P3 – Practice standards-based assessment

P3 – Practice standards-based assessment

This is a standard that I struggle with each year. Do I teach to the test? How am I not teaching to the test if I am preparing my kids for a standardized test? I have been teaching a long time and each year these questions arise. I think what it comes down to is that the standards are written as topics we should cover in our teaching. The idea is that if we are teaching the standards then we will be preparing our students for the test, without that being the purpose of our teaching.

I also sometimes have to make decisions about topics I won’t be covering because I do not have enough time or it is more important to make sure my students truly understand each topic rather than are just exposed to each topic. For example, this year I taught a section of 6^th grade math. I started working with my students on fractions going at the speed my teaching partner was with her 6^th grade math class. It was not working for my students. They were not passing daily assessments or quizzes. I had to make a decision and slow down. What this meant when I it came time for my kids to take the MSP was that we had not gotten to all the topics that would be on the test, but the topics we did cover, my students know. This will benefit them in the long run and will benefit their “long-term math careers” each coming year.

P1 – Practice intentional inquiry and planning for instruction

P1 – Practice intentional inquiry and planning for instruction

This is an incredibly important principle. When thinking about everything I do with my students I should always be planning intentionally. This year I have had the opportunity to not only plan lessons, but have them reviewed by both my mentor teacher and coordinator. This has given me feedback and ideas that I may not have otherwise gotten. I have been teaching for several years (11) and I have not written full lesson plans in a while. Having the opportunity to revisit this process has really allowed me to reflect on my teaching and planning. It helped me take a step back and reminded me that it is a helpful tool to periodically plan full lessons with such intense intent. I do not think it is a sustainable model, it took a lot of time to put together these lessons and I think that the purpose was not so much that should take with us the idea that we need to fill out a lesson plan like this each lesson, but more about reminding us about all the areas in each lesson that we should be intentional about. For example, there were a lot of sections on the lesson plan asking about academic language. When I first saw the lesson plan with this on it, it was not clear to me what that meant. After some conversations with my mentor teacher and coordinator, I better understood what was meant by academic language and realized that this was something I usually do incorporate into my lessons, the lesson plan was just asking me to be more intentional and explicit about explaining why and how I am using it. Here is a copy of a blank lesson plan that I used: Long_Lesson_Plan_Template

P2- Practice differentiated instruction

P2-Practice differentiated instruction

Differentiation is an important skill for a teacher to employ. Finding ways to reach all of our children through differentiation can be difficult. However, there are a lot of resources available that I found helpful in planning for differentiation. One such book is called Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom: Strategies and Technique Every Teacher can use to meet the Academic Needs of the Gifted and Talentedby Susan Winebrenner M.S.

One idea from her book that I really liked was called “most difficult first”. This is a way to help plan for students who are gifted and talented. What you do is choose five problems that are representative of a unit and the student has to get 4/5 correct. If the student is able to get 4/5 crest the student can move onto the next unit. When I first saw this I thought, why not have the student get 5/5 correct? The answer has to do with the student’s feeling the pressure to be perfect, and then he/she may not try at all.  I used this method with a student I have in my 6^th grade math class and it has worked great (although I used more than five problems to get my representation of his knowledge. It has helped give me direction as to what topics I should be planning for him. It has also made him more confident and happy in class since he is working at his level. He is so excited that he is having the opportunity to really show what he knows and learn at his level.

O1-Offer an organized curriculum aligned to standards and outcome

O1

Offer an organized curriculum aligned to standards and outcomes- This is an important concept in that it helps keep some uniformity in our teaching. There are thousands of schools across the country and we need to have some homogeneousness in what students are learning. Having state and now national standards will help keep the consistency while still allowing for schools and teachers to be unique in their instruction.

When thinking about what I am teaching my students I use the GLE’s (I will be transferring over to the common core this coming year- http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards). I have been using the GLE’s for the last several years (Here are the reading GLE’s I have been using- http://www.k12.wa.us/Reading/pubdocs/ReadingEALR-GLE.pdf#cover). Although I am not excited about moving to the common core and having to re-familiarize myself with a new format for standards, I really like the idea of having common standards that (ideally) the whole country will follow (currently 45 states have taken on the common core).

