Continual Growth Plan

We have done a lot of reflecting during this program about things that have worked (or not worked) and the growth made as an educator. Now it's time to fast forward. Where do I see myself in the years to come? Will I continue to embrace change? Look for new ideas? Encourage others to do the same? I feel like there are a ton of questions marks at this point in my life, so I am anxious to have these goals in place and have some direction of where I want to be. Who knows what other sorts of changes will pop in and change my life even more in the next decade!

In 1 year: 
- Be almost finished with my inaugural year as a first grade teacher
- Have a stronger understanding of our math curriculum by being on the committee
- Continue being a mentor for new teachers at my school
- Communicate directly with parents more often (emails, phone calls, etc.) to celebrate the good things their child is doing at school

In 5 years: 
- Have completed the reading licensure
- Have my 10 year anniversary with St. Francis (whoa!)
- Continue transitioning into more leadership roles at my school

In 10 years:
- Consider a move to administration
- Teach summer courses through SMU
- Continue to push myself and search for the best ways to instruct just as much as I did while completing my M. Ed. degree

My Legacy:
When students spend a year with me and move onto the following grade levels, I hope they remember me as the teacher that took genuine interest in them and made learning fun. Some people tense up when they hear "make learning fun" but I want to give students experiences that go beyond the textbook. I want them to have fond memories of their learning with me because those are the things they will remember and that will bring joy to their lives years after having me as their teacher. Yes, kids absolutely need to master skills at school, but they also need to build the foundations for a lifetime of interactions with others. I hope to be one of those teachers that ignites students' compassion for others and their love of learning. Both of those traits can take a person far in life. And honestly, what more could a teacher want for his or her student in the grand scheme of things?

Teaching Metaphor

This week we we read an article called "Metaphors We Teach By" by Mary Ann Bowman and then were asked to reflect on a metaphor that is present in our own teaching career. This Master's degree journey as allowed for so much growth and the type of teacher I am striving to be. I have learned to be flexible and not everything has an easy answer. You have to make the best of situations and learn from things that didn't go as well as you had hoped. You can use the best strategies but still have a result you were not expecting. It's all part of the game!

Teaching is a game of Go Fish. 

Bear with me, I'm not sure how this popped into my head but I promise it will make sense :) 

Teachers start each year with particular students, resources, objectives, strategies, etc. (the hand they are dealt). Throughout the year, teachers try to make the best possible outcome with what they are given:

* Teachers may have to seek out more help and may not always get a response (ask others for card) 
* Teachers are asked by others for help but can't always do what is needed, even if they wish they could solve the problem ("Go Fish")
* Teachers will search for outside resources to support their students and hope to find something that works (draw from the pond) 
* Teachers share ideas among colleagues (give card to another player)
* Teachers feel best when everything is organized and ends up being a success (all the pairs are found)
* Good teachers are okay with making progress, even if that isn't the same as total success by the end of the year (it turns out you were playing with a deck that was short one card all along)
* Teachers take all of the experiences and growth from one year to the next (cards shuffled and ready to start a new game)

Who is ready to shuffle things over the summer and start a brand new game?!?

Be Your Best FOR the World

It's amazing the difference on little word makes. Think about this: Are you living your life trying to be the best in the world? Or are you living your life trying to be the best FOR the world? Little word, huge difference.

This winter I reconnected with a good friend of my younger sister's from high school. I saw on Facebook that Alyssa was embarking on The World Race adventure to share the Gospel message with people in 11 countries over 11 months. Wow! I became inspired as read about her life-changing decision to proudly share her faith with so many other people. Alyssa's team of 7 (named Rabah Current) had asked for people to "adopt" their team and pray for them. My class of second graders and I have "adopted" their team and pray for them daily after lunch. We send emails back and forth and see pictures from Alyssa's adventure. My students have great questions and Alyssa is able to respond back to us from around the world... so cool! Alyssa has put her career on hold after being called by God to take on this mission. Seeing that immense trust and joy for her to change her life is pretty phenomenal. She is absolutely being her best for the world (quite literally, in fact).

What attributes do I possess that will allow me to be the best for the world?

