Final Reflection – Goals for Myself

One goal I will work toward during my first year as a teacher is being firm, yet kind, and being consistent with consequences. I have learned that teachers must have respect from students. However, teachers must give that respect back to students. Teachers can do this by providing students with expectations and the consequences that will occur when expectations are not met. Then, teachers must implement those consequences consistently. Teachers must correct the bad behavior and follow through with the consequence immediately. Otherwise, the management system will not work. The students will know that consequences are not always implemented; therefore, they will not take expectations seriously. I have witnessed this myself in my teaching. After reflecting on teaching, I realized that I have been inconsistent with expectations and consequences. Therefore, the students do not follow my directions. I have found that it is helpful to remind students of the expectations and give them a chance to correct their behavior before giving a consequence. It’s important to provide students with the choice to change their behavior. Students need to feel that they are in control of their choices. I believe that students respect teachers more when they are given a choice instead of being told what to do. Overall, I need to remember to be firm, yet kind, and consistent with consequences. Sometimes, I will be too firm and implement consequences very often. Other times, I will be too kind and let students get away with misbehavior without a consequence. Therefore, I want to balance being firm and kind during my first year of teaching.

Another goal I have for myself is to use positive reinforcement and extrinsic motivation during instruction. I thought that students should be more intrinsically motivated before this semester. Now, I realize that students are not as intrinsically motivated as I thought. My students need positive reinforcement and extrinsic motivation. I try to be positive it is more motivating to students than being negative. I have seen my students shut down and stop working when I am negative. However, my students believe in themselves and persevere through schoolwork when I use positive reinforcement. Also, I always looked down on extrinsic motivation, but now I see the value in it. I have found that extrinsic motivation actually fosters intrinsic motivation. I have seen the students work very hard as individuals and as a class through the use of extrinsic motivators. I have seen extrinsic motivators foster teamwork and a classroom community. I think it’s important for students to work together towards a common goal, even if there is a reward involved. I encourage my students to work as a team and give positive praise to one another. Students need to learn how to work together, and extrinsic motivators can foster that collaboration. Overall, I want to work towards using positive reinforcement and extrinsic motivation during my first year as a teacher.

Additionally, I hope to create engaging and meaningful lessons during my first year of teaching. Recently, all of my students passed their science outcome assessments! I am so proud of them for working hard and proud of myself for providing quality instruction! I have never seen my entire class pass an outcome assessment for a unit I taught. Therefore, I was shocked at their scores and reflected on why they were so high. I realized that my students did well because I planned engaging lessons and activities. The students sang songs, made a cloud painting, made a water cycle bracelet, watched video clips, made flip books, worked with partners, made graphic organizers, and played games to review content. The students were engaged in instruction, and the activities were meaningful to them. Also, I constantly assessed students for misconceptions. I reflected on my lessons using the assessments. Then, I adapted my lessons to address misconceptions. I had to put in a lot more work to plan lessons and assess students, but the work paid off. The students aced the assessment, and they still share connections they find about the content. I want to create more engaging and meaningful lessons during my first year of teaching. I want my students to enjoy learning and actively make meaning during my instruction. Therefore, I will continue to reflect on my lessons to make them more engaging and meaningful for students.

Finally, I hope to become a more reflective teacher during my first year of teaching. I have learned the importance of reflecting my teaching practice through my weekly reflections. Therefore, I want to continue to reflect during my teaching career. I learned that I become a better educator when I reflect on my practice. I become more aware of student understanding when I reflect on my instruction. Therefore, I know how to adapt my instruction to better meet the needs of my students. Also, reflecting on teaching has helped me become aware of how I am growing and how I can continue to grow as an educator. I am more aware of my strengths and weaknesses when I reflect on my practice. I notice which instructional or management strategies are working well, and which ones I need to change. Some strategies or activities I used may not have been effective, and I need to change them. Some students may not have understood a concept, and I need to find another way to help them understand it. I would not be able to do any of these things if I did not reflect on my teaching. Therefore, I believe it is important to reflect on my practice to understand the effectiveness of my instruction.

 

Hard Work Pays Off!

All of my students passed their science outcome assessments! I am so proud of them for working hard and proud of myself for providing quality instruction! I have never seen my entire class pass an outcome assessment for a unit I taught. Therefore, I was shocked at their scores! I am very pleased with the results. I think my students did well because I planned engaging lessons and activities. Students sang songs, made a cloud painting, made a water cycle bracelet, watched video clips, made flip books, worked with partners, made graphic organizers, and played games to review content. The students were engaged in instruction, and the activities were meaningful to them. Also, I constantly assessed students for misconceptions. I reflected on my lessons using the assessments. Then, I adapted my lessons to address misconceptions. I had to put in a lot more work to plan lessons and assess students, but the work paid off. The students rocked the assessment!

Keeping track of missing assignments

I worked very hard this week to prepare review activities and portfolios of student work to help students study for their science outcome test. I never have all student work from one assignment since my students are constantly pulled for services. Therefore, I had to spend extra time making sure that the students had their assignments ready for the portfolios. I created a warm-up activity called “The Case of the Missing Assignments”. This was simply a list of students with missing assignments. I tried to use an interesting font and name for the “activity” to get students to turn in their work. I want to try harder to get students to complete late work in advance next time so I am not missing so many assignments.