I think that it is important for teachers to be aware of standards and plan curriculum accordingly. Using the standards helps guide our instruction so that we have a road map to follow. In some schools teachers are given curriculum. In my school some of the curriculum is given to us to use, but many teachers supplement the curriculum in order to meet the standards and needs of the students in the short time that we have to teach each subject (note: I work in a dual curriculum school, so we have about three hours a day to teach the general studies subjects).

Several of the teachers in our school have begun to look at the common core and have used both the common core and GLE’s in planning for instruction this past year. My school has also brought in a math consultant that we have been using over the years to help the teachers make the move towards the common core.

Teachspark

 

This is an interesting website. The premise of the site is to help teachers collaborate with each other when planning for lessons. It is a nice idea, but I don’t know if I find this an easier method to get feedback than to just ask for feedback from a teaching partner. The feedback I got was helpful .What is nice about this site is that often times someone thinks of an idea that maybe I have not thought of.

For our class assignment we had to post something that we wanted feedback on for our cohort mates to look at. I posted a lesson plan on character traits. The feedback was helpful in that it gave me some ideas of how I can add some higher level thinking to the lesson or I can use it to extend the unit.

The other document I put up was our private school version of an IEP. We call it a Student Learning Plan. The first time I posted it, the feedback was that it was great that it is a simple straight forward plan, but one person thought it could use some detail about what assessments are given and a diagnosis. I thought this was helpful and added it to our form, along with a section that says “strategies that work”. I like that our form is straightforward because it means that it is easy for General Ed teachers to use as well as Special Ed teachers.

E2-Exemplify Collaboration within the School

E2 – Exemplify collaboration within the school.

There are several ways that I collaborate within my school. I attend a weekly lower school teachers meeting. I meet weekly with several of the teachers to discuss students we share. I meet weekly with the principal, two assistant principals and head of the Teacher Learning Project to plan for our Teacher Learning Project meetings that take place once a month with the  whole staff. I also meet once a week with the Learning Center team.

I think that collaboration and communication among staff and administration will result in a well-run school. It can be challenging to find time and people to be a part of different teams and meeting in order to keep all lines of communication open. At my school, the Teacher Learning Project has really opened the lines for us. It not only means meeting among our peers and staff, but part of the program also encourages us to spend time in each other’s classrooms, learning from each other. It is amazing how many resources we have right within our own schools. I think it is important that leaders in schools take advantage of the vast amounts of knowledge that already exist in our schools. In addition, we need to remember the importance of reflection and goal writing as part of our daily decisions and planning.

Below are some of the worksheets we have used in our Teacher learning Project meetings:

March study group

Reflective Journaling

H4-Honor family/community involvement in the learning process

 

Teacher-candidates inform, involve and collaborate with families/neighborhoods and communities in each student’s educational process, including using information about student cultural identity, achievement and performance.

It is important to involve families as much as possible in the learning process for our students. There are several ways to bring families into the learning process. It can start from weekly newsletters to inviting parents into the classroom. Especially as a Special Ed teacher, many of my students have higher needs and parents may not feel equipped to address those needs of their children. By including them in the conversations about their children and providing them with resources it brings them into the learning process. It could also to be helpful to the teacher to use the parents as a resource to help connect with students through their cultural and personal identity. It is important to keep parents informed of their child’s progress as well. It can be difficult to always keep parents in the loop because of cultural or diversity differences, but ultimately every parent wants the best for their child and is responsible for their child, so keeping them informed can help empower them as well.

In my experience in the resource room there are more natural opportunities for parent communication than Gen Ed classroom teachers tend to have. A classroom teacher typically communicates with the parent about their individual students during parent-teacher conferences and report card time, so between four and five times a year.  Additionally teachers typically have a weekly newsletter of some kind that communicates general classroom information to the parents.

In the field of Special Ed, there are typically more opportunities to meet with parent and communicate directly with them about their child. One such opportunity is through the IEP meeting, or student learning plan meeting, (Example of a student learning plan: Student Support Plan- Template ) as is the case on our school. It also seems to be especially important to communicate more with my parents of students I work with in the resource room because the anxiety of these parents is often higher. It is also crucial to share successes of students with higher learning needs. I have found that parents often don’t hear enough positive feedback when they have a child with special needs.

