Whew, what a week! I am at the point in the semester where I find myself constantly thinking, "Okay, when is this due?" or "Oh my gosh, this is coming up!" If I am not working on something, I am worrying about it so I am just about to drive myself crazy but it will be okay! We are very close to that month long break and it is going to be so gratifying to come out of this semester ALIVE. I got my placement which is exciting and one is a first grade classroom while the other is 5th ( I am most excited about the 5th). I work in 1st everyday but I actually love working with older kids too so I am grateful and excited for that opportunity. This week, I have also adjusted my PDP to better fit my needs and I am excited about that. I am focusing heavily on becoming more efficient at integrating technology and I think that is going to be SO HELPFUL to me. This class has given me a new awareness of how important it is that I be able to integrate technology. So, I am excited about my new goal for myself and how it is going to help me grow.

I also have focused heavily on my traditional learning plan which allowed me to work closely with the NCSCOS this week which is always important. I am trying to make the NCSCOS something that I am super familiar with and I feel like we are all slowly but surely doing that. I am excited to present lessons with you all again and I am actually surprised at how much I found myself thinking of my first lesson to guide me in this lesson I am working on now. I kept thinking "Okay, I didn't like how that worked and I did like how this or that worked." I imagine teachers do that all the time so it was exciting to have something to go off of when planning this lesson. That brought me back to the standard of  "Teachers reflect on their practice." I have been reflecting so much this semester as I prepare for student teaching which is so close! I think about where I started, where I am now, and where I hope to be. While I am nervous, I am also so proud of how far we have all come. I know we can do this and I am excited to see us all as student teachers! Have a wonderful week!

This week, I have been solely focused on finishing my virtual museum. I have worried about it weeks but I finally am starting to feel okay about it. It is my fist virtual museum so I have driven myself crazy worrying over it and wondering if it is as good as it could be. That's nothing new though, I tend to worry about every assignment but it always turns out fine. The virtual museum really scared me at first but as I got into it, I realized that it is actually a fun assignment. I like being able to create my own museum out of my visit and I like how accessible this makes museums to students. I mean we are creating something that we could actually use in our classrooms one day, how cool is that? I have found that students actually LOVE museums when we go on field trips, even first graders. So, the idea of creating virtual museums is genius. Think of how many more museums we could show them when we take out the cost of actually visiting. I think it's great and I feel so accomplished already knowing that I can create a virtual museum.

It has also been really great connecting the museum to the NCSCOS. This will make the museum so much for more meaningful for the students and teachers. They can make connections and know that this isn't just some random museum. It means something and pertains to what they are learning and need to know. I have been on quite a few field trips since I have been working in an elementary school and I can honestly say that I have never seen the connections being made between the field trips and the NCSCOS. Maybe I missed the connections but I don't think they were made clear to the students. So, this virtual museum assignment has made me aware of how important it is that field trips be tied to the standards. That really brings things full circle for the students and helps them to have a deeper understanding of the content. So, this week I feel like I have really been developing in the professional teaching standard: Teachers Know the Content they Teach. Without this knowledge, I wouldn't be able to tie the content to my museum. So, I can see myself growing in content knowledge even as I finish developing my museum.

I hope you all have a great week and I cannot wait to see your finished museums!

Hey, everyone! Another week down and we are SO CLOSE to finish line this semester and this both scares me and excites me. I am excited to have a break and about all that we have accomplished this semester but I am nervous about all of the upcoming assignments that are due. We can do it though, I believe in us. This week I completed my flipped lesson plan and my flipped component for the lesson plan. This was a vastly different way of planning for us all but I have to say that I like it. Think of how much more time we have for discussion and hands-on learning when the students have already watched/heard the lesson. Some are concerned that students will not have the technology to view the lesson beforehand and I can see why this would be a concern. However, I think you could always use the time in the mornings when students are settling in to have them view the lesson. I am also pretty positive that all schools are moving toward providing students with technology, or at least I hope so. I am glad to have had the opportunity to have planned a flipped lesson because this was a huge learning experience for me. It took me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to see another way to teach. I like having as many of these experiences as I can so that when I began teaching, I know the many options that I have and I can find what works for my students and I.

