Student Teaching Experience Week 9

Keep Calm and Carry On

I try extremely hard to make meaningful lessons and culminating activities, and this week demonstrated that.  I want my Honors students to be challenged, and I want to make sure my regular classes are on track and challenged as well.  There are days when I know that my lessons are not going to go as planned and I need to know how to think on my feet and get them on a track that keeps my students moving forward. 

Reflecting on my lessons has been crucial.  I know what lessons take longer than I think and what activities do not take as long. Reflection has led me to understand how well my students do with certain activities and what activities work the best in the classroom.  Which led me to create a project that I am really excited about for my students!

On Friday, I assigned my 5th period class a Spanish American War Options project. This project is allowing my students to choose how they want to carry out a depiction of the war.  A number of my students got extremely excited about making a movie about the Spanish American War, and others are going to work alone on a comic strip of the War.  I know that my rubrics have to be detailed so that my students know the expectations I have for them. 

This project is due Monday, November 4th.

Student Teaching Experience Week 8

Things are looking up!

This week was a week of healing for the students, staff, and community at Clay-Battelle. In no way are things back to normal, but the healing process has begun.  I dove back into the material and tried to get caught up on grading the maps that I had my students color while they were trying to come to terms with losing a friend.  I thought it would be good to get back into a routine again this week.  My mentor teacher felt the same way.  This week my students did a great job going through material and keeping their heads up.

The football game was postponed until Monday October 7th, and I don't think I have ever experienced anything so lovely in my life.  All of the fans wore pink for the student who passed the Monday before, and the opposing team's cheerleaders brought roses for our cheerleaders.  The opposing football team released balloons for her, and a moment of silence marked a moment of grace and peace over that field for her. Tears welled in my eyes when I saw that our cheerleaders had painted a big pink heart with her signature painted on it in her little squiggly writing to mark the young girl's spot in the cheer line.  So beautiful.

I gave my 11th graders an assignment on yellow journalism that is due Friday and it definitely taught me that I need to have every question ready to answer.  They seem to be doing a great job on this assignment so I'm anxious to see how they do on this article.

Student Teaching Experience Week 7

The week of September 30th-October 4th at CBHS was one that I anticipated to be upbeat, fun, and full of school spirit as this week was supposed to be Homecoming.  My heart was broken on Tuesday morning when I woke up to a message letting me know that one of my students was tragically killed in a one-vehicle car accident.  She was a bright, beautiful girl.  She was a state track champion, cheerleader, 4-H member, and she played on the volleyball team.  She had a smile that could light up the room and a super contagious laugh.  She was a true leader in this school.  When I received that message my stomach immediately turned, and that feeling lasted all week.  This week at school was nothing like what I anticipated it to be.

When I got to the school on Tuesday, October 1st, the students were extremely quiet and blank stares filled the commons area.  There were so many tears.  The teachers had a meeting in the library before school started, and every single one of the teachers and student teachers were crying.  This young girl had touched the lives of so many, and the fact that she died at the age of 16 tore every one in the school apart.  The principal was an amazing leader through it all.  He told us what happened and said, "I don't care if you don't do one educational thing today.  You need to be here for these kids."  This school is extremely small--436 kids total from 6th-12th grade, and they have all gone to school together since Kindergarten.  They are constantly around each other in and out of school, and they are an amazing network of support for each other.  So many of the kids felt the loss as if it were their own sister, and it has been amazing to see them reach out to each other with support, love, and tissues as they mourn the loss of their friend.  

On Tuesday, most of my 11th graders were not in class.  They were allowed to walk around and talk to the counselors, and many of them left with their parents for home.  

I remember reading an article in my Education 400 class about how the school serves as not only an institution to explore content, but it is also a social and moral institution.  We, as teachers, have a duty to provide all students the proper experiences educationally, socially, morally, and intellectually.  My mind went back to this article on October 1st as I watched the amazing network of students reaching out to their peers.  And there I was at the front of the classroom.  I had to be a rock.  I had to guide these students and let them know it is okay to grieve, to be sad, be mad, be upset.