• Good listener: Sometimes people just need to talk things out. I am happy to be that person because I know how good it feels to vent wit a friend sometime. By allowing other people this opportunity, they are able to go out into the world without carrying such large burdens around. They can be happier and share a smile with anyone they meet,
• Sense of humor: I love to laugh and make other people laugh. Life is much more enjoyable when you can find humor in tough situations. In the words of Charlie Chaplin, "A day without laughter is day wasted." The laugter he provided was definitely best for the world.
• Positivity: We all know how hard it is to be around someone when they constantly have a storm cloud above their head. I like to help people see the silver lining when it may be almost impossible to find. Being an upbeat personality can be contagious of others are willing to see it.

Spring Conference Application

I went out on a limb and attended an "adding music to the classroom" session. I am not the most musically inclined person but do certainly love it. Today I played some acoustic guitar for my students while they took a reading test. Afterwards, they were to find a book and a quiet place to read. They were sooooo quiet and into their books! I let them go for longer than needed because they looked so peaceful enjoying the music and their books. I think the music was a little extra to drown out other little distractions around the room. They asked if we could music more often. We sure can! It made me feel relaxed as well. I can't wait to use more of the ideas that were shared with us at the seminar. I always say I will use music more often and then it fizzles out. I am going to try to be conscious about doing it more regularly..

"Take Yourself to the Edge"

Taking yourself to the edge can sometimes be a scary thing to do. I know a couple of people who ride the edge all the time- it's their personality- and it drives me crazy! Sometimes I wish I could live more on the edge... just sometimes :) I have found myself challenged to push the limits during this graduate program. I am taking more risks and have seen some great successes. I also have experienced some failures and have learned from them. My students have also been learning from my examples.

It seems like teachers can fall into a "rut" more often than other professionals. It is easy to keep teaching how you've done it for the last 20 years. It is safe. The students learn. That's a win-win, right? The world of education changes so quickly that even though a lot of the content is similar, the delivery method must be adjusted for today's students. Kids today have much different needs than my parents or I did when we were in school. Teachers willing to go to the edge to try something new to reach their kids can feel intimidated if not fully supported. They are putting a lot on the line and are getting uncomfortable. In order for change to happen, sometimes things need to get messy. That's okay! 

Goals for Next Year

My "teacher toolbox" has grown significantly during my time in this graduate program. I can now go forward into next year (and beyond) with a new, refreshed look on best practice teaching. I have learned so much from my learning community friends. I think we all have grown with each other and have become even better educators. 

I am committing to three goals for the 2015-2016 school year:

1. Fine-tune my guided math system

This year I had a successful time "diving in" with guided math through my action research project. I am going to spend time this summer finding and creating new activities (woohoo! grade change! 1st grade!) and setting up a better tracking system for student progress. I will also create a more thorough plan for transitioning into guided math since I'll really have kindergartners at the beginning of the year (yikes!). 

2. Create more pre-assessments and varied assessments 

I did some of this with guided math this year but am going to create more of my own assessments over the summer and into next year. I used ones from our book but wasn't too impressed with them; I didn't feel like they accurately assessed student understanding. I also want to extend those pretests into spelling and differentiate more across the board for students. I have been wanting to do this but am looking forward to having more time to come up with a solid way to do this. I have done more hands-on assessments in our science curriculum this year. I am going to add more of these opportunities in other subjects as well.

3. Redesign my literacy block

Next year, grades K-3 at my school will begin to use the Daily 5 as a guide to our literacy block. I will work with the other 1st grade teacher to push the envelope on getting past the "old" schedule and way of teaching reading/language arts. I think this will be my most challenging goal because it involves other people getting on board as well. My partner is completely on board but our reading resource teacher is very stuck in her ways. We may have to ruffle some feathers (which is NOT my thing to do) but I am willing to try a ton of new things since I am starting totally fresh in a new grade level. There are so many great things to try that will cause other people to be flexible with their schedules. It will be a challenge but has the potential to have really great results.

Praxis Folio / IDEA

What are your current beliefs about what you value within IDEA?

