January 13th, 2017

Weekly Rating: 5 - It has been a great week!

• Observe: I am still in the observing phase of Student Teaching. Since last week was our first week back to school, the students were given a "Special Reward Day" to help ease them back into the daily routine of being at school. We watched "Happiness is a Warm Blanket; Charlie Brown." This week, however, we have had normal classes and it has been great to see Fogleman in action. We had snow days Monday and Tuesday and then a two-hour delay on Wednesday, so it has been a bit of a short week! 

 I have become much more familiar with the layout of the school. I am also learning students' and teachers' names (at a very slow pace). We have had "car duty" this week, so I have been outside helping the students get out of their cars and into the building. I have found that I am very cheery to see the students and love saying "good morning" to them. I think this is a very beneficial and important part of being a teacher. I get to greet them and make them feel welcomed back at school every morning.

Another great accomplishment that I have encountered this week is in regards to my Student Teaching portfolio. Yesterday I met with Erin Cook to get my resume squared away and I even have my classroom website mostly finished! I'm proud of the work that I have accomplished thus far. 

• Reflect: I think the biggest lesson I have learned is that taking initiative is a cornerstone of being a teacher. I was timid and shy when I arrived here at FES. I did not feel comfortable telling students that they needed to follow rules or instructions. I also did not know how to relate to my fellow teachers. It is daunting to come into an established atmosphere with it's own way of doing things and "assigned" roles of participation.

I have, however learned just how welcomed I am here at FES. I am daily asked how everything is going, or told that I am welcomed here at Fallston. Fellow teachers regularly ask me when I will begin teaching and how I am enjoying it. Lunch with all the "specials" teachers has become much less intimidating and I feel more comfortable taking part in the (many) conversations happening at the table! As far as students go, I am becoming more vocal with them. I have started to ask them questions when we are walking down the hallways (even though we aren't supposed to be talking-whoops!), and this week I have been singing with them on the risers or just participating in their classes. I have seen how moving a student to a new seat will definitely make a great difference if they were sitting beside someone they were tempted to cut-up with. Fogleman does a great job of pointing out the "correct" behaviors that are warranted, which perks up the ears of students who are not following directions, usually making them do what they should be.
I've discovered that third grade will probably be rowdy every class I have with them. Their schedule is "Core Blocks" from the beginning of school until lunch, which I think is around 12 for them, followed by "specials" which is us. So they are fidgety and ready to move. I think this will help me plan lessons for them. I will want to have them moving and interacting with one another in a controlled way.  On the opposite side of the spectrum, Kindergarten is our last class of the day. They are tired and sometimes have a hard time staying awake-which will also warrant some movement and excitement in my lesson plans. 

• Focus: One of my short-term efforts thus far is to address both students and teachers by name. I am also putting in a lot of thought into my edTPA unit though I am having a hard time nailing it down. I think these will positively influence my long term goals of knowing the students that I am teaching and figuring out how best to teach them. 

I feel almost as though I have "writer's block" while trying to plan out my unit. When things are so important, I clam up and put too much thought into it. I definitely know that I need to take a step back and make my mind thing more logically. I think the toughest part that I have found is deciding how to start my unit. What do I want the students to know/not know yet. What am I trying to get them to discover? Hopefully I can hold more discussions with my supports to decide how best to move forward.

• Be productive: I think I have actually spent my time very wisely. If anything, I could spent more time with edTPA-just getting acclimated and figuring everything out. However, I think I have done a lot of great things with the time I have been afforded.
• Have courage: I touched on this in my "observe" reply, but I began this experience with apprehension. I was unsure of how it would go and even still am unsure of how well I will do at teaching music. As I addressed above, however, I have been gaining confidence in myself and taking the extra strides towards meeting the teachers, getting to know the students, and being more active in the classroom. 

Monday we do not have school (MLK), but on Tuesday I will begin taking responsibility for Kindergarten. This is exciting and also very terrifying! I am very glad that I will be teaching this specific class because I observed their class a fair amount last semester and feel relatively familiar with their classroom atmosphere. They are precious. We will be learning about the classroom instruments and even playing some, so I think they're going to LOVE it! I think I'm most worried about logistical things: Doing their ASL vocab correctly, making sure not to forget the Bulldog Bone, keeping their attention, etc. Thankfully, Fogleman will be here to help me through it. She's a great support. 

• Begin anew: Next week will begin my 3rd week in the classroom. I can't say that I need to "declutter" much. I hope to plan more of my edTPA unit this weekend, though. I am hopefully going to speak with my designated class' teacher to receive more information about their IEPs and other learning behaviors, so that is a good way to get myself prepared to make the best lesson plans according to their specific needs. I will look over Fogleman's lesson plans for next week and get myself ready to have Kindergarten on Tuesday, K1 on Wednesday, K12 and Thursday and Friday!
• Data analysis: This week in preparation for my edTPA unit I have been looking over Bloom's Taxonomy and discovering the progression from lower to higher thinking skills. I have printed out a few charts with appropriate vocabulary, actions, results, and procedures. This has helped me to try and pace my lessons to accommodate the progression of learning by students.
• Advice: If I had to give advice to future student teachers I would say to go ahead and begin your work. You can easily knock out a good amount of EE7 and begin thinking about what you would want to do for your edTPA unit. I know that it is hard to get yourself moving and doing work that isn't "due" until later on in the semester, but I know it is going to pay off once I actually begin teaching.

NCTCS: Once I begin making/giving lesson plans, I will talk more about how my lessons aligned with the standards! 

• Portfolio: I have begun working on EE7: Website, Technological Evidences, Professional Development Plan and Resume. 
• Support: I am going to need time to process and plan in the next meeting with my University Supervisor.