Documentation for Final Evaluation – Block IV Student Teachers

Please provide documentation/narrative to complete the following questions.  Make your response as comprehensive as needed.
Make sure you “toot your horn” and let me know all you have accomplished.
List the question then following it complete your response.

1. Identify the diversity of the students/families in your classroom.

• Latinos, Caucasians, and one girl whose family originated in Iraq.
• Students who pay full price for their lunch, students who pay a reduced fee for lunch, students who eat lunch for free
• Students from Sellersburg and students who are from Charlestown
• Students who have siblings
• Students who live in a trailer, students who live in a house

9 Non-Caucasian Students                Some Students receive Free or Reduced Lunch
1 Student usually performs very well 14 Male Students
1 Student has a low IQ                             17 Female Students
1 Student has a learning disability

How has this changed your thinking and teaching?

• Students who have less money cannot spend too much money on school projects. 
• Some students cannot ride a bus to school. 
• Students who have different cultures, may interpret information differently. I need to make sure that they understand academic lessons and my references when I try to activate prior knowledge connected to schema. 
• Students with learning disabilities as well as students who tend to achieve lower need more help and scaffolding. Finding the way that they learn is of the utmost importance. 
• I need to be careful while celebrating holidays because not every student celebrates holidays. 
• My student whose family came from Iraq was very open. I showed interest in her culture as I learned more about it. I constantly complimented her on how pretty her hijab was. Between speaking to her and my other English Language Learning students, I learned some of the ways that their cultures are different from mine. More importantly, I learned how our cultures are the same. Even if a student looks differently than I do or wears a hijab, I will get to know the individual student to figure out how to best teach that student. 
• I need to use the WIDA standards for my ELL students. 

2. What is an effective classroom environment?

• Students are able to learn. 
• Students feel comfortable and like they have ownership over their classroom. 
• Students and the teacher are happy. 
• Students are willing to take risks. 
• Students like to know what is about to happen. 
• Students should be actively engaged. 

How have you created an effective classroom environment? 

• I listened to the students. 
• I tried to acknowledge students when they behaved well or did something that I knew was difficult for them. 
• I applauded students for trying new or difficult things. If a student was struggling, I tried to be as supportive and positive as possible. I wanted to let each student know that they could learn the material and be successful. I tried to approach the situation in a calm, supportive manner. 
• Even if a student was struggling academically or behaviorally, I made it clear that the student still mattered to me. 
• I stayed after with my teacher and we tutored the student with the low IQ along with her brother. 
• I created fun learning opportunities which included student choice whenever possible. I developed hands-on activities which involved student choice and small groups. 
• To make the best use of time, I created a writing process chart so that I could see where each student was on the paper. After the second day of working on the personal narrative graphic organizers, I took all of the graphic organizers home to edit them as well as to suggest which sensory details and feelings to consider adding to the graphic organizer before writing the rough draft. This idea saved a lot of time and allowed me to give more thoughtful comments. 
• I use check points for the line to stop at while walking in the hallway. The last checkpoint is at the corner before our classroom. Before sending the students into the classroom, I give them the directions to get ready for the next activity while we are at the corner. I know that the students are paying more attention before the make the transition of moving to their seats. 

3. What does effective instruction look and feel like?

• Student learning improves. (Students actually learn.)
• Topics keep moving. 
• The class average hits proficient. 
• Many students benefit from hands-on lessons. 
• If differentiation is needed, then it needs to be provided. 

4. Why is flexibility important in your classroom?

• Children are humans, which means that something is going to come up. 
• School assemblies and drills take place, sometimes in the worst possible time.
• One way that I plan to be flexible in my own classroom is to have a class set of materials ready for the week. If the class goes through a lesson too quickly, then they can move on to the next lesson. If something happens and I need the class to learn/practice independently, then the materials will already be ready. If the materials that I have prepared are not needed because my class has understood the lesson too quickly, then I can put the materials into the teacher's lounge with a note on them for other classes to use. The extra materials can also be used for differentiation. 
• Even though different situations may occur, we keep the learning flowing and fit as much of it in as possible. 
• If students do not understand the material, it may be necessary to sway from the lesson plan. This could mean reteaching a previous lesson or teaching the lesson in a different way. 

How does it affect your instruction?