I also developed my peer rubric this week for my flipped lesson and that was helpful for me. I was able to think about what I need to work on before I present the lesson to you all. Developing the rubric has made me more self-aware of my weaknesses and brought to mind the standard "Teachers are always learning." I am learning every day and I am learning so much about myself as a teacher while going through these experiences and I hope you all are too. I also was able to incorporate the NCSCOS in the planning of my lesson. I knew that the lesson had to be based off of the standards that I had chosen for my unit so I explored those standards further. I am feeling more and more comfortable and more knowledgeable about the NCSCOS each week. When I first began this program, I was afraid because the NCSCOS seemed so overwhelming. But, now I know how to break it down and make sense of it.

Today, I also completed my teacher interview. What a relief! It went better than I ever expected and I know I had expressed my worry to you all so I just wanted to update you. I am so grateful for the opportunity to continue to grow and continue this journey! I cannot wait to meet with you all to present our lessons, see you then!

What a BUSY week! This week, I am diligently working on the flipped component of my lesson plan as well as the self-assessment rubric for this component. Also, my focus is on integrating technology in my unit in a way that is going to enhance student learning. I don't want to integrate technology just for the sake of saying, "Okay, I integrated technology into my unit." I want to use technology in a way that is going to really engage my students and make their learning experience more interesting, meaningful, and fulfilling. Technology is one of the greatest tools that we have at our fingertips as teachers, we just have to know how to properly utilize it. The thing is, there are literally so many ways to do this. You just have to find the best way that fits.

That is where the SAMR and TPAK model have come in for me. The best type of technology integration takes place when the technology, content, and pedagogy all come together. When you have each component, the most effective instruction happens. Each component plays an important role and when they all combine, the magic happens. This is what the TPAK model put into perspective for me and this is a new way of looking at technology integration for me. This makes sense. Without the content being present, what good is the technology in the classroom doing? Students are not learning what they need to learn if the content is not involved. With this model, I can look at each piece and see why each piece is needed. The SAMR model opened my eyes to the different types of technology and made me see that I want to be the teacher that uses technology for modification or redefinition of my lessons. I want to do what wasn't possible before. With redefinition, I want to do what was not conceivable prior to the integration of technology. In my eyes, this can be a game changer. This can completely reshape and change your unit for the better.

I am looking forward to utilizing touchcast this week as well to summarize what I have learned from the TPAK and SAMR and learning even more by seeing what you all post. Each of you have a way of making me see what we are learning in a new perspective and I really enjoy that. I can feel myself growing as an instructor each week and I can see you all growing, which is REALLY amazing and exciting.

The NCTCS teaching standard that comes to mind for me this week while I am working, is "Teachers facilitate learning for their students." I am using technology this week as an outlet to better facilitate learning for my students and it is both challenging and exciting. I hope you all are gaining something from learning to integrate technology as well and I cannot wait to see how you all take advantage of this week's learning opportunities! Have a great week!

We are officially into October and things are starting to feel serious for me! I am finding myself constantly thinking about what is due when and what I need to do first and it seems things just keep popping up. However, I feel that I am pouring so much of my heart and soul into these assignments and every time I turn something in, it feels like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. This semester has challenged me in new ways and I feel like all of the assignments we are doing are long-term and require so much more thought and effort then they ever have before. I like this though because I feel much more accomplished this semester than I ever have. It is going to be so fulfilling to achieve all of my goals this semester and to see my effort pay off once all of these projects are complete and submitted. The stress is worth it guys, I promise we are growing as educators. Think about how far we have already come since the beginning of this semester!


This week I am thankful that we don't have that much due so we have some time to spend on our units. I feel pretty confident about my performance task and now I am breaking that down to develop my learning activities. I can see this unit literally coming together and each part fitting like a puzzle. Now, each part makes sense to me and I can see the purpose that each part plays in the whole picture which is a good feeling. My biggest thing right now is figuring out how to make sure I cover each standard that I want to from the NCSCOS in my unit. I am focusing on the NCPTS: "Teachers Know the Content They Teach," this week. I am spending time exploring the content in my unit and making sure I have a solid understanding so that I could teach the content in-depth. Upon focusing on this standard, I have come to realize how important it is that I be an expert on the content that I teach. In order to help students make connections within the content areas and to be able to help them make connections to their lives, I have to have a deep understanding of the content. So, I am definitely working on my content knowledge because I want to be the best educator I can be. This will be a continuous process through out my career and I feel like my content knowledge will continue to grow over the years.

