Student Teaching Week 10 Reflection

March 8, 2019

Week of Reflection: Week 10 of the semester, Week 6 of full-time student teaching!

• Rate your overall experience of the week: 1-Very difficult | 5 – Great week

I would rate this week a 3. I was a good week as far as getting edTPA turned in!

Seven questions to end your week:

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

I was so happy to finally accomplish getting edTPA turned in this week! It was a huge burden lifted off of us all! It was a long time coming, and now I’m just hoping my scores reflect the amount of time and effort I put into it.

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

This week I just learned that I have to start doing things that give me a brain break, like working out or just spending time with family. I am so exhausted all the time from the mental work that I am putting in that I need to start getting my hands busy and doing other things that give me a break.

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

Now that edTPA is turned in, I can just focus on my portfolio!

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

I could have spent more time working on lesson plans this week.

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

N/A

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

To finish up planning my parent event, to take place on March 20th!

Adapted from: Cernoff, M. (2013, August 7). 7 Questions to End Your Week With. . Retrieved July 21, 2014, from http://www.marcandangel.com/2013/08/08/7-questions-to-end-your-week-with/

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

This week I analyzed some reading data for guided reading groups, and really started to dig into guided reading differentiation with leveled books. It’s really starting to make sense!

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

Give yourself a break and relax :)

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.

Standard 1a, “Teachers lead in their classrooms.” This week we had back-to-back tornado and fire drills. We were putting on our jackets and the fire alarm went off. One of my students wouldn’t leave the room for a few seconds because he was determined to get his Pokemon cards out of his bookback. When we got back inside, we had a talk about how when we think a building is on fire, we never ever go back inside it-- we let the firemen do their jobs. Who knows, it could save one of their lives one day.

• 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.

Standard 2e, “Teachers work collaboratively with the families and significant adults in the lives of their students.” This week, I started having my students fill out “Changing Choices” sheets to reflect on their behavior and what they should have done differently, and what they are going to do differently next time. Then, I initialed the bottom and put it in their folders to have it signed by a parent. Hopefully we will start seeing some good results from this!

• 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.

Standard 3c, “Teachers recognize the interconnectedness of content areas/disciplines.” Under this category is Global Awareness. I taught the Water Cycle this week, and we read “A Drop Around the World.” It took us through the water cycle from the perspective of one raindrop, and took us to Mumbai, Switzerland, the Sahara Desert, Japan, Australia, and other places. It was great for not only teaching them about the Water Cycle, but also including lots of Global Awareness!

• 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.

Standard 4d, “Teachers integrate and utilize technology in their instruction.” I feel more and more confident in the area of technology integration the more I am in the classroom. I am exploring new technological instructional programs and using them in my instruction.

• 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.

Standard 5b, “Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals.” This week and next week I am finishing up planning for my parent event-- which is a part of my PDP.

Other:

• What components of your portfolio have you started to complete?

Still collecting behavior plan data, pictures and video clips for my video, etc. Now that edTPA is done, I’ll be able to do a lot more for my portfolio each week.

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

N/A

• What support do you need from your university supervisor?

N/A