ability to use data to drive instruction.

Results of informal formative assessments were used to make instructional adjustments during lessons. If students were not demonstrating understanding of the concept or skill, I provided extra modeling, direct instruction, or practice opportunities to better support students.

Results of formative formal assessments were used to determine the next steps for my instruction on a particular standard. If the data showed that students had a common misunderstanding, I would use that information to plan instruction about that specific issue. If the data showed that students had mastered the standard, I would design instruction to extend and enrich their understanding of the concept.

Results of the summative cycle quizzes were used to determine re-engagement needs of students. If over 75% of students did not achieve mastery, I would plan instruction for the entire class to revisit the standard to improve performance. Sometimes, re-engagement was done through small group instruction, as well. Students who had not demonstrated mastery of the standard based on the cycle quiz data were grouped together for targeted re-engagement lessons during small group instruction. In general, the data gathered from the summative assessments determined if students were ready to move on to the next set of standards and what the focus of small group instruction would be in order to provide re-engagement lessons.

Item analysis of a cycle quiz in order to determine which criteria were not

mastered by students

The results of

all cycle

quizzes for

Language

Arts. Green is

mastery,

yellow is

partial

mastery, and

red is non-

mastery

Classroom Culture

A teacher’s job is not solely limited to instruction. Developing a community and

classroom culture is also a major responsibility. I have done that this semester

through a variety of methods and strategies. The next set of slides will address

each of the following aspects of classroom culture:

Warmth and Acceptance

Habits of Mind & Aspects of Character

Collaboration

Classroom Management

Student Responsibility

My students engaged in instruction. This photo also shows the layout of my classroom. Student desks are arranged in groups or

partners.

Classroom Culture: Warmth &

Acceptance

Positive Learning Environment

One method used to develop a positive

learning environment was to regularly praise

students for high achievement. I modeled

positive praise frequently and encouraged

students to use positive language towards

each other as well. I even taught a lesson in

which students reflected on the power of

words and how words can impact the world

around them. Students spent time writing

about a time where their words impacted

someone and then practiced using their

words to improve the world around them.

One example of a positive,

encouraging environment

occurred during our

Celebration of Learning.

Students were recognized

for their achievements

during the first quarter and

the other students served as

a cheering audience.

Students felt accepted by

the peers and recognized

for their accomplishments.

Celebration of

Learning ceremony

Classroom Culture: Warmth &

Acceptance (cont.)

Collaboration

Another aspect of an accepting learning environment is positive peer relationships. In my classroom, I used flexible groupings so that students frequently worked together with a variety of classmates. I established clear expectations for group work and reinforced those expectations as I monitored groups. Students felt comfortable sharing their ideas and asking questions with their partners. I also encouraged students to use each other as resources when they had a question. During our homework time at the end of each day, I would direct students to ask a neighbor before asking an adult if they were confused about something on their homework. Students became great support for each other and developed positive relationships with each other.

Risk-Taking

I also strived to develop a classroom community in which students felt comfortable taking risks and trying new solutions for problems. I accomplished this by designing instruction that posed complex problems for students to solve. Students first developed a potential solution independently, and then collaborated with classmates in order to enhance and further develop their potential solution. Students were given the opportunity to test their solution and make improvements based on the results of the test. I promoted a growth mindset by constantly asking how students could make their solution better.

Students working together to solve homework

problems

One student helping another student read a difficult passage with challenging vocabulary

Students engaged in a risk-

taking activity. They tried multiple solutions in order to build a cup pyramid without using their hands.

Classroom Culture: Habits of Mind &

Aspects of Character

Another part of developing a positive classroom culture is helping students to become better thinkers and better people. There were a few key strategies that I used throughout the semester to foster habits of mind and aspects of character.

Checklists

One major tool I provided to students in order to help them think about the quality of their own work was checklists. I gave checklists with evaluation criteria for projects before students started the project, so they knew exactly what their work should include. I also taped a checklist to student desks for them to check all work completed. Students used these frequently to assess the quality of their work and to think about the effort they were putting in to completing their work.