• What do you hold true in your beliefs about Instruction?
• Teachers must be willing to adapt instruction to meet the needs of all learners in their classrooms. Quality instruction develops students not only academically but socially as well. The world of instruction is ever-changing and good teachers embrace that change and seek out best practices in order for their students to make progress in their learning. 
• What do you hold true in your beliefs about your Discipline area or best practice?
• As second grade teacher, I am responsible for teaching a wide variety of disciplines: language arts, math, science, social studies, religion, and art. I feel stronger about my abilities in some disciplines more than others and this reminds me that my students feel the same way. I model for my students that it is natural to feel more comfortable with some concepts than others. Making mistakes is a necessary component of learning and we embrace those mistakes because they lead us towards improvement.
• What do you hold true in your beliefs about the Environment you create for students?
• Creating a safe environment where students feel comfortable and respected is very important to me. My students understand that our classroom is a place to learn, grow, make mistakes, and support each other. Learning happens at a different pace for each student and we will all move forward along the same path but that needs may vary from student to student. It is okay to ask questions or not understand concepts in our classroom. I remind students almost daily that our classroom is a safe place where any and all questions can be asked.
• What do you hold true in your beliefs about formative and summative Assessment?
•  Both formative and summative assessments should be used when assessing student progress. At the primary level, I tend to use more formative assessments on a daily basis. I use first-to-five, thumbs up/thumbs down, exit slips, and observations while students are working. Using these techniques gives me "real time data" at a particular moment during instruction. I use the responses to decide whether to move on with content or if I need to spend more time before moving on. I also get a sense of certain student who could use more instruction about a certain concept. Summative assessments also have value in my classroom. This is an area I have worked on improving this year and still have further to go. I have incorporated more pre-tests in math this year in order to create my guided math groups. Summative assessments provide "hard data" to show whether concepts have been mastered or not. I mostly have stuck with paper/pencil assessments but would like to create more project-based assessments for next year. 

What do you believe to be the important foundational pieces of IDEA?

• What piece of work demonstrates your change in Instruction?
• Both my action research and backwards design units demonstrate my change in instruction. My action research required me to spend more time creating lessons for students at varying math levels. I could spend more on concepts with the groups that were slower to catch on and move to more challenging concepts with the groups that were ready. My backward design units pushed me to seek out different ways to instruct and assess student learning. I used the textbooks more as an occasional resource instead of the main instructional tool.
• What changes have you made with your Discipline?
• Since my action research required a focus on math this year, that discipline is where I have made the most changes. In the past, I have taught math in a whole-group setting. It was more difficult to know who really understood the information and who was confused. This year, I have much more knowledge about how well my students are understanding math concepts. I feel like these connections made allow students to share their confusion more openly and then receive the additional support from me.
• How have you changed the physical and emotional Environment in your classroom?
• I have incorporated more small group work into my classroom this year. Guided math requires those small groups but I extended those groups into almost all other subject areas. Learning how to work with other in a group as been a huge growing point for my students this year. It required in increase in patience and respect for each other. Working in small groups also required for students to develop relationships that allowed them to feel comfortable sharing concerns or questions. I feel like my class communicates more freely than my students in past years have.
• What changes have you made with formative and summative Assessment?
• I have increased the amount of summative assessments in math with my pre- and post- unit assessments (used to create small groups). Next year I would like to create more of my own since I had a hard time with the curriculum tests accurately assessing student understanding. I have sought out new formative assessments to use with my students. Our learning community did a very nice job of giving us opportunities to share and try different types of these assessments. I feel like my "toolbox" of assessments have gotten considerably larger and I will continue to add to it.

Ride the Change

This week, we were reminded that it is natural for a lot of us to resist change. Change is hard. It challenges us. We don't always know what the outcome will be. AND THAT'S OKAY. It can inspire us. It can refresh out viewpoints. Change allows us to grow. USUALLY...

Change is a good thing when it is purposeful. Sometimes I think groups make quick changes to have the next best thing and then the results aren't as great as they could have been. Our district hopped on the Project Lead the Way bandwagon for a new Science curriculum this year. Teachers have been scrambling all year to implement it when no one in an administration role (who made the decision) had the foresight to see the challenges that would exist. I know that with all changes come the unexpected, but teachers haven't had all of the necessary resources to teach at the highest level. I also think districts like to try so many new things that come out that teachers are stuck teaching many things at an "okay" level. I would rather focus on a few items and teach them really well but that, for some reason, goes against most of the decisions made be the administration. So many changes all at once is frustrating when teachers are pulled in so many different directions.