Takeover

I am in full takeover! I now know how it really feels to teach all day. It is exciting, but very tiring. It is very different than observing for portions of the day! I really have to plan ahead and make sure I have materials for every lesson ready. It can be very difficult to transition from one subject to another if you are not prepared. Luckily, my students are very helpful and assist me with any technology problems I have. I have learned that it can be scary to have things go wrong by yourself, but you just have to go with the flow. I have to remember that the students do not know what I have planned. Also, teachers are humans. It is okay to make mistakes, and I’m not afraid to make them in front of my students. I am lucky to have such a kind group of students now and I hope I have great students in my own classroom!

IEP Meetings and the Importance of Data

This week, I attended an IEP annual review meeting for one of my students. My cooperating teacher had to prepare data such as outcome tests, writing samples, and Developmental Reading Assessment scores. There are six other students with IEP’s in the classroom. My cooperating teacher keeps data on these students and all other students in case a parent or administrator would like to see the data.

The vice principal, speech pathologist, occupational therapist, special education teacher, and parents were at the meeting. The vice principal began the meeting by asking everyone around the table to introduce themselves. Then, we all had to sign into the meeting. My cooperating teacher told me to add my name to the list since I was not on it. The parents said they felt comfortable with me being in the room, so I had the opportunity to observe the meeting. I met the parents previously at parent-teacher conferences, so that may be why they felt comfortable with me.

The special education teacher went over the student’s progress by discussing graphs and test scores. Then, my cooperating teacher and the other two specialists spoke about the student’s progress. The specialists and my cooperating teacher focused on student growth, so the meeting was very positive.The special education teacher provided goals for the student, and the parents agreed with the goals. I enjoyed observing the IEP meeting and feel more prepared to attend IEP meetings as a teacher.

I have learned that everything teachers say and do must be backed up with data. One goal that I have more myself in my current placement and in the future is to gather data about students during instruction. My cooperating teacher reminded me that I should be taking notes about individual students during lessons. She said I should know how each student is doing so I know which students to pull for reteaching. It is important to check for understanding during a lesson so you can alter instruction to address student needs.

Advice for Future Student Teachers about Reflecting

Critical reflection is the key to developing as a professional. The Charlotte Danielson Framework for Teaching is the new evaluation tool for teachers, and it requires teachers to constantly reflect. The framework is a growth model, as teachers will develop as a professional as they reflect on their teaching. It is important to take feedback from your supervisor and reflect on it. It can be tough to receive feedback when you think that a lesson went really well. However, I am trying to remember that feedback is a good thing! It is a hard pill to swallow, as most teachers want to do everything right. Feedback does not mean that you made a mistake; it just means that you can improve your teaching. Try to get as much feedback as possible from your supervisor and cooperating teacher so you can create thorough reflections on your teaching. These reflections will help you grow as a teacher, and there is always room for more growth.

 

Spring Break and Positive Experiences

I am finally on spring break! I am so grateful to have extra time for planning, grading, classwork, edTPA, and job applications! My spring break is different from U of I’s spring break, so I still have class this week. Spring break will be busy, but I’m hoping to catch up on sleep in the process.

Be sure to check out my Positive Experiences page!

http://publish.illinois.edu/uistudteachlv/positive-experiences/

The Importance of Planning

I think my planning skills have improved over the past few weeks. There are three actions I took to approve my planning skills.

First, I started to arrive at school one hour before the students arrive. This gives me plenty of time to copy any last-minute materials, set out warm-ups, finish grading papers, pass back papers, and prepare for the students to enter the classroom.

Then, I started to prioritize planning over grading during planning period. I grade during lunch and after school, but I use my planning period to look over plans for the week.

Finally, I created a lesson plan template for myself. I personalized a university template to make planning easier for myself. I added time slots into all of my lessons to help with my pacing. I have found that this template really works for me. Planning is very time consuming, but it is easier with a template that works for you.

I feel much more prepared to teach every day. I know that my students are receiving quality lessons because I am thinking through every aspect of my lessons by using my personalized template.

Watch D.O.G.S.

The school where I’m student teaching has a great program called Watch D.O.G.S, or Dads of Great Students. It is a nationwide program through the National Center for Fathering. Every day, a dad of a student can volunteer in the school as a Watch D.O.G. Most children enjoy having a positive male role model in their lives, but they may not always have one. One of the main goals of the Watch D.O.G.S program is to provide students with positive male roles. My students really enjoy working with Watch D.O.G.S. They are so excited when the dad arrives and then eagerly raise their hands in hopes of working with him. I usually ask the Watch D.O.G. to practice multiplication facts with the students. Many parents in the district work long hours, so they are not able to practice multiplication facts with their children. Therefore, the Watch D.O.G.S benefit students because they can step in and help when other parents cannot do so. Overall, I really enjoy meeting dads through the Watch D.O.G.S. program, and my students love working with them. If you’d like more information about the program, you can visit the following website: https://www.fathers.com/watchdogs/

Get to know your students!

Forming relationships with students is one piece of the puzzle known as classroom management. Students will be more willing to invest in your lessons if you invest in them. I have invested in my students by helping each student individually, incorporating students’ interests into lessons, spending time with students at recess, and watching my students in the school talent show. My students were so excited to see me at the talent show! I think it meant a lot to them that I gave up my free time to support them. Also, my students enjoy spending time with me at recess. They ask me if they can help me grade and pass out papers during indoor recess. They ask me what I think of their newest Shopkins, which are collectable toys and pencil toppers. The students are obsessed with Shopkins, so I try to incorporate them into sentences for grammar lessons as much as possible. The students get really excited when I incorporate their interests into lessons. They are much more motivated to participate in the lessons because I made a connection to their lives. Overall, it’s very important to get to know your students and form relationships with them. Students will likely be more attentive during your lessons and respect you if you have relationships with them.