Through this tragedy I did notice one thing: my love for this school has grown so tremendously over the past two years. Why is it that I realized it this week?  My heart was so broken, my stomach so upset, and my tears continual when I received the news of this young girl's accident.  Yet through all those feelings my heart was so touched to see these students and the community rally around the family of this girl; everyone was quick to hug, to share stories, offer tissues, give students time to take a quick walk down the hall if they felt the tears welling.  The love instilled in the community surrounding Clay-Battelle is unreal.  It's amazing.  

This young girl will forever be in the hearts of her peers, her teachers, and me.  

Student Teaching Experience Week 6

During the week of September 23rd-27th, my 11th grade classes wrapped up the Progressive Era (1890-1920) and my 9th graders wrapped up ancient Egypt. 

With my 9th graders, I used Google Earth to look at Egyptian pyramids, which is the first time I have used Google Earth while teaching.  I enjoyed using it as a resource, but it was slow to load and I felt that I should be using it differently.  What I had done is set up a bell ringer question that asked the students about the size and structure of the blocks that went into these Egyptian pyramids and then projected Google Earth's version of the pyramid of Giza.  I'm sure there is a better way to use it in the classroom that involves the students a little bit more.  Instead of being observers, I could have them asking more questions and navigating it. 

With my 11th graders, I was pleased to see how seriously they took their test.  Their test was on Friday and this was the first time they have taken a big test this year in my class.  We reviewed on Thursday with a fun Jeopardy game, and the students paid attention to those questions, clearly studied their notes, and performed well on their tests on Friday. 

As far as notebooks go for the 11th graders, I was disappointed for the most part with how they are keeping their notebooks.  Everyone seemed to have a story while I was going around collecting their notebooks.  "Miss McCoy, my notes stop here and then continue on in this section of my notebook" etc.  I had a student hand in his/her notebook and then 10 minutes later hand me a loose sheet of paper that goes in between page 3 and page 4.  I need to bring it to their attention that they need to be keeping up with their notebooks throughout the week and asking me if they need anything for notes that they missed for multiple days in a row.

I still need to be better about reflecting on my lessons.  This will help me help my students. 

Student Teaching Experience Week 5

Through my experiences this week, I have learned the importance of reflecting on my lessons every day.  my students will learn the best if I am reflecting on my lessons and making adjustments to my lessons based on these reflections. 

During my first period, I am able to see how my lessons for my 9th graders will be received by the students.  As a student in my own high school, I remember being bored to death by readings, worksheets, and notetaking, so I know the importance of switching it up.  I have found that it is hard to find the time to create the elaborate and meaningful lessons that I think of in my mind.  The important thing is to put forth a big effort in creating and implementing these lessons, reflecting on them, grading the papers and assignments in a timely manner, and keeping communication open with students and parents.  It is also integral for history teachers to thoroughly research how the resources we are using to convey historical topics to students are depicting the story.  What all does this resource say about this specific historical event? How can I best pass this along to my students?

Bottom line: I want my students to learn A LOT and have fun doing it.  I always hear my professors talk about "being a reflective practitioner" and they are right! It is so important. 

My student teaching experience this week was full of moments where students were bored by notes and readings, and there were only few moments where conversation was foreward moving and truly diving deep into the material.  I know there are times where lessons will not go well, but it is important that students are learning and are enjoying learning.  Bottom line: it is so important to reflect, and implement changes in my practices based on my reflections.

Student Teaching Experience Week 4

This week in my classroom, I felt that my students really grasped the main themes behind the content in both my 9th and 11th grade classes.

My 11th grade class did a fabulous job in continuing with Progressive Era this week with woman's suffrage. We explored it through clips of Iron Jawed Angels, a HBO film depicting woman's suffrage through the story of Alice Paul.

Student Teaching Experience Week 3

This week at Clay-Battelle was great.  I got a great sense of the community of Blacksville and the relationship the school has with the town.  I sat in on my first SAT meeting, saw the students getting excited for the Friday football game, and felt like the students are getting a grasp on the routine of our class and the content.

Some goals I have set for myself as I feel that they will benefit my students:

1.) I need to reflect on my lessons at the end of each day, not at the end of the week.
2.) I need to follow through with my warnings.  If I tell students I will move them if they begin talking to their neighbor when they shouldn't be, I need to follow through with that and move them.

