Weekly Reflection 4

This past week in school I met with the 3^rd and 4th grade teacher to discuss how to best serve four of the students in her classes who need extra support. One of the qualities that I admirer about this teacher is that she strives to keep her students part of the class as much as possible. That means that if she can keep the students who need extra help in her class, she will. Because of this she and I are meeting regularly to make sure that we are purposeful in our planning so that the students can get what they need, but still be a part of the classroom as much as possible. This does not mean that I won’t ever take the students out one-on-one, but we are trying to minimize the time that they miss class. This is all particularly challenging because we are a dual-curriculum school, so as it is, the students only receive general studies classes for about three hours a day.

Weekly Reflection 3: MSP

Mid- September is the time of year that we, at school and parents, at home, are eagerly awaiting the results of the MSP test (Measurement of Student Progress), that the students took in the spring. I always have conflicting feelings over the MSP test. Both when the students are taking it and while waiting and reviewing the results. I do not like to take standardized tests, and I imagine most people feel the same. However, it is a part of what all students have to do to get into college and/or graduate school. It is the way the system is set up. Maybe one day in the future it will change or look different, but for now this is it. Knowing that, even though I don’t like putting students through the stress of it, it is an important skill for them to have. Test taking strategies and stress management can benefit students not only in preparation for the MSP, but for any standardized tests. That being said, it can be particularly difficult for students with learning differences to take these tests. At our school we accommodate these students based on IEP’s or 504’s, but it is still extremely challenging for them. It can be hard for me to watch them struggle through the test while I am proctoring them.

Then comes the fall. Many parents put A LOT of weight on the results of the test. There are even some who judge the quality of the child’s previous teacher based on the results of this test. I like to think that I am immune to this way of thinking, and although I do not take it to the extreme as these parents, sometimes I wonder if I too put too much weight on the results as well.

Once our school receives the results, our principal brings them to the Learning Center (L.C.) where we spend considerable time reviewing every students results (whether they are served by the L.C. or not). We look at how the students did last year and how it compares to this year. Did a student pass last year and not this year? Did they not pass last year and pass this year? Are there any surprises? I have found that when a student passes we are excited and we feel a sense of accomplishment in having helped that student succeed. But when a student does not pass, although there may be some sense of responsibility that I feel (these feelings were magnified when I was a classroom teacher), I also think to myself, well it is just one test, they were probably having a bad day.

I think the bottom line is. It is a snapshot of the student. It could be they were just having a bad day. Or maybe they really did their best, but taking tests is incredibly stressful for them. Maybe they had a headache while taking the test. Or on the other hand, maybe they like tests as a way to demonstrate their knowledge; maybe they had a really great morning at home, so their mood was light. Whatever the case, it is just one piece of the child’s learning, and although we and the parents have to consider the results of this test, we also need to remember that there is so much more to what the child knows than just the results of this test.

Once we have reviewed the results with the Principal my mentor teacher and I go through each child who did not pass and write up a plan for each student for the year. A part of the plan writing entails a discussion of why we think the student did not pass. The results of this discussion help us to decide what kind of support we need to put in place for each child. Sometimes it may be as simple as teaching the child test taking and stress management strategies, or it may be as complex as in-class support combined with pull-out support. Typically the students who need the more complex support are students who we are already serving in the L.C. or were on our radar as ones who may need L.C support. Once these reports are complete, we send home the report with the results of the test. We also call each parent to let them know if their child did not pass and that a plan for their child’s learning will be included with the results of the test. This assures the parents that not only are we aware that their child did not pass, but that we already have a plan in place to help them succeed next time.

Week 2 Reflection: A New School Year…

The first few weeks at school are filled with sitting in classrooms observing, meeting with teachers, administering assessments and creating my schedule. I come in each year knowing a few of the students I will be working with, but the students always start in their classrooms so that the new teachers have a chance to get to know the students and so the students get a feel of being part of their class.  As my schedule has slowly been coming together I have been spending more time with students and less time on paperwork and teacher meetings. Finally! I love spending time with my students. This year I will be working with some students with whom I have been working for several years and with some new students as well.