• If a class is not learning well enough, then the students may need a different way to learn. 
• If a student needs immediate attention, then the rest of the class may need to learn independently. 
• If my class learns something too quickly, then I need to be prepared to move on to the next lesson. 

5. What role does assessment play in your classroom?

• It gives me a hard copy of what the students seem to understand. If the students do well on an assessment, then I can move on to the next lesson after a quick review. If the class does not do well on an assessment, then I need to find a new way to teach the lesson or go back and teach the fundamentals that lead up to that lesson. 
• Assessments act as data to provide validity to grades. 

How important is the data and how do you use it?

• I can analyze the data to show trends of the class. I can see what the class average is and how individual students compare to it. The students who are below the class average need extra attention. 
• Along with my teacher, I analyzed pretest data to create math groups. 
• During parent-teacher conferences, the data can reinforce what I am trying to say. It is always important to have data during a meeting like that. 
• Identifying an exceptional student to get either an IEP or to be admitted into the gifted/talented program requires consistent data over a long period of time. 
• If something happens, I need to keep the data for a few years. 

Here is the data from my IMPACT project:

6. What are the metacognitive thoughts/reflections you have had during your teaching experience?

• I thought about what worked and what didn't work. I used those conclusions to fix my lessons.
• When I thought of ideas, I thought about how they would play out. 

7. What type of records have you kept during your teaching?  How have you used the records in your classroom?

• I kept my blog which recorded how I felt about what happened in the classroom. These entries also show what happened in the classroom. I also created a classroom blog for the parents, this blog recorded what happened in the school as well as in the classroom. It included pictures of any flyers that were sent home as well as pictures of group project work. 
• I kept a grade book, which mainly recorded who turned in his or her homework. Students cannot go to recess unless they turn in all of their homework (and sometimes morning work or certain assignments). When it was time for report cards, I also added test scores to my grade book. 
• My teacher intends to teach me how to enter grades into Infinite Campus.
• I kept complete records on my IMPACT project. I used the grades to see what I needed to focus on more. Utilizing these records showed me what I needed to focus on during the hands-on portion of my unit. By the end of the unit, I was able to close the ethnicity and gender gaps to a one percent difference from the dominant group. 
• I kept a lesson plan book, which shows what was supposed to be taught. 
• I took a lot of notes, especially towards the beginning. I used them to make decisions and to keep track of what I needed to do. It also helped me to notice routines. 
• I kept student profiles, which showed what students like and how many people are in their family. These records allowed me to think about circumstances that may be related to this student.

8. What types of communication have you had with the families in your classrooms?  What types of interaction have you had with the caregivers of your students?

• At the beginning of the semester, I sent a letter home to the families introducing myself. This letter also had an All About Me attached which matched the one that the students had filled out. This showed similarities and allowed the students and families to relate to me.

• I sent home a letter which explained the fun day project during my impact unit. It helped parents know that their students were going to bring in an object from home to test. It included the rubric so that students could practice the presentation at home.
• In March, I created a classroom blog, which talked about important events that were happening in the classroom as well as in the school. I included pictures of the flyers that were sent home as well as of student work. I also created a section called "what are we learning?" This section allowed parents to talk with students about what was happening in school. As an aunt, I am very familiar with the following conversation: "What did you do in school today" "I don't know...nothing." As well as with this conversations: "I don't understand my homework or test." "What are you learning?" "I don't know." My reflection blog allowed me to update the parent blog all the way to the time when I joined the classroom. I officially update the classroom blog every Friday, but I add posts during the week and just update the post every day. On the day that my teacher posted my blog link on the classroom website, I had thirteen page views. I hope that this blog will help families to share in more special moments. 
• I met a parent when she brought her son back to the classroom to pick up a paper. I introduced myself. 
• I met a parent when I went with my teacher to take her children to her vehicle after we tutored her. I told her that I hoped that her son would get better soon. 
• I met a parent and two younger brothers while I was shopping at the Jay C in my town one evening. I met the family and then we talked about how the next day was the last day of the canned food drive. 

