Weekly Reflection - January 18th

Questions for the Week

This week I began teaching half of the subjects in the classroom. I would rate this week as a three, not because I didn’t enjoy what I was doing, because I adored teaching, but because I was very overwhelmed by planning, preparing my materials, and grading student work. This week, I was pleasantly surprised my the willingness of my students to accept me as their teacher for part of the day. I was slightly nervous about my students still relying on my CE and looking to her for approval while I instructed, but the students did not struggle much at all with this! They automatically accepted me as their teacher for the subjects I took over and were willing to follow my instruction. One lesson that I learned this week is that I need to plan less activities, and simply plan impactful activities instead. I struggled greatly with the majority of the lessons I taught to get my lessons finished, and this caused me to feel very rushed and behind. Once I got behind, it was difficult to catch back up throughout the rest of the week. My short term goal for next week is to begin to understand how to pace my lessons better, and how to plan better for the time frame I have. This aligns with my long term goal of becoming an efficient student teacher for my students because I need to be able to fit all of my instruction into the lessons that I teach. This past week, I could have spent less time printing things for my lessons each day. This coming week, I will have my materials for the entire week printed and ready by Sunday evening. In regards to behavior, I have still been apprehensive to take the students dojo points. It really bothers me to see my students be disappointed and upset, and I am extremely bad about giving the students too many chances. Next week, I plan to have a checklist for the students with three chances. Once they have three checks where they have had to be redirected, I will take their dojo point. This will help keep me accountable. The first logical step for next week is to go ahead and gather all of my materials and make sure everything is printed this weekend.

This week, I was able to use the students TRC and Dibels scores that we just recieved to inform guided reading groups. Many of my students changed groups due to their growth in reading.

One piece of advice I would give other student teachers is to remember to have a small part of your day each day to put things away and take a breathe, even if it is just for a few minutes. Student teaching requires you to constantly work, but you must take a moment each day to stop and breathe.

NC Teacher Candidate Standards

Standard 1a: Teachers lead in the classroom.

This week, I have worked on standard 1a by working with students to create goals, and helping them set goals in the classroom. I have individually set goals with specific students that are struggling in math to have have growth goals.

Standard 2a: Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing environment with caring adults.

This week, I have not only had the opportunity to speak with many students about their work and areas they need to grow, but I have had the opportunity to talk with students about their lives and what they are doing outside of school. I think it is extremely important to make time to talk to students about what they think is important and exciting that is going on outside of school to create a positive environment where they feel safe and encouraged.

Standard 3a: Teachers align their instruction with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study.

This week, I have practiced aligning each of my lesson plans with the NCSCOS that I have written.

4a. Teachers know the ways in which learning takes place, and they know the appropriate levels of intellectual, physical, social, and emotional

development of their students.

This week, I have used many different teaching strategies to help students always be learning in different ways. I have used specific methods of teaching that I know will work for specific students, and I have even practiced providing alternate assignments for students as well.

Standard 5a: Teachers analyze student learning.

This week, I have had the opportunity to assess Dibels and TRC data for my students in order to change guided reading groups according to student growth.

Other:

In regards to my portfolio, I have started to plan behavior plans for the students in my class that I have decided need a plan, and I have also started implementing technology. I do not believe my CE and I need any support this week from my university supervisor at the moment.