Coming to a Close

Well, this is it, our last blog of the semester! I'm so glad that this semester is coming to a close, but I'm really going to miss the people in this class. Anyways, today in class we learned something that is going to be very helpful when we get into our own classrooms. We learned the different categories for "Before Reading", "During Reading", and "After Reading" for placing different strategies one each of them. This lesson went well with Standard 4a2 "demonstrates an understanding of methods for differentiating instruction to accommodate developmental differences in students." By separating your strategies into these 3 different categories can help yourself by become more organized and also be able to pick a strategy depending on the situation that you are in. This class has taught me a lot of different things that are going to be very helpful to me when I graduate and go into the teaching world!

Stressed

This week has been super super super stressful. First off, I cannot get my teacher that I'm supposed to evaluate and teach in her class to email me back. Second, I've already had a final this week. Lastly, we got the grades back for our BPH. Stressed to the max. I was relieved when we did not have this class today, it just allowed me to take a step back from everything and just catch my breath, it was great. While STILL working on the lessons that I'm going to be teaching in the classroom I have really began to realize that Standard 3a2 is very important ("Understands the importance of literacy instruction across all subjects, grades, and ages"). This is very hard for me in math, but I know it will be well worth it in the end for my students.

& The Countdown Begins...

Wow, it was weird to be back in this class with everyone again, it felt like forever since I've been in this class. But, I really enjoyed class today, who would ever know that there is so much data that you would have to keep up with, and also there are so many different data driven things that you have to keep up with as well. Dr. Mitchum was showing us how tout into effect Standard 1a2: "Identifies the type of data that are commonly available to and used in schools." Every part of Standard 1a2, Dr. Mitchum went over with us in class today. I learned a lot today about the other things that we are required to do as a teacher, and I cannot wait to put into action what I have learned. On a less serious note.....only 13 MORE DAYS of classes!!!

2

Emergent:

Identifies the types

of data that are commonly

available to and used in

3 weeks left :)

Soon, this is blog like 123839, but we are getting close to the end of the semester, YAY! As I sit here, in my room, I'm stressed more than ever, even though we don't even have class this week, I still tend to stay stressed to the max about this class. With the teacher from my placement school not emailing me back to tell me when I can come in and teach, to our final BPH's being completed by Thursday, being stressed is just becoming a normal thing for me lol. As I am going through this class it becomes more and more clear to me that Dr. Clark is practicing Standard 3, "Teacher aligns their instruction with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study." As the semester is coming to a close, I can only think to keep pushing through! Only 3 more weeks left :)

Demonstrates

awareness of the

North Carolina

Standard Course of Study

Demonstrates

awareness of the

North Carolina

Standard Course of Study

Demonstrates

awareness of the

North Carolina

Standard Course of Study

Keep pushing through!

This week has been, well.....interesting. We all got through presenting our Lesson Plans and finally the hard part is over! I'm so relieved that the presentations are over but, we still have so much due. We have our LEARN lesson plan, our interview write up, and our final BPH, all due in a week! Hopefully the good Lord will get me through this! At least we finally get a break from going to class, this will give us time to catch up on everything that is due. One thing that I really noticed today while watching the different presentations being given is Teacher Leadership (which is shown in Standard 1a). We as teachers have to be leaders and models within our classrooms, making sure that we are leaving a good example for our students to follow. If we are slack, we shouldn't expect anything less from our students because they are just modeling after us. But, if we are on top of things and excited about the material that we are about to teach, then majority of the class will feed off of your passion and more than likely listen and take in the material. This week may be tough, but keep pushing through!

Lesson Plans on top of Lesson Plans

This week we have so much to prepare for, from presenting our lesson plans, to completing the LEARN lesson plan form. There is still so much to do and so little time to do it. If we think about it, we only have 4 weeks left of classes after Easter Break! Wow.....that's not a lot of time. One thing that I have learned from watching the lesson plans and practicing my own is located in standard 2c1, treating students as individuals. Not every student is on the same level, some may be lower, and some may be high, whatever is the case you as a teacher are supposed to adapt to the situation. I thought that was a characteristic that is really important to have as a teacher. Now, on the other hand, who else is ready for Easter Break?!