Anchor Charts & Interactive Notebooks

Other tools I provided to students in order to help them be better thinkers were anchor charts and interactive notebooks. Students were active parts of creating the classroom anchor charts, developing definitions of terms and explaining images used. Students then created their own reference sheets and practicing note-taking skills by completing interactive notebook pages. These pages were scaffolded note-taking pages with a variety of structures used to organize information. Students created these pages and discussed how the information was organized. These pages were tools to teach students how to structure and organize information, a skill they will need as they move on to intermediate school next year.

The blue checklists taped to students’ desks contain general information to assess the quality of all work completed by students. Steps for the close reading method, a

tool used independently by students

to analyze a text

A checklist given to

students to self-assess their

written responses to texts.

Classroom Culture: Habits of Mind &

Aspects of CharacterIn addition to developing a positive learning environment, collaborative work and risk-taking activities were used to develop habits of mind and aspects of character.

Collaborative Activities

During collaborative activities, students had to demonstrate multiple aspects of character, including patience, respect, flexibility of thought, and cooperation with others. I provided mini-lessons on these aspects of character as students practiced working in collaborative situations. I seized teachable moments as I observed students working together to discuss aspects of character. One example was an activity in which two group members disagreed about how to solve a problem. One student raised her voice to her partner and began talking over her partner. I intervened and used that moment to review with all students a more respectful approach for disagreeing with someone. I also used that moment to discuss flexibility of thought and being willing to try others’ ideas, rather than demanding to use your own solution. I had many opportunities like this due to the large amount of collaborative activities used.

Risk-Taking Activities

These types of activities foster habits of mind like risk-taking and improvement of work as well as aspects of character like persistence and flexibility. Students had to use creativity to design solutions without knowing if the solutions would work. They took risks in creating a solution to a problem without having been told how to solve the problem. Students had to persist during these tasks by continually testing and improving their solution. One activity was to design a wind-powered vehicle. Some students build vehicles that didn’t move when placed in front of a fan. Instead of quitting, students returned to their design and made adjustments and improvements before trying again. They also had to be flexible in their designs if some parts of the design were proven ineffective. These types of activities were very beneficial in teaching students how to be better thinkers and workers.

Students sharing

ideas about how

to analyze a text.

They briefly

disagreed but

used skills learned

to solve their

disagreement.

A wind-powered vehicle designed by students

A wind-powered vehicle with improvements made after a first test failed to produce results.

Classroom Culture: Collaboration

Collaboration was an essential piece of my classroom community. Students were often engaged in collaborative work, as previously discussed. I used flexible groupings across subjects; groups could be based on specific skill needs, leveled general ability, or mixed ability.

In reading, I used collaborative groups most often during close reading activities. Students discussed complex texts with partners, using their partners for language support and comprehension support. They discussed the questions posed during close reading and helped each other develop quality written responses to prompts.

In math, I used a lot of “share and compare” moments. Students tried to solve a problem independently first, then were told to share their solution with a partner and compare their solution with their partners. I also used partners to practice computation facts and to evaluate each other’s work. Students were taught how to check over their partner’s work for procedural errors and computational errors.

In writing, I taught students how to conduct effective peer conferences. Because I could not conference with all students every day, teaching students how to productively discuss writing and how to provide positive, constructive feedback was a vital piece of instruction. I set very clear expectations and provided modeling of both appropriate and inappropriate conferences. Students used peer conferencing throughout the year and even transferred the principles of a writing conference to other collaborative activities in other subjects.

Peer conference

during writing

Students working together to

practice multi-digit

multiplication and to check

each other’s work.