"Evaluations That Help Teachers Learn"

To truly benefit teachers, evaluations need to involve more than checklists. In "Evaluations That Help Teachers Learn" (pp. 35–39), Charlotte Danielson describes a five-step evaluation process (p. 38) that promotes self-reflection and professional conversation.

How does this process compare to the process in place at your school?

For evaluations at my school, there isn't a rubric to follow so I guess you would call it more a classroom observation than evaluation. At one point in the article the author states,  "The scenario proceeds as follows: The administrator goes to the classroom and watches a lesson, takes notes, goes away and writes up the notes, and then returns and tells the teacher about the lesson (what was good, what the teacher could improve)". This is exactly how it works at my school. Teachers do prep and fill out a questionnaire that examines goals for the lesson and provides a peek into their teaching practices and how they approach varied learners in their classroom. The after the lesson we reflect on how things went and reflect on goals for the rest of the year. We meet twice with our administrator (pre- and post- observation).

How would a system like Danielson's work at your school?

I think the system would work well for newer teachers in the system. Those that have been working for 20+ years would have a hard (as they do with a lot of things). I, personally, would like to see an evaluation system like Danielson's put into place. I like the evaluative criteria matrix to measure what level teachers should be aiming for. 
What adjustments might you make to your evaluation system to foster teacher improvement?
I think our school is lacking a way to measure performance and hold teachers accountable to high standards. Right now we hear what the principal observed as "good" and what "needs improvement" but have no idea how that compares to the expectations. I think it would also be helpful if those "needs improvement" areas were followed up with somehow. I think a lot of teachers have the post-observation conversation and then stash that paper in another folder somewhere in their classroom. Is anything actually improving? There is currently no way to tell if changes are being made or not.

"The Flexible Teacher"

In "The Flexible Teacher" (pp. 46–50), Leila Christenbury tells how she changed her plans when her students did not meet her expectations.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation like Christenbury's?

At the beginning of this year I found myself doing a double-take with my students' academic levels. When I was last at school in May I was gearing up for third grade with my group from last year who did quite well academically. Now it was September and I was with recent first-graders who were considerably lower than last year's group across the board. 

How did you respond?

It was really hard for me to transition my frame of mind back to end-of-first-grade with these students. I don't remember as drastic of a transition in past years. I did a lot more informal "pre-assessments" to see what students learned and remembered from the year before. The most significant change was absolutely their writing (which is not so surprising). I left off in May having students writing several page stories with nice handwriting, complete sentences, and punctuation. I tried a writing assignment the first couple weeks of school... and about cried. Okay, not really, but I was totally taken aback! I have had to go at a much slower pace this year and come back to topics that I was able to fly through last year. It has been good for me to take a breath and slow down at times. I found myself with Fraulein Maria's song from The Sound of Music as my mantra at the start of the year, "Let

start at the very beginning. It's a very good place to start..."

How can educators adapt their plans to their students' needs and abilities without lowering standards?

Educators must adapt their plans to student needs if they want to get anything accomplished and for the students to make progress. Differentiation has been a buzzword for several years now and it continue to increase importance as the ability levels our student populations seem to continue to become more widespread. Teachers can still have high standards for students but they must realize that each student requires a different level of "high". Reading through a simple See Spot Run book maybe be a huge accomplishment for one student while a classmate is ready for a Magic Treehouse chapter book. Teachers need to be able to recognize the various needs of students can create learning goals that can be met with some opportunities to be challenged.

Improvement Plan

I can't believe we are beginning April already! As I look ahead to June, I would like to make some improvements to my Reading instruction in the area of comprehension. With a lot of my students I have worked so hard at decoding words and just reading them that I haven't pushed some kids enough to see if they are truly understanding what they are reading. This is particularly true for my below-level readers. I will also add in some writing elements since those have been a little short this year.

Here's what I will do:

1. Share with students that they have become such great readers (they really have!) that now they are ready for 3rd grade assignments. They always get SO pumped when I say we are doing something from a higher level.

2. Model how to pull out details from stories. Practice whole-class with a few stories. 

3. Transition to small groups in literature circles discussing stories and answering prompts.

4. Create writing prompts for individual students to write what they know about a story.