Stressed

It is only the second day of this week and I am already stressed out. It is like all of the teachers waited until this week to just through everything one you, every assignment is due. I already need another break! This week with lesson plans due, the second draft of the BPH is due, I am just overwhelmed, but I just keep thinking that after this it will be okay again. By doing this lesson plan, I began to understand the importance of literacy instruction within all grade levels (standard 3a2), but now I am starting to realize it. I am already so ready for this week to be over, where is the next break???

Is it Spring Break yet?

Well, coming back into class today for the first time in a week was refreshing. I was able to collaborate with my group so I was able to grasp a better understanding of the videos the we were supposed to watch in Teachscape. My group had "Cooperative Learning" and we were able to find out information that was somewhat new to me, also with the activity that we completed in class that tied into the "Cooperative Learning," it supported the standard 3b2, where we encourage the class as a whole to collaborate with each other, to share their knowledge and ask questions if they did not understand a certain concept. On the other hand, I have not received my grading on my Six Point Lesson Plan, and I am kinda nervous just listening to other classmates talking about their grades on them, but I guess we will find out. I feel like all my teachers are waiting until this week to push everything they can on me, and all I can say is....Is it Spring Break yet??

ANOTHER lesson plan

I really enjoyed last Thursdays class. I liked how each one of us had to get up in front of the class and teach about each part of the LEARN lesson plan template, it helped me understand the format and content that is required to be in the LEARN lesson plan. As always, we are required to integrate literacy within our lesson plans, and this follows standard (3a2 developing) because I am still learning how to integrate literacy in my lesson plan, because it is a little difficult to find ways for it to relate to math, but I am getting there! I am becoming more comfortable with the material that has been taught in this class, and I am really starting to enjoy it!

Thinking Positive

Last week we learned how to properly write a lesson plan using our own lesson plan draft that we had written. In the class period Dr. Clark would tell us if we were on the right track, or if we were completely off. Thankfully, I was heading in the right direction! Throughout the class period I was able to learn more and more about the content and gain more knowledge about the lesson planning process. One thing I learned was how we can integrate different techniques and different methods we can use to teach our lesson. In NCTCS Standard 4c1 we are supposed to be able to "understand a range methods and materials that can be applied in the classroom," and in this class I was able to understand that as well as be supplied with examples of different types of materials. With the help of my classmates and Dr. Clark, I think that I have a good understanding of this process.

.....Lesson Plans.....

Now we have started one of the most tedious and stressful things that the teaching world will always consist of.....lesson planning. Dr. Clark has done a really great job explaining to us the different steps that make up a 6-point lesson plan, and I really appreciate her enthusiasm. So, in my previous education classes, teachers have just lightly talked about the subject and then just left me their to figure it out by myself, needless to say, it did not end up too well, so I am glad that Dr. Clark has taken the time to explain to us everything that we need to know!

While watching these videos I jotted down some notes and different things that were very helpful, but one thing I learned in class was that you do not have to teach the whole 6-point lesson plan in one class period...blew my mind. I always thought that we were expected to teach all those different points into the time allotted for our class. During class today we made a chart, that would be beneficiary in our classrooms for our students to layout what they think they know vs. what is really right, and I believe that this goes with standard NCTCS 3b2, where we encourage students to expand their knowledge and satisfy their curiosity.

I am both excited and nervous about the whole lesson planning process and especially the outcome, but my ending goal is to be able to grasp how to do a proper lesson plan, being able to integrate literacy within every lesson, and also how to include an essential question within it.

Standards, Projects, Deadlines...OH MY

This week has hit me like a freight train. All the standards that we have to know and be able to unpack is just overwhelming. Little, by little, I am able to get a slight peak of what the teaching world is really going to be about. This project that has came upon us is going to keep me up in the late hours of the night, but hey, it will all be worth it, right? That is what I like to think anyways. On the other hand, the NCTCS standards are really applicable to the subject that I am wanting to teach, which is math...I know exciting right! The standard that I can mostly relate to is standard number 3, "Teachers know the content they teach." In math, you need to know the content you teach, because there is not really a wrong answer, there is always one right answers, instead of multiple. I also really enjoy the subject of math, so because of this it will give me a push to know all my content area so that I am able to teach my students the best of my ability.