A small group using close reading to analyze a science text

Classroom Culture: Classroom

Management Techniques

This semester I used a combination of three main classroom management techniques. Clear expectations and procedures were defined early in the semester and were reinforced throughout the semester using the following techniques:

Clip system

This system served as a visual for students to monitor their own behavioral choices throughout the day. Students who made positive choices clipped up and students who did not meet expectations clipped down. Each level had consequences, positive or negative, allowing for rewarding of meeting and exceeding expectations and for loss of classroom privileges for not meeting expectations.

Chief Tickets

These motivators are part of the schoolwide PBIS plan and are used by all teachers. They are an easy way to reward and encourage positive behavior. At the end of each week, a classroom drawing is held where two students’ names are selected from the ticket basket and those students choose a prize from the school prize cart. I used tickets often to reward participation and engagement during lessons and I would often see students who weren’t very engaged suddenly become engaged in hopes of earning a ticket or two.

Mrs. Potato Head

This technique was used to reward positive behavior outside of the classroom. If the class received a compliment from other adults in the school building, like specials teachers, recess and lunch monitors, other teachers, or the principal, they would earn pieces of Mrs. Potato Head. Once Mrs. Potato Head was complete, they would earn a mystery reward, like extra recess, free time on IPads, or a treat.

Clip system visual

display

Chief Ticket basket with

tickets inside. Weekly

drawings happen from this

basket.

Mrs. Potato Head almost

complete with pieces. A few

more and the students earn

the reward.

Classroom Culture: Student Responsibility

One method of giving students

responsibility for the upkeep of the

classroom was to assign classroom

jobs. Students were responsible for

tasks such as sharpening the

classroom supply of pencils,

cleaning desk surfaces, organizing

materials related to technology like

IPads and headphones, and turning

the lights off every time we left the

room. These jobs rotated weekly, so

students had experience in helping

maintain various aspects of our

classroom.

Another method of giving students responsibility was to have 4th grade students run the lunch count program. Every morning, each teacher completes a lunch count form where each student’s lunch choice is recorded. These were previously collected by someone in the cafeteria. This year, the 4th grade team decided to give that job to some of our students. Each morning, a group of students would be assigned a hallway and would collect the lunch count papers for that hallway. Students had to go quickly while also setting a great example of polite manners for the younger students. One student was in charge of ensuring that all papers had been collected and then submitting the papers to the appropriate staff member. Students have loved being entrusted with this task and it has created a sense of pride among the 4th graders to be selected for this role!

*Students were given responsibility in two different ways this semester. One was responsibility for the

classroom and school functioning.

Student jobs within

the classroom

Classroom Culture: Student Responsibility

A major way I fostered students’ ability to be responsible for their own learning was to provide checklists and process steps for students to use independently. Students were taught how to use the checklists to self-assess their work before submission. The expectation was that students had gone through every step on the list before submitting work in order to submit the best version of their work. Students had a general list taped to their desk and also were given content and project specific lists as needed.

Students were also taught process steps and were expected to use those processes independently. Two examples would be the writing process and the close reading process. Both of these processes were posted in the room for easy reference. Students were taught how to do each step in both processes, so when tasks required these steps, students could perform them without needing me to walk them through each step every time. Students were given more responsibility for their learning and use of the tools provided to them as the semester went on and student proficiency of the tools increased.

*The other way students were given responsibility was responsibility for their own learning and development as

independent thinkers.

Another opportunity for students to take responsibility

for their own learning was independent research

projects. After teaching students about informative

writing and how to conduct research, I introduced the

concept of short, independent research projects.

Students could pick any school appropriate topic that

interested them and develop at least three research

questions about that topic. Then, they had to use at

least three credible sources to answer those questions.

Finally, they used the information in their organizer to

write a brief report on the topic. Students could

conduct these investigations if they finished an

assignment early or had some extra time at other

points in the day. Students were able to choose the

topic they wanted to learn about and the reports

could easily be shared with classmates and family

members at home. There were multiple times I saw

students become excited after doing research on a

topic of interest to them; they wanted to share the

information with their tablemates and with me. I even

heard some students using the information during class

discussions because they had chosen a research topic

being studied in class. The projects were great ways to

allow students some autonomy and responsibility in

their own education.