I hope everyone has a stress free week and if you start to feel overwhelmed just remember how close we are to the end goal! We are so fortunate to be able to pursue our passion and I feel lucky to pursue mine with all of you! Have a great week!

We are another week down, you guys! This week, I am focusing heavily on my concept-based unit and am making some definitive decisions that are going to shape the direction that the unit is going to go. I feel that my generalizations are solid and so is my conceptual lenses. I feel confident about those aspects of my unit as well as the standards from the NCSCOS that I feel like my unit will cover. I am still developing my performance task but mainly I am working on my rubric for my performance task. After talking with Dr. Parker on Tuesday, I realized that the rubric will basically break my performance task down into different sections and I will decide what I am looking for from the students in each section. From there, I will be able to develop my learning activities because the activities I develop should basically serve to prepare the students for the performance task. I will pretty much be addressing each part of my rubric for the performance task in the learning activities. To me, this is a very logical way to break it down. Now, I can see the purpose of each part of the unit plan and it is starting to all come together for me.

This week the standard "Teachers Reflect on their Practice" from the NCPTS has been something I can really relate to and focus on this week. I am finding myself reflecting on what I have in my unit so far constantly. Even when I am at work, I find myself thinking "What can I add to my unit?" "How can I lead the students to make the connections that I want them to make?" My brain has been constantly working and I think this is what everyday life must be like for professional teachers. They must be constantly reflecting on the units, lessons, and activities that they have planned and thinking about what they can do to make the learning experience better for students. I have found that even writing this blog on what I am doing each week has lead me to be much more reflective and has allowed me to think about what I can do to be better each week. So, I think blogging is something that I will continue even after I am hired as a teacher. It is just such an easy outlet to use to reflect and organize my thoughts.

Moving forward, I think my biggest challenge this week will be taking my guiding questions and my rubric and wording them so that they will be on a second grade level. Dr. Parker reminded me that I am probably just used to writing lesson plans with adults in mind. I had not considered this and I am glad this was brought to my attention because when I have my own classroom, I will be constantly be writing lessons that are for my students with learning in mind. So, I am glad that I have the opportunity to go ahead and get used to writing my lessons this week.

I hope you all are feeling confident about your units and I cannot wait to see what everyone is accomplishing!

Hi. everyone! We have made it through another week and I feel like the semester is just FLYING by. This week we are focusing on assessment and more specifically on performance tasks. I had heard of performance tasks prior to this class but never have I had an explanation of what actually qualifies as a performance task or how important performance tasks actually are. The performance tasks showcase what your students can actually do independently and allow you to see what your students have actually learned.  What I took away from our weekly meeting was that performance tasks need to be authentic, allow students to demonstrate their learning, be aligned to essential standards as well as pervious learning, and there should be more than one way for students to complete the tasks. Also, when thinking about my performance tasks for my unit, I remind myself that Dr. Parker said that performance tasks should be developed with "learning in mind, not teaching."

I have to admit that in the classrooms that I have worked in have gotten me accustomed to activities.  I do not see many performance tasks being developed but I believe that performance tasks are going to give me a much more accurate description of the learning that has taken place in my classroom. So, I am thankful to be growing as a future educator and learning about different types of assessments and how they are going to benefit myself and my future students. It is exciting to be able to say each week, "I did not know that before, but I know that now." That allows me to see that I am growing as an educator and makes me feel excited about the future.

Moving forward, I am developing my performance tasks for my unit with learning in mind. I feel confident about my knowledge on performance tasks now so I don't feel apprehensive about what I am adding to my unit. It is a good thing that I feel calm about my school work this week because it has been the craziest week ever with my sweet 1st graders this week. It was picture day first of all and right before getting her picture taken, one of my girls got very sick and vomited all over the gym floor and my leg/foot. Thank goodness our yearbook pictures are from the waist up. Also, we have had to switch our math instruction from whole group to two small groups because we felt like that is what would benefit the students we have the most. So, I am challenged everyday with keeping these students interested in the math that I am teaching. Today, I used bowling pins to demonstrate ways to make ten and I allowed them to bowl to see how many were left when you knocked down a certain amount and they seemed to like that. So, I am adjusting to that as well as coming up with fun ways for my small literacy groups to remember their sight words. That is a big challenge for our class this year so I am open to any sight word game ideas you guys have! No matter how crazy things get in the classroom, I still leave feeling fulfilled everyday so I wouldn't change it for anything in the world!

I hope you all have a great week!