It is always challenging setting up how to best spend my time with my students. We (the teachers and I) spend a lot of time deciding if it is best to work with the students in their classrooms or to pull the students out for small group or one-on-one work time. We try to keep students in their classrooms as much as possible. We try make accommodations and to employ inclusion in our classrooms. However, this is not always the best model for all students. We are lucky in our school to have three Learning Center teachers, so we are able to make individual plans for each of our students and we are able to individualize the type of time spent with each student. Usually, by the fourth week of school we have it all figured out and our schedules are set. This should be happening in the next week or so! Once I know my schedule I am able to plan accordingly for each child. This might mean working with teachers to help them with accommodations and differentiation or to plan my own lessons. The biggest struggle I have is that I wish I could spend all day with some of my students and it is so hard to figure out how to spend my time so I am serving each child as much as they truly need. It is something I am constantly working with my mentor teacher to figure out. I have also found that the needs of students change throughout the year so to my schedule changes as time goes on. I have also found that the needs of students change throughout the year so to my schedule changes as time goes on.

Helping children find success in school is important to me. It can be very discouraging for students who struggle and anything I can do to help them, I will. I support my students both on an academic and personal level. I have found that fostering relationships with my students and showing interest in my students helps in their academic success as well.  To a new year!

Week 1 Reflection-Teacher in-service: Self-Efficacy

A couple of weeks ago my Principal gave a presentation on Self Efficacy. The first part of the session was going around the room and trying to define what Self Efficacy meant. After she put this definition up:  “Belief about our capability to produce designated levels of performance that exercise influence over events that affect our lives.” But what does this really mean. If you believe you can, you can. Part of believing you can do something has to do with events that have influenced your life.

An example from my own life has to do with math. When I was in middle school I did not do well in math, nor did I enjoy it. I did not feel encouraged by my teachers, or made to feel like I could be successful in math. When I got to high school we were given a math placement exam. I was placed in the higher ninth grade math group (geometry). I was in class for a couple of days and did not really know what was going on. I told the school that I had never taken the other math (algebra 1) and they put me back in that group. I felt proud that I had placed in the “higher” group. So even though I went to the lower math, I felt encouraged that I COULD be successful in math. My math teacher was also positive and she made me feel smart in math. I started to work a little harder and I did really well. I was at the top of my class. However, I never had the opportunity to move up, because the school was not set up for that. I got excellent grades in high school math and it became one of my favorite subjects. The idea of self-efficacy connects because once I believed that I could do it and that I was “smart” in math, I did it! It is now also my favorite subject to teach.

People with a high sense of self-efficacy see challenges as tasks to master as opposed to tasks to avoid. During this presentation a teacher talked about this game she started playing on her smart phone. It is a word game, and she said she would get 8 points, and then when she would see someone else got 25, she would not stop playing till she got a higher score. Our principal said that would be an example of someone with a sense of high self-efficacy. Specifically this type of self-efficacy is vicarious experience which means, “Observing a peer succeed at a task can strengthen beliefs on one’s own abilities.”

The other types of self-efficacy are mastery experiences- “Students’ successful experiences boost self-efficacy, while failures erode it. This is the strongest source of self-efficacy. This would be the type of self-efficacy that I experienced with math. Verbal persuasion which is, “Teachers can boost self-efficacy with credible communication and feedback to guide the student through the task to motivate them to make their best effort.” And lastly, emotional state, “A positive mood can boost one’s beliefs in self-efficacy, while anxiety can undermine it. A certain level of emotional stimulation can create an energizing feeling that can contribute to strong performances. Teachers can help by reducing stressful situations and lowering anxiety surrounding events like exams or presentations. “

So now, what can we do in our classrooms to help students? How can we encourage self-efficacy in our students? As stated above, teachers can run their classroom in a way that promotes self-efficacy. Teachers can communicate with their students. They can give positive feedback or feedback that guides and does not discourage the student. Teachers can group students with other students who will motivate them. Teachers can differentiate in their classroom. By doing this it gives all students the opportunity to experience success, which will perpetuate self-efficacy.

What else can we do…? Self-efficacy is so much more than just encouraging students to be successful. It is about fostering the belief in each child that he/she CAN SUCCEED, and teaching them how to generalize this skill into all areas of their life. This would be a gift we could give our students, and it seems to be it is worthwhile to invest in this skill.

The information in this post came from the presentation and handout from my Principal- Aug. 27^th 2012