The steps of the writing process

A checklist created for the informative brochure on a famous

Hoosier project

The research guide

used to complete

independent

research projects

Classroom Culture: Reflection

Over the course of the semester, I have learned many strategies for creating a classroom culture that fosters positivity, creativity, and learning. I have highlighted three particular strategies that have proven to be effective in achieving this goal.

Create a Community of Learners and Citizens

In order to establish an environment where students want to learn and develop as thinkers and members of society, students should feel like they are part of a community. When students feel supported, they are more likely to persist through difficult tasks and to try new solutions to challenging problems. Students also are more likely to treat each other with respect and to work together collaboratively when they feel that they belong to the classroom community. A large part of a teacher’s job is to create this type of community by modeling the appropriate behavior and reinforcing it among students.

Student Responsibility

Another strategy I have learned to give students responsibility. The more responsibility students have , the more invested they become in their classroom community. When students have specific tasks to perform consistently, they become a bigger part of the largercommunity. Praising students for completing their responsibilities well can give them a sense of pride. One particular student in my class responded very well to being given responsibility and praise for doing a good job; his attitude and behavior in class changed drastically for the positive once he was given a consistent job in the classroom. He felt a stronger sense of belonging and therefore wanted to put forth more effort when completing his work.

Clear Expectations

The backbone of a classroom community is clear expectations and consistent enforcement of those expectations. When students knowhow to behave and know they will be held to those expectations, instructional time can be used more effectively. Less time is needed to handle issues with classroom management, leaving more time for learning. When students know the routines and procedures of a classroom, they can have a sense of structure and comfort. The consistency of expectations helps to create a classroom culture that promotes respect and learning. It is a large responsibility for teachers to set clear expectations and then to enforce them consistently.

Classroom Culture: Goals

After learning and practicing strategies to create a positive and productive classroom culture, I have a few goals in order to continue developing in this area of teaching.

One goal is to develop a classroom management plan with clearly defined expectations for students and clearly defined consequences for meeting and not meeting expectations.

During this experience, I learned one way to establish a classroom management plan. For my next teaching position, I want to develop my own plan with clear expectations for student interactions, work expectations, and respect for the school, classroom community, and themselves. I want my expectations to be clear, well-known, and publicly displayed; I also want students to have input into the expectations and consequences for meeting and not meeting those expectations. I have observed a few management systems and I have started developing my own system of consequences. I would like to implement a classroom economy with the expectations for the room and consequences posted clearly and enforced consistently.

A second goal is to provide opportunities for students to take pride and responsibility in their classroom and in their school.

Just like the lunch count program implemented this semester, I want to establish a way for students to take responsibility in the classroom and the school. As part of the classroom economy I’d like to establish, students would have classroom jobs to perform regularly. I have began thinking of classroom jobs in order to give students responsibility within my classroom. I also want to create opportunities for students to have responsibility within the school building. This would help students feel a sense of pride in their school community as well as in their classroom community.

Professionalism: Engaging Families

Curriculum Night

At the beginning of the semester, there was a schoolwide event for parents to learn more about the expectations of each grade level. Parents were invited to see their child’s classroom and talk to the grade level team. I interacted with parents, answering questions about the curriculum for 4th grade and providing resources to be used at home to supplement classroom instruction. Parents were also informed about PTO events and ways for parents to get involved in the school and their child’s classroom.

Problem-Solving Meetings

This semester, I became a part of the problem-solving committee for 3rd and 4th

grade. The committee consisted of 3rd grade and 4th grade teachers, the school counselor, and the school psychologist. The team met to discuss students who had been referred to the Response to Intervention process. Part of the team’s job was to inform parents of the interventions being implemented to help their child in the general education classroom. We shared ideas for interventions and accommodations with parents and as a team, developed a plan to help students make progress in their areas of need.