9. How have you contributed to the school community (classroom, grade level and school)?

• If my students were having a disagreement, I helped them to talk about their feelings. 
• I took over my classroom's morning meeting. Before that, I consciously decided to sit on the opposite end of the circle from my teacher so that I could help manage behavior and make more students feel special. 
• I was in the class picture. I purchased a copy of the picture. 
• I maintained the classroom calendar, which included placing stars on birthdays. 
• I created materials for my class. 
• I was in charge of a reading workshop station as well as of a math workshop station. 
• I supervised my classroom during the ISTEP+ test.
• I served the assigned duty each day. (Lunch, recess, detention, first wave of bus duty, and second wave of bus duty.) I helped chaperone my class during school activities. 
• I attended fourth grade team meetings every Tuesday. I contributed any ideas that I thought of. I attended PLC meetings every other Wednesday morning.
• I brought in twelve items for the canned food drive. This supported my class's progress towards winning the opportunity to participate in the students versus staff dodgeball game. The food went to a local food pantry. Some of the students in the school, including some students in my grade receive Blessings in a Backpack. 
• I wanted to play in the students versus staff dodgeball game, but the rules said that an aid needed to tell students when they could go back in, so that was my role. 
• I purchased dragon spirit items at the dragon store. My favorite item is my school lanyard. 
• If I did not have a shirt that fit a spirit week day, I wore an appropriate pair of socks to show my spirit. 
• On Down Syndrome Awareness Day, I wore the shirt that all of the teachers wore. I was in the student picture which included all of the students who wore blue and yellow on that day. I helped guide students to where they should sit in order to to be seen. I corrected behavior as necessary. 
• I attended events at the high school such as basketball games and musicals. Some of my students have other siblings. Quite a few of my students are interested in sports. 

10. How have you grown professionally in your thinking and actions during this classroom experience?

• I attended seven hours of professional development trainings as well as one hour and twenty minutes of additional trainings. 

• January 13, 2016 -1 Hour
• Suicide Prevention Training 
• January 18, 2016 Professional Development Day 8AM-11AM -3 Hours
• WIDA standards for ELL's
• PLC's
• How to use a SMART Board
• 1PM-2PM  Building Meeting ISTEP+ technology practice
• February 3, 2016 - 1 hour
• Google Classroom 
• February 11, 2016 6:30-8:30PM- 2 hours
• Ways of Managing Challenging Behavior

February 24, 2015

• ISTEP+ Training- This isn't technically a PD, but it was a required building training.
• March 10, 2015 7:50-8:10AM
• SCE Title I Meeting: How to View Acuity Results and what they mean. This isn't technically a PD.

• I gained experience as a lead teacher on the days when my class had a substitute teacher. 
• I began to plan units on my own.
• I took over adult duties. 
• I learned how to be in charge of a class during drills. 
• I collaborated with colleagues while eating lunch in the teachers' lounge. 
• I adopted a routine. Every morning, I wrote the menu and the morning work on the white board and opened the computers to XtraMath. I checked in and sometimes even graded assignments while students were in special area classes. I typed reflection blogs every night. I added to the weekly blog newsletter post every night. I printed spelling work every Wednesday afternoon. I met with my teacher every Thursday (sometimes Friday) to plan for the next week. 
• I prepared materials ahead of time. I knew that the spelling list and word work came from the book, Words Their Way, so I typed the spelling lists and word work answer sheets as soon as my teacher allowed me to use the book. This saved me time later in the semester. 
• I learned that my anchor charts look better if I create my anchor chart skeletons before the lesson. This also allows the lesson to move more quickly. 

11. In what ways have you demonstrated professionalism during this experience?

• I attended professional development trainings. 
• I attended grade level meetings as well as Professional Learning Community meetings. 
• I took over adult duties. 
• I respected confidentiality. 
• I completed any required duties. 
• I respected everyone in the school. 
• I kept my area neat and organized. This allowed me to quickly stop at my desk before the next activity. 
• I did not play favorites with the students. 
• I am a member of the following professional organizations: IUS Student Education Association (SEA), Indiana State Teachers Association (ISTA), and the National Education Association (NEA). 
• I keep my posts on social media professional and only make the ones that make me look the most professional public. I posted an album called Education Photos, which is like a professional portfolio of photographs. While attending a Swift Kick leadership webinar a few years ago, Tom Krieglstein pointed out that employers are going to check out my social media accounts anyway, it would be in my best interest to show them the best that I have to offer. I also turned my career section of my social media profile into a resume. 

12. Other accomplishments you have had during your student teaching experience.

• My class average was proficient by the end of my IMPACT project. 
• I passed my pedagogy exam.