Another month has flown by. There is still so much to do and so little time this semester. This month some of the biggest assignments/projects I have done that have stood out to me were the Leadership and Collaboration project, and of course my mock edTPA lesson. I also want to talk about something we have been working on in Math Methods the last few weeks on edTPA.
The object of the Leadership and Collaboration project that we did for 435 was to research the school that we are working in. We were to find any information we could including basic information, testing results and demographics from the NC Report Card, local board policies, school improvement plan, and whatever else we could find. I had never thought to do all of this research on a school before and it was a good learning experience. After we learned as much about our school as we could we had to translate the information in an easy understandable way to share with parents. Then we worked with our CE to create a potential parent night for the school based on the information we found. These are things that we should be able to do when we get our own classroom. We need to be able to share information with parents and find ways to include parents and encourage their participation in the school and their student’s learning. Learning how ways to get parents involved and ways to get information to parents in a user-friendly way are good skills that we will need. Not only did this help me learn more about the school that I am working in and will be doing my student teaching in but it has also helped to prepare me for my future classroom. Being able to do this is also apart of the NCTCS, specifically 1b “Teachers demonstrate leadership in schools” by working with colleagues and other adults in students’ lives and finding, analyzing, and using data on schools.
My edTPA lesson has been a trial, as they always are. I am getting slightly more comfortable but I still have so much to go. Since the class I am in only does science and math I decided to integrate literacy and science for my lesson. It went so well, at least in my opinion. The kids seemed to enjoy the lessons and did well on the formative assessments. The problem came with time. The activities for each one took longer than expected and it was hard to get everything done in the time allotted. That is something that I am definitely going to have to work on in the future.
In Math Methods we have been talking about Task 4 of edTPA for math. We have been working on the differences between conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and mathematical reasoning. Conceptual understanding is more than just memorizing math facts or algorithms but is the understanding of these and how they connect. For example, a student may memorize the times tables but when they make the connection that multiplication is just adding a number over and over that is when they have a conceptual understanding. Procedural fluency is knowing when and being able to use a procedure or method to solve a problem. Mathematical reasoning is when students can reason through a problem and come up with a solution to solve the problem.
One of the things we worked on in EDUC 251 last week was researched strategies and theories for teaching. This is one of the things that I have struggled with since the beginning. I could never figure out exactly what we were supposed to do when finding these or how to include them in our lessons. I am glad for the time to learn more about them in this class. We have also been working on them some in Math Methods. I think I am slowly getting the hang of it more.
Another assignment I did was examine a substandard from the NCTCS. The standard was 2a “teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults”. The most important thing I pulled from this was that we as teachers need to build relationships with our students. Positive relationships, that are nurturing and show that we care and shows each student that he or she is important. During this project, I found multiple sites that give strategies and tips to do just this.
Hey girl,
ReplyDeleteI agree that edTPA is a huge task for us to be taking on! With each time we do one, we can learn more and more about ourselves and how to be better teachers through the exhausting work we do in edTPA. I think you have learned something great, and that is to work on time management skills. I struggle there too, I never realize how students may struggle or fly through a project, which then leaves for little or too much time! You are learning a lot and I think you are doing great so far. Keep up the good work!
To start this is a great post, I like how you talked about different learning experiences from other classes. I also think that edTPA is very important and now is more than ever. I like that in each class we work on it more and more and parts are now more understandable to me. In 251 I like researching the strategies like you talked about. I found a lot that I will want to use in my future classroom.
ReplyDeleteYou are a model of someone who is benefitting from integrated learning, as well as building your skills to integrate your teaching style! Your ability to summarize the new information from the span of all your classes in such a cohesive way is wonderful to read. In the Early Childhood world we call that scaffolding, as the new information builds upon other lessons and existing knowledge. Researching schools is a wonderful idea, and as you said, meets the NCTCS Standard of preparing teachers for leadership. I very much enjoyed reading your post, thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI can say I agree with you! There is so much left to do for sure and not enough time it seems! As long as we keep working hard and pushing through we will make it though! I am glad to hear your EdTPA lesson went well and the students enjoyed it! Great post!
ReplyDeleteWe do have so much to do and there is not a ton of time to do it! However, I am always encouraged when I look back at all I have accomplished throughout the weeks thus far! It makes it much easier so I am not focused on so much I still have to do! Way to go that you are finding so many examples of ways the NCTCS is displayed in your school. It is awesome to see teachers who are showing leadership and facilitating learning!
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