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.