Student Teaching (1st Placement): August 18, 2021 - March 17, 2022
For the past weeks, I have indulged my inner child in a kindergarten classroom at Luther Low Elementary School in West Middlesex Area School District. Working alongside Mrs. Terry Burger, I learned so many valuable lessons regarding patience, preparation, and engaging younger students with academic content. Through it all, Mrs. Burger modeled a genuine care for her students and showed me to how to properly instruct and assess the students for different subjects.
My first responsibility became planning for Morning Meeting, modeled after Responsive Classroom with intervals of rest and physical activity built into the lesson. Additionally, the activities were purposeful. Starting with a morning greeting to each other, I would implement a relevant math review or a reading activity with sight word practice while also allowing the students to greet each other. Then, certain students shared items or ideas with the class, encouraging their classmates to ask thoughtful questions with scaffolding from me. Then, we would complete another activity related to content before sitting back down for daily calendar and math routines. Overall, these meetings set the tone for the day.
I also wrote several lesson plans surrounding addition and subtraction up to 10 in accordance with the curriculum provided by the school district. Written by teachers, the kindergarten math curriculum combined elements of Eureka Math and Everyday Math to heavily emphasize number bonds, 10-frames, and number sentences. Therefore, I introduced many manipulatives to model these methods, such as hiding a certain amount of Teddy Grahams in a Dixie cup "cave" to represent subtraction as "taking away" a certain number of things.. I also incorporated lots of physical movement for my energetic learners.
For ELA lessons, we heavily stressed the use of sight words in everyday literature. Using a combination of read-alouds, explicit instruction on reading strategies, independent reading, and kid writing, the students received a holistic exposure to text on a daily basis. During this time, I crafted a unit based on trade books for Outer Space that encapsulated these key goals. The unit especially emphasized content vocabulary for science, but it also reinforced strategies such as working together, researching, and comprehension skills. Overall, the students enjoyed receiving books in an engaging format.
This student teaching placement blessed me in more ways than I can possibly explain. There is nothing quite like walking into a colorful, carpeted room and saying, "Good Morning" to a bunch of small, smiling faces. I will miss my student's daily updates on Pokemon characters. I will miss quality individual reading time with my students. I will miss the innocence of kindergarten curiosity. Most importantly, however, I will cherish the pockets of joy tucked into each and every day.
Over the course of approximately one month, I have had the pleasure of joining Mrs. Amanda Miner at Moniteau Jr./Sr. High School for a 25-hour field experience. Mrs. Miner welcomed me into her various Learning Support and Life Skills Transition classes, giving me a wide range of exposure to students with different academic and functional needs.
Every day, Mrs. Miner prepares some of her own lessons, and she also co-teaches with fellow educators by assisting students in the general education classroom. She started each class by developing rapport with her students, and she operates on a system of respect. I specifically noted the way that Mrs. Miner spoke with patience and respect towards her students with challenging behaviors. On a typical day, I accompanied Mrs. Miner to a general education class for English 10, a Transition class for Life Skills, a Math Fundamentals class, Communications Fundamentals, and then a push-in assignment to Reading 7. Therefore, I interacted with students of various ages and abilities, spending the most time with the Life Skills and Math students. The students also welcomed me into their classrooms. They seemed eager to converse with me and others, but their motivation to learn often lacked. Specifically in the Math Fundamentals class, students would predict their failure on each quiz and test before actually trying to take it. Initially, this made me feel disheartened. However, I discovered a passion for finding ways to engage these students and organize the information more kinesthetically. By treating them as intelligent human beings with so much potential, I discovered so many strengths in these students who previously lacked confidence. All my field students responded well to positive affirmation, and I experienced firsthand how important teacher-student relationships are for the student to be willing to give his/her best effort.
I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude to Mrs. Miner and Moniteau School District for inviting me to participate in their classrooms and receive an enriching experience with high incidence disabilities. The students exceeded my expectations and made me realize that working in Learning Support often translates to finding the necessary affirmation to motivate the students. This field impacted the way I approach students with a predispositional dislike for certain content areas, and I feel much more prepared to advance my career after this field experience.
During this past semester, I received the amazing opportunity to work with students in a classroom for Specific Learning Disabilities at Grove City Middle School. I tutored these students and taught my own lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:45-2:45. My co-op gave me so much insight about teaching 7th grade, particularly about how to properly motivate and assess students who often may feel discouraged by the difficulty of assignments. She explained that by incorporating physical movement and multiple opportunities for participation, the students would engage in the lessons. From the very first moment that I walked into the classroom, I noted the kindness of my co-op when she interacted with each student. Rather than shutting down their ideas or stories, she conversed with them and steered their focuses back to the lesson in an extremely patient way. She also encouraged exploration; for example, she had the students race and compete to see who could find the definition to the word "syllable" the fastest. By making it a competition, the students expressed excitement and remembered the definition clearly for the rest of the time that I was there. The students display such a love and trust for their teacher, because they know that she cares for both their well-being and learning. She truly built a classroom environment filled with respect and comfort (Danielson Component 2).
