Week 2 as a Student Teacher

Whew, what a week! First, the snow caused school to be closed for two days and then a delay on the third. Luckily, all both snow says were optional work days so I had the opportunity to spend some much needed time working in the classroom with my CE. Work days fly by but I enjoyed spending extra time with my CE and we organized the classroom and got ready for the week which was really nice. After the two hour delay on Wednesday, I was able to take over the Math and morning work for the week and it went so much better than I was anticipating. I was so worried that I was not going to be able to teach math as efficiently as my CE and I know how important it is that math instruction is carried out in the correct manner. Each lesson in our math curriculum builds on the lessons before so I know it is a huge responsibility to make sure the students are receiving the instruction that they need to move forward. What I have found this week is that it is so important to be prepared. Even though I had already planned out my lessons the week before, I went back to look over what I would be teaching the next day so that I could be sure I had all of my materials and I knew exactly how I was going to teach the content. I have found it is easiest to go ahead and lay out all of my materials for the next day before I left school each day. That way, I knew I had everything that I needed. Even being totally prepared, I still felt a little nervous so I cannot imagine how I would feel if I were about to start a lesson being unprepared. Hopefully, that won’t happen during my student teaching experience! 

Between the crazy snow days, delays, picture day, and MAP testing this week, I would rate this week as a 4 meaning it was a good week but there were a lot of surprises! I found that my lessons are not going to all happen exactly when I plan them throughout the day/week because things are going to come up. I am starting to accept that things are not always going to go as I plan (that one is hard for me). Math had to be moved a couple of times because of a 2-hour delay and because of makeup MAP testing which we missed because of a snow day! It was a good chance for me to adjust to sudden schedule changes and I am learning how important it is to just roll with the punches and be flexible. All of the changes and unexpected occurrences were definite surprises this week but they were important learning opportunities for me. Next week, I will build off of what I have learned and try to be more laid back and flexible. I am not going to allow the little surprises and changes in the schedule stress me out because it is always going to be a part of teaching! I know that going into the weeks ahead, it is important for me to keep an open mind and look at each surprise as an opportunity for growth. 

My short-term efforts are still aligned with my long term efforts as I continue to take over responsibilities and areas of instruction that will allow for my first full week of taking over. I am hoping to shorten my lesson planning process next week. It seems that I am just spending every afternoon until bed lesson planning which is fine but I am trying to be able to focus on other areas of what I need in my portfolio too so I am trying to become faster and more efficient at writing lesson planning. I can tell the process is already easier than it was last week but I would still like to be even faster. 

This week, I still had some apprehension that I would like to have dissipated by next week. I have to have confidence in what I am doing/saying because I don’t want my students picking up on any apprehension. The areas that I was most apprehensive about (teaching math, for instance) are the areas that turned out to go the most smoothly so I am setting a goal to go into next week with no apprehension- we all need to keep in mind that we have made it this far for a reason and have confidence in what we have learned thus far!

My first logical step for next week  is to go ahead and start planing for the newest area that I am taking over (literacy stations) because I know that is what is going to take me the longest to plan because I am not used to planning for it. So, I will start that first so I don’t feel nervous and rushed. 

This week, I analyzed the formative and summative assessments I implemented throughout my math instruction and I was able to see what the students understood and what we need to work on more. This week was able about more than, fewer than, and equal to. I found they understood equal sets the best (which is not what I expected) and had trouble identifying sets that had fewer. I used this data to build activities into my math lessons this coming week that allow them to practice making sets that have fewer than another set and practice with comparing sets to see which has fewer objects. 

A piece of advice I would share with upcoming student teachers this week is to spend time really getting to know your students. It is amazing how much easier lesson planning comes when you know the needs of your students and what they can and cannot do. It may not seem like one of the most important parts of student teaching but it really is. 

This week I also spent some time working to become more proficient in different areas of the NC Teacher Candidate Standards- 

1C. Teachers Demonstrate Leadership in the School- This week, I was able to attend a data meeting (to analyze student assessment data in the school), the grade level meeting, and planned for professional development opportunities which I can join in on with the assistant principal. It turns out I have experience with “myON” which is a digital reading program the school is implementing on the iPads. I will be able to assist in training my grade level with the program because I have used it extensively at another school I worked at. So, I am excited to be able to help in that area!

2C. Teachers Treat Students as Individuals- This week, I focused on having individual goals for my students. I was able to be a part of their math MAP testing and it really allowed me to see the range of abilities I have in my classroom. I cannot set the same goals for every student. Based on individual needs, I set different goals for my math assessments. 

3D. Teachers make instruction relevant to students- I am putting a big emphasis on 21st century skills this semester. I heard someone say this week that Kindergartners are not ready for group work. I disagree with that statement. I think the time to begin to put them in groups and with partners to work is in Kindergarten so that we can build those necessary 21st century skills. I built in opportunities to work as partners into my lessons this week and it went better than I thought. I will continue to build in even more opportunities to foster their 21st century skills. 

4E. Teachers help students to develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills- This week, I was intentional about building questioning into my lessons which required thought. I want my students to have to think critically and I am working to eliminate one word answers from my lessons. In math, I am focusing on the why and the how? How did you get that answer? How do you know? Why is that the way that you solved that problem? My students are responding well so far!

5A. Teachers analyze student learning- I put an emphasis this week on letting my math data guide my next steps so I am anxious to see how it will go next week!