Student Teaching Experience Week 2

Today at Clay-Battelle I finished up a 3-day lesson with my 11th graders on the assembly line and Henry Ford.  Being the 2nd week of school, I felt it important to dive into material on Monday.  With my 11th grade classes, I conducted a lecture on the Progressive Era on Monday.  We unpacked the 4 goals of the Progressive Era: building social welfare programs, promoting moral development, passing economic reform, and fostering efficiency.  With fostering efficiency we focused on scientific management, and Henry Ford's assembly line.

About half of my students in my 8th period class attend M-Tech in the morning and take classes that have to do with welding, computers, etc. and they took an interest in discussing the assembly line.  After the lecture, I taught them what they would be making in their own assembly line: an origami star.  I divided them into teams and they divided the steps of creating this origami star into 6-8 steps, and divided out the steps into their own personal "job".  I told them the rules of the star factory, that it would be run like Henry Ford's own factory: there would be no talking or sitting for the entire period.  On Tuesday when they came into class they reported to their stations and they began on their work.  Throughout all of my classes only one student was "fired" due to talking.  At the end of each period I collected all of the students' stars and waste.

On Wednesday when my 11th graders came in to class we did an economics lesson on their waste and profit.  Overall, the students enjoyed the lesson and grasped the main idea of fostering efficiency in the Progressive Era.

With my 9th grade class we have been working on the Neolithic and Paleolithic period, and my students took notes on the 1st section of their text on Monday.  We explored this prehistoric time throughout the rest of the week through pictures, cave paintings, readings, and a 10 minutes video on Neanderthals.

My goal for teaching is to have all of my lessons planned for the following week by Thursday of each week.

Student Teaching Experience Week 1

This was my first week back at Clay-Battelle High School, and it was such a great, and slightly overwhelming 3-day week.  My first day back at school was Wednesday, August 14th.  There were no students back at school until the next day.  I felt so connected to the school by returning on the 14th, attending the faculty meetings, getting our classroom ready, and reconnecting with the school and faculty.  I was happy when Mr. Ammons and I sat down and talked about the classroom rules we wanted to establish and write in  our student-parent-teacher contract.

On Wednesday I created the student-parent-teacher contract and class syllabus for the students, where I laid out the expectations of the student and the teacher.  I realized how valuable it would be to create this and establish structure and mutual respect on the first day.  I am curious to see how the students do in following rules and offering respect.

The official first day of school was Thursday, August 15th, and what a day it was! My classes average about 20 students, and I have 2 preps: 9th grade World History and 11th grade Contemporary Studies U.S. History.  The school is phasing into a completely online textbook for students in all social studies classes so they bought new textbooks, 1 set for the classroom and logins for students to access the book online at home or online at school.  I'm interested to see how this will work and I already see myself trying to use the resources the textbook company provides: review games, activities, etc.  My mentor teacher doesn't have lessons that coincide with these new texts, so he said that I will be starting teaching both classes from the very beginning...using my own lessons! This is both exciting and scary.

All in all, this week was great.  My goal is to have all of my students' names learned by next Friday.

The inquiry celebration at Lakeview was both informational and enlightening.  I got outstanding insight into what my experience will be as a student teacher completing action research.  I'm very excited to begin researching next year in my classroom.

Jackie Gacek's research was the most enlightening for me.  She is a Social Studies/Secondary Education major and she focused her action research on integrating Math into her classroom.  She used resources such as Google Earth, Glogster, etc. to combine both Math and Social Studies.  Indirectly, there was an English focus as well with lessons such as vocabulary and various readings.

Overall, the inquiry celebration made me feel at ease with entering my 5th year in the program.  I'm excited to work alongside with my small group facilitator, Megan Smith, as I prepare for my own action research project.  I've decided to try and focus on geography in the history classroom, and see how emphasizing geography at the beginning of each unit with affect my students' understanding of the topic.

Characteristic of the Novice Teacher 2

There are 2 particular characteristics of the novice teacher that I have been exploring recently:

Characteristic 3:  We believe that the novice teacher should recognize that teaching is a professional, moral, and ethical enterprise, should understand moral issues and ethical practices in educational environments, and should have developed ethical frameworks which facilitate effective teaching.

and Characteristic 4: We believe the novice teacher should be a facilitator of learning for all

students.