3 blogs down....

This weeks class was a very unusual schedule. While we usually meet 2 times per week, we were only able to meet once this time, because of the glorious snow that was sent to us!!  Anyways, in this weeks class meeting I was able to learn a lot and gain a plentiful amount of knowledge through teacher lectures, and class discussions. Whenever I heard on the first day of this class that we were going to have to "unpack standards" that phrase kinda scared me. I was thinking to myself, "I cannot do that", "I will never understand that", and "There is no way that, that is possible." Well, the day came, we were learning in class how to unpack standards but, the day I once dreaded turned around real quick. Once Dr. Clark started explaining the different techniques that she has used to unpack standards, it really was not a hard concept to grasp. I had to understand that there was a lot packed into one standard, for example from the Standard 1a1 when you look at it at first glance it seems like a lot but once you start to really study it, it becomes easier and easier to understand each standard. I actually enjoyed this class period because I was able to conquer my fear in this class. I cannot wait to go back Thursday and be able to learn a little more about how to "unpack standards."

It's not too bad!

After spending more and more time in the classroom, I am beginning to feel more and more comfortable with these people. I am really starting to enjoy this class, even though there is a lot of work that goes along with it, I enjoy the people and how we are really starting to gel together. The things that I was nervous about in the beginning are becoming less nerve racking, except for the flipped classroom certification, the whole process I am just really confused on. Some of the students are saying we have to do one thing and other students are saying we have to do another, and I just don't understand how we get certified, if we have to turn in a recording of us teaching a lesson or if we just answer the questions that we are given. But, other than that the class is great! I really enjoy being able to collaborate with students when we are having discussions within the classroom, it helps me be able to collect other ideas from people and understand where they are coming from. I learned that every professionals definition of literacy is different, but usually students have the same definition, because we do not fully understand the concept of literacy...yet! So far in this class (with the help of a scavenger hunt) I was able to find out a professionals view on literacy and she wrote "competency in reading, writing, and comprehension," which blew my mind because I was thinking, "wow, so it is not just about reading and writing, there is a whole different perspective on it." Anyways, so far I have learned a lot in this class, and I am so eager to learn a lot more!

Week 2 Blog

From the start of our Education 316 class until now, Dr. Clark has provided us so much material that will be helpful to us in our future classrooms. We have learned what a Candidate Learning Community is, and what it is constructed of, and lastly we have learned how to come up with an effective mission and vision for our classroom. I have learned that a Candidate Learning Community (CLC) is very important for success in schools nowadays. A CLC involves mostly just faculty members, but on rare cases such as when you are talking about a policy) there can be both administrative and parental involvement. When working within a CLC in your school, you do not need to just become comfortable within your own department, because CLC is all about collaboration, and figuring out 'what is the most effective way to enhance my students learning,' so within these CLC meetings, you will be able to gain both knowledge and understanding from your peers on the most effective way to teach a subject to your class. If you cannot already tell, the main idea that needs to be the center of every meeting is to "Help student learn." If we keep this our main goal, then everything should run smoothly. Within the CLC you have to have 5 main ideas that help you to achieve the goal of Improving Student Learning. The first one is Mission; you as a teacher need to set a mission that you would like to see happen within your classroom setting and also with your students. Secondly, provide a vision statement; it is also imperative to figure out how you are going to accomplish that mission and put it in a statement. Next is Values; make sure that your values are known within your classroom so that everyone will be respected. The fourth one is Goals, make a list of goals that you want to achieve throughout the year and hang it up in the classroom so that your students may have a visual of what they are expected to achieve. Lastly, develop Class Norms, come up with important rules and have them placed throughout your classroom so that the students know how they are expected to act at all times. So far this class has taught me how imperative it is to be a leader within the classroom (NCPTS Standard 1) and also how we need to establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of students (NCPTS Standard 2). The last thing that we did in class today was we came up with a personal mission and vision statement, then we came together as a class and agreed on  a mission and vision statement that we all wanted to achieve. This class has taught me a lot so far, and i cannot wait to learn so much more!