Movie Night

One fun way to engage families in school events was to host an outdoor movie event. Students and their families enjoyed snacks and watched a movie together with staff members and their families. It was a great way to get to know families better and to see students outside of school.

Throughout this semester, I have had multiple opportunities to engage with students’ families.

Families gathered at Curriculum Night, learning about how to be involved within the school and classrooms.

Families gathered at

Movie Night, enjoying snacks and watching a movie on the school lawn.

Professionalism: Engaging Families (cont.)

Parent-Teacher Conferences

After the first quarter, I participated in parent-teacher conferences. The purpose of the meetings was to inform parents of their child’s academic progress, discuss concerns, and set goals for the future. Over the two nights, we had 100% attendance. Every student had a family member attend a conference; this allowed me to meet every student’s parent or guardian. I led a few conferences, discussing recent assessments, report cards, student behavior, and other insight on students. I had information to share at each conference and answered questions from parents or guardians. A few conferences in particular were challenging and interesting; both of these involved a language barrier. One mother only spoke Spanish, so a sibling translated for her. I listened to the translation to ensure that the mother was being told accurate information. Another conference involved a father who only spoke Chinese. He did not have a translator at the conference, so he called someone who spoke English and Chinese. The entire conference was then held via the translator over the phone. It was a challenging conference but it was worth the extra effort in order to inform the father about his child’s progress.

Parent Letters

During the conferences, I sent home a personal letter written by me about each student in my class. The letters were positive praises about academics, behaviors, and work habits. Because of the language diversity in my classroom, I wrote two dual-language letters (seen below). One letter was written in Spanish and English; because of my background in Spanish, this wasn’t too challenging. The other letter was for a student who only speaks Chinese at home. Because I do not speak Chinese, I had to use my resources to create a letter his family could understand. His father was so excited to see a letter in Chinese! It took extra time and effort to create letters in multiple languages, but it was worth it. The parents could read the letters and understand all of the positive things I said about their child.

Professionalism: Engaging Families

(cont.)

Parents/Guardians Surveys & Family Surveys

At the beginning of the semester, I created two surveys to gather information about students’ families. The completed surveys provided me with a lot of valuable information. One survey was for parents or guardians and provided them with an avenue to discuss their goals for their child this year. They also provided information about their child; this gave me insight on how the student behaves at home as well as other information that could be useful in motivating the student in the classroom.

The other survey was about the students’ families as whole units. Students were to fill this survey out with their families. The purpose of this survey was to gather information about the cultural and language diversity present within the families of my students. I also asked about members of students’ households, traditions and celebrations, and other aspects of family life. These surveys allowed me to know more about my students and their families, as well as to begin to understand the cultures represented in my class.

Parent Survey

Family Survey (2 pages)

Professionalism: Engaging Families Reflection

A student’s educational team is not complete without the student’s family. Families know the student better than anyone and have a high interest in student success. Throughout this semester, I have learned the value of making the effort to connect with families. When families are informed about their child’s academic progress, goals, and areas of need, they are better able to support their child at home. More support means a better chance of success for the student; this is the ultimate goal for everyone on the educational team. Educators and families of students all want the student to achieve and be the best learners, thinkers, and citizens possible. It is much easier to accomplish this goal when there is a collaborative relationship between educators and families.

I have also learned that establishing a collaborative relationship with families is not always an easy task. Families are diverse in culture, language, and structure; no two families are identical, so a teacher needs to have multiple strategies for establishing and strengthening relationships with families. I made an effort very early in the semester to learn more about students’ families and I saw great reward from this. I knew which families had language diversity and was better able to accommodate for that; I knew that documents going home would need translating for those families before going home with the students. I also was able to plan instruction that was culturally sensitive and used references and images with which all students would be familiar. Sometimes, extra effort needs to be made in order to bring families into the classroom, but the effort is always worth it in the end.

Professionalism: Professional Growth

This semester has been a challenging, engaging, and rewarding experience! I have grown as an educator and have further developed the skills, strategies, and techniques needed in order to successfully serve students in a classroom. I have taken advantage of opportunities for professional development as a teacher, as well as engaged in reflective teaching in order to improve my instructional practices. I worked as part of a collaborative team and learned a lot from those experiences.