On a typical day in my observation, I arrived for the start of Learning Support English with my co-op. She taught her students about grammatical terms and had them practice implementing the new techniques within creative projects such as making movie posters and writing poems. I spent this time working with students individually to help them develop their ideas. Then, I accompanied the students to their regular education classes of Life Science and Reading. I mainly recorded multiple observations of social interactions and analyzed the modifications created by the regular education teachers for my students. At the end of the day, my students finished their day back in my co-op's room for Read-Aloud Comprehension, where they consistently worked with different stories and generated summaries to pull out the main ideas and vocabulary words. Besides the small interactions and lessons, I also received the chance to teach three days' worth of English lessons. On the first day, we discussed characterization and its ability to help us make inferences about a story. Then, we created character diagrams and filled out character contribution charts. On the second day, we created a large Venn diagram to compare and contrast compound and complex sentences. On the last day, we wrote complex sentences incorporating multiple different complex conjunctions. My co-op gave me enriching feedback throughout the process.
Overall, I learned so much through this field experience and felt so connected to my co-op and my students. I learned about patience, proper flexibility during instruction, behavior management through redirection, and so much more. From the many chances to instruct students in a variety of subjects to the data I gathered regarding special education, I feel I have grown tremendously as a teacher.
EdcampGCC: April 6, 2019
Most recently, I attended EdcampGCC here at Grove City College, which was mostly run by other students. Each seminar was formatted as a discussion panel between all attendees, so we got to connect with teachers of varying levels of experience and hear their unique stories. The friendly atmosphere provided a great place to learn and grow as an educator. At the start of the day, I attended a seminar in which we introduced different forms of virtual and augmented reality. I took this opportunity to talk about Google Expeditions Tour Creator, a tool used to take students on virtual tours of different locations. Some teachers showed a special interest in this site, because as they explained, their districts did not receive the appropriate funding to take students on actual field trips. In that moment, I truly grasped the importance of virtual and augmented reality to connect students to the world outside the classroom. Students should be able to apply their learning in multiple contexts without financial barriers, and I realized that there is no better tool for this than augmented reality, coupled with interactive lessons.
In my second seminar, we discussed how to build a community within the classroom and school. One teacher described her district's plan for recovery after the recent death of a student in a car accident involving another teacher. Obviously, the family of the boy needed support, and the teacher who accidentally hit the boy needed mercy and love from everyone as well. The first step demonstrated the concern of administrators, because they allowed their staff members to go home if they needed. Those teachers came back the next day, ready to counsel the students and make a positive impact. Students in all grades built boxes of memories for the victim's family. Everyone in this school found community within a shared experience. Although I would never wish to experience anything this tragic, I realized through this story the impact that building relationships with staff from all grades can have. Because the teachers displayed unity and strength by all coming to work the next day, the students felt strong enough to conquer the day. Therefore, when I have my own classroom, I will collaborate with my fellow teachers and build a support network among the grades. This will also give my students "buddies" from all different grades so that the school benefits as a whole from this new community. This seminar convicted me, and I left EdcampGCC feeling inspired to build a classroom environment of respect and comfort.
My first seminar contributed to Domain 1 of the Danielson Framework: Planning and Preparation, because it centered around learning how to build lessons int he classroom to engage the learners. Based on our discussion of accessibility to virtual field trips, we agreed that effective teaching involves knowing your students (1b). The second seminar emphasized more responsibilities within Domain 2: Classroom Environment. We talked about establishing respect with our students (2a), which may reveal itself through empathy, honesty, and consistency. Students will also build better relationships with their peers if they can model it off the healthy bonds between staff members. We also shared ways to create a culture for learning, such as incorporating the interests of the students into the lessons and establishing clear expectations for how to treat other people (2b). Overall, this whole conference enhanced Component 4e: Growing and Developing Professionally. Teachers are lifelong learners, and I cannot wait to attend this conference again to participate in more seminars to further my effectiveness as a teacher.
ECET2 Twitter Chat: March 31, 2019
At the end of March, I participated in a Twitter chat to discuss service learning in the classroom. At first, I wondered if I would be able to contribute anything due to my limited experience with the subject. However, the chat began by asking everyone how they defined service learning, which I thought was useful to help establish an idea off which to build. It amazed me to see so many perspectives on one subject of education, yet all these educators came together to support one another's ideas. Cassie Brooks, the guest host, reminded us that service learning in the classroom teaches empathy to students - a quality that some children do not learn at home. She then proceeded to ask us to share examples of service learning that we have successfully implemented int he classroom. I decided to take the approach of a student and mentioned a project I completed in middle school. We recycled plastic and then repurposed it into different art sculptures to communicate the idea that broken things can make new creations. After tweeting out my response, I received lots of comments, and one teacher even related my experience to how she constantly tells her students, "Broken crayons still color." This, in turn, caused me to think more deeply about the impact of that assignment. This process of reflection would not have happened without the collaborative community made possible through the Twitter chat. Therefore, I thoroughly enjoyed exchanging ideas through this method.