I have been thinking in depth about these characteristics because in getting to know my students this semester, I realize the significance and value of each student, their lives as students in the school and as members of society.  Regardless of whether or not we realize it, as teachers, we have the opportunity to identify and bring out the positives in these students and shine a light on their strengths. We have an impact on these students.  How big/how little is this impact? Our effort and motivation to teach these students well determines how much of an impact we leave on our students.  In exploring these two characteristics I have realized how big of a responsibility this is, and how excited I am to take on this responsibility.

The "big idea" of Characteristic 3 is outlined well on WVU's Benedum Collaborative Website:

"The terms moral and ethical are used here to refer to those value choices concerning actions and attitudes that affect more than one person or which affect one's own character, thereby affecting others" (Strom, 1989, p.268).

As teachers, we need to recognize that the school is a place for students to learn core subjects and the arts, but it is also a place where students extract moral, ethical, and social cues that will have an impact on their lives.  Novice teachers need to practice professionalism and care for their students' wellbeing.

An artifact that I feel would support Characteristic 3 is a contract that goes home with the students at the very beginning of the school year with a template very much like this:

1.) Introduction of the teacher and welcome to the class

2.) Classroom expectations and rules

3.) General outline of the class

4.) Policies and procedures for homework and tests

5.) Contact information

6.) Signature of both parent/guardian and the student

This artifact seems very procedural but I think it is an excellent representation of a novice teacher implementing a moral, ethical, and professional introduction to the class for both the parent/guardian and the student.  It lays everything out, and it is welcoming!  Students will have this as a guideline and will feel comfortable in getting to know how the class works.  

An artifact that I feel would support Characteristic 4 would be a differentiated lesson plan.  One lesson plan that I have constructed that is differentiated by assessment is one that explores the civil rights movement of the 1960's.  In my classroom there are 3 stations, and at each station there are instructions, materials, and assessment pieces.  The following stations are included in this lesson plan:

Station 1:  There are mobile laptops on the desk and the students have instructions to copy and paste MLK's "I have a dream" speech into http://www.wordle.com and create a word cloud.  The students then, after reading the speech through identify 10 words that they feel best emulate the civil rights movement as a whole and create a word document that explains each of the 10 words they chose and why.  They must have historical evidence in each of the 10 explanations.  

Station 2:  There are 5 civil rights court case summaries on the desks. The students will have to choose a court case (i.e. Brown vs. Board of Education) and write a story as if they were sitting in the court room on the day of the verdict delivery.

Station 3:  Students will watch the CNN documentary on Rodney King (1992) and write a paper comparing and contrasting the events of his beating and a civil rights riot of the 1960's.  How are they similar? How are they different?

This artifact allows the teacher to be a facilitator of knowledge by presenting the students with information to explore and by monitoring the room while the students complete their assessments.  Students learn best in many different ways; every single person is unique.  This differentiated assessment piece helps students choose an assessment that best suits them.  All of these assessments help students gain a deep understanding of the civil rights movement, and all are equal in their work.  

The Benedum Collaborative Characteristics of the Novice Teacher

Characteristic 5:  Have in depth knowledge of pedagogy

The main idea behind this characteristic is knowing how to deliver content to students.  It is crucial, as a novice teacher, to put to use the strategies and skills I have learned over the years as I enter my first experiences teaching.  Pedagogy, in my eyes, is a combination of the process, skills, strategies and resources the teacher uses to teach students the content.  A novice teacher will spend time and energy figuring the right way to guide students to content.

An artifact that addresses this characteristic is using the Tic-Tac-Toe assessment board I created in Special Education 461.  This Tic-Tac-Toe board all fell under the same topic and it challenged students to choose 3 out of 9 squares on the board and I would teach the students these squares.

This artifact connects to the students because it provides an assessment piece and makes sure that the novice teacher will reach out to students with instructional strategies that will cover all 9 aspects of the Tic-Tac-Toe board.  The Tic-Tac-Toe board will ensure that the student demonstrates mastery from at least 3 different perspectives of the same subject.

Another artifact that addresses this characteristic is a Prezi presentation.  Each Prezi that I have created includes photos, interactive texts, and videos that help make history lectures more interactive.  A novice teacher should demonstrate in depth knowledge of pedagogy and utilizing tools like Prezis helps connect the students to the content in a successful way.