Professional Development Opportunities

A weekly source of professional development was grade level team meetings. These meetings were opportunities to gather ideas, advice, and insight from the other four members of the 4th grade team. We discussed planning, resources for instruction, assessments, issues, challenges, and other relevant topics for the grade level. I gathered a lot of great ideas and received advice on how to handle difficult situations.

Another opportunity for professional development that I attended on a bi-monthly basis was problem-solving meetings. This team met to discuss interventions and plans for students who had been referred to Response to Intervention for either academic or behavioral reasons. These meetings stretched my thinking of differentiation, motivation, and interventions to support students. Each student had a different need and needed a different type of support. Some teachers had tried interventions before referring the student, so as part of the team, I had think beyond what had already been tried. It was challenging and I learned other strategies that can be used to accomplish the same goal for different students.

A third opportunity for professional development was trainings on the close reading method. This method was a big topic at my school this semester, so there were multiple trainings about how to use this method in the classroom and the instructional benefits of using this method. I attended every session available to me and gathered a lot of resources and information about the close reading method. It is another instructional strategy that I can use to help students analyze a complex text and engage in higher order questions.


Reflective Teaching

Throughout this semester, I have reflected on my instructional practices through data meetings and rubrics used to assess assignments. These tools have allowed me to assess my own performance and to make adjustments and improvement for future instruction. The data meetings were focused on student performance on the end of cycle quizzes. I analyzed the data and reflected on what I could have done differently and what I need to do in future instruction to help students who did not meet proficiency standards. For example, after a meeting about a particular set of math standards, I reflected on what I had done and what else I could do in order to improve student performance on that topic. Nearly all students scored below proficiency on the assessment, so I needed to evaluate my own teaching and identify confusions still had by students. It was hard to admit that my instruction had not been as effective as students needed, but using reflective teaching allowed me to identify ways to improve my instruction in order to better serve students.

The rubrics used to assess assignments from this course also engaged me in self-reflection. These rubrics highlighted elements of effective instruction and because of this, I had to assess my own performance on each assignment to determine the degree to which I demonstrated these. The lesson plan rubric in particular made me more aware of my use of aspects of good instructional design, like motivators and attentional prompts. These rubrics provided me with prompts to reflect on my planning, instruction, and assessment of multiple subjects.


Collaboration with a Professional Team

A large part of my experience this semester has involved working as a member of a professional team. There were four other teachers on my grade level team, each with their own personality and teaching style. Some have strong personalities while others are more reserved. This was observed during our weekly grade level meetings and part of this experience was to find my role on the team. Often, I observed discussions and took notes about resources and ideas being discussed. I also often asked questions to seek clarity and understanding of how proposed instructional ideas and practices would be implemented in classrooms. As I took more responsibility for planning and teaching, I also contributed ideas and resources for instruction. I continued listening as well, absorbing the advice of the experienced teachers on the team. Being a part of a collaborative team helped me improve my instruction and gather insight about instructional practices and strategies and their effectiveness.

Being part of a collaborative team has provided me opportunities to learn more about myself and my educational philosophy. My role on my grade level team showed me that I have an analytical personality and that I prefer to take in all given information, process it, and then contribute to the discussion. I also learned that even though my teaching experience is limited, I still have the capability to suggest ideas and potential solutions. My special education background has been very beneficial and has allowed me to make productive contributions. For example, during a problem-solving meeting, I made a few suggestions about aspects of a behavioral motivation plan for a student who was not completing classwork. These suggestions were included in the overall plan and implemented by the classroom teacher. This was very encouraging for me. My suggestions were improved even more by additions made by other members of the problem-solving team. These types of experiences have impacted my confidence in being part of a collaborative team. After this experience, I better understand my own personality and my potential contributions to a collaborative team.

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