Depending on the topic of conversation, Twitter chats can satisfy multiple domains of the Danielson Framework. Service learning builds a respectful classroom environment (2a) as students build their skills of empathy and service to others. Additionally, by reviewing the importance of service learning in the classroom, this Twitter chat helped educators to establish the appropriate culture for learning (2b), reminding teachers of why that type of content carries significance. In terms of Twitter chats as a whole, they certainly help educators keep up with Domain 4: Professional Responsibilities. I felt more connected to my professional community since the set up allowed for a freely flowing exchange of ideas and stories (4d). My understanding of service learning increased, thereby growing my knowledge of pedagogy and content (4e). Additionally, as mentioned before, this chat allowed me to reflect on my current and past experiences with service learning and encouraged me to consider how I could implement it more effectively in the future (4a). Twitter chats are a great resource for teachers to learn more about themselves and their professions, so I cannot wia to join more in the future!
Kurt Kondrich: March 18, 2019
Special guest Kurt Kondrich came to speak at Grove City College on March 18th regarding the inspiration behind Chloe's Law for Down syndrome - his daughter. Eleven years ago, Kondrich had no idea that his life would change drastically due to the birth of Chloe. An accomplished police officer for twenty years, Kondrich had faced many daunting tasks but loved coming back home to the comfort of his wife and young son, Nolan. On the day of Chloe's birth, the nurse seemed surprised when Kondrich still asked to hold his daughter eagerly right after he had been told that she had Down syndrome. He and his wife felt convicted to change people's views on the genetic disease to decrease the abortion rate, which is currently about 90% of babies with Down syndrome. Kondrich left his position in law enforcement to earn a Master's degree in Early Intervention and now works full time as an Outreach Director and Advocate for children with disabilities. He has brought Chloe to many political events to show people how children with Down syndrome are still capable of success beyond belief. Chloe currently reads on grade level and communicates easily with those around her. As Kondrich stated, "Chloe represents the type of person after whom we should all model our own perspectives and actions." She sees people without barriers or stereotypes, and spreads love in a world too often trapped in negativity. Kondrich hopes that with Chloe's Law, expecting parents will have more information about the success rates of children with Down syndrome when the appropriate steps are taken. He inspires me to work even harder for students like Chloe and reminds me that each and every one of my students will have parents or guardians that love them dearly. That increases the importance of my role as the educator to ensure that I provide the best resources for ALL children to excel.
This seminar allowed me to envision a classroom in which the environment is comfortable, loving, and respectful (2a), according to the Danielson Framework's second domain: Classroom Environment. Kurt Kondrich challenged us to envision a world where everyone lived with as much joy as those with Down syndrome, and where everyone treated each other like a brother or sister. After listening to him speak, I fully understand the importance of component 4c: Communicating with Families. Kondrich's message encouraged me to place myself in the shoes of my students' parents. By considering their concerns, I can better address their needs and relay the message that I am on their side to meet my students's needs. This event increased my awareness of my students' personal lives and their strengths both within and outside of the classroom.
ECET2 NextGen Conference: February 22-23, 2019
In February, I received the opportunity to participate in a conference planned specifically for preservice teachers. A large group of Grove City College students carpooled to the conference in Cranberry, PA. The first night, we discovered the importance of forming connections with other teachers with varying levels of experience. As discussed that night, educators need a strong support base with each other since they are often shamed by society for their chosen occupation. To empower us as teachers, we shared our biggest teaching victories, and the leaders of the conference reminded us that we can have an impact. On the second day of the conference, we attended multiple seminars to further our careers. I first listened to Kristen Nan, a powerful voice in the education community, who described her student-centered approach to learning. She explained how her classroom incorporates flexible seating and project-based assignments. As teachers, we may feel extremely passionate to teach certain subjects, but we need to consider our students' interests first. By devoting ourselves to our students, we instill a love for learning. With all this attention focused on the kids, Nan also reminded us that we will form all sorts of connections with our students, and not all children may be receptive. As she noted, "The easy relationships nurture you, the rough ones fuel you, the toughest ones mold you, but none of them define you!" Nan concluded her seminar with encouraging words for us to make it all about the students. I also attended a classroom management seminar and gained some tips of how to best discipline students, but it all comes back to component 1b of the Danielson Framework: Knowing your students. Overall, this conference provided me with tons of perspectives on how to run a classroom effectively, and I left with a sense of purpose in my chosen career.
This sense of purpose coupled with a sense of community with my fellow teachers, emphasizing Domain 4 of the Danielson Framework: Professional Responsibilities. One of the main goals of ECET2: Next Gen was to help preservice teachers establish relationships with one another (4d), hence the introductory name cards and endless opportunities to interact. The multiple seminars led way to expanding our own learning as teachers, since we must all continue to grow and develop professionally (4e). This growth took place in the form of discussions and effective note-taking, as encouraged by the provided notepads. Throughout all the weekend's events, we needed to demonstrate politeness and professionalism in both our interactions and focus on our purposes for being present at the conference (4f).