I feel lucky to have had experience both in the Gen Ed classroom and in a resource room. Given these opportunities has allowed me, as a resource room teacher, to meet with current Gen Ed teachers and better advise them and help them in communicating with parents on a more individual manner.

I have also found that although as teachers we have great insight into our student’s needs, there is a piece that parents provide that really allows me to fully understand my students. And by enlisting parents and educating them on the importance of their involvement, the students often will receive more academic attention at home, which will help them find more success at school.

H3- Honor the classroom/school community as a milieu for learning

H3- Honor the classroom/school community as a milieu for learning

Teacher-candidates implement classroom/school centered instruction, including sheltered instruction that is connected to communities within the classroom and the school, and include knowledge and skills for working with others.

When thinking about the environment that we set up in our classroom for our students, I realize that this is a crucial piece to our student’s success. The way a student feels or views the classroom will affect how they behave and absorb knowledge while in that room. This is a reason why two different teachers can have the same students and have different experiences with that student. This is why it is so important to have a community across the school, not just in each individual classroom. When thinking about our students we want to set up a classroom environment that maximizes the student learning and creates a community within our room and across our school.

The way that I start creating a warm, inviting classroom community is by having clear expectations and the understanding that my goal is for the students to learn. At the beginning of the year I typically develop expectations with my students. This communicates to them that I value their opinions and want to include them as team members in my classroom. This is not to say that there is not an understanding that I am the teacher and that the students are expected to respect and treat me as such, but the more the students feel they have a voice, the more they will be inclined to learn and participate. For example, I typically let the students in my classroom choose which seats they will be sitting in. I let them know though that I have the authority to change their seats, no questions asked if I decide the arrangement is not working. By giving the students some choice, they feel that I trust them and they in turn trust me. I have rarely had an argument when I have changed the seat of a student. Since the expectations are incredibly clear and were agreed upon by all, there is little room for argument if I change their seat.

A wonderful aspect of the school I teach at is that we are a PBIS school (positive behavior intervention support; link to a video explaining the system here-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5_ttGPa4nk). Essentially this means that across our school there are expectations for every room or situation. There are expectations in the classrooms, but also, in the hallways, lunchroom and even the playground. At the beginning of the year teachers take time to walk students through the behaviors and expectations in each of these areas. These expectations are typically revisited after breaks as well. I have been teaching at this school for almost nine years. When we introduced this program to our school four years ago, it seemed like a monumental task, and it was hard to see how putting in all this time was going to produce the results we want. However, I see a marked different in our students and the way they conduct themselves. By having all these structures in place the school has created a learning environment that is conducive to student success. I also see a marked difference in our teachers and by having this common language that we teachers all use; we have created a closer more trusting teacher learning environment as well.

H1 – Honor Student Diversity and Development.

H1 – Honor student diversity and development.

Teacher-candidates plan and/or adapt learner centered curricula that engage students in a variety of culturally responsive, developmentally, and age appropriate strategies.

What this principal means to me: Every student is different; whether it is culturally, developmentally or academically. When thinking about a child, we need to think of the child as a whole person, each of these pieces make up the child and we need to honor who they are in each of these areas in order to teach them. It is our responsibility to find ways to reach each of our children. There is a lot of curriculum that we need to teach and get through in order to meet standards. But we can find ways to teach this material in a way that is “…culturally responsive, developmentally and age appropriate…”. This does not only mean teaching based on interests of our students, but we need to be culturally aware as well. There may be assignments or readings that we need to change for different students so that we are being respectful and honoring the different cultures of our students. We may also have students who are at different developmental levels in the same classroom.

My school is a religious school so when thinking about cultural diversity, most everyone is from the same background. That being said there are certainly very different developmental needs of our students. I teach a section of 6^th grade math. This is the first year we have had two sections of math. After considerable amount of conversations between, the Principal, the Middle School Math teacher and me (at the end of last year); We decided the best way to meet the needs of all the different types of learners in this class would be to have two sections. What I have come to learn over the last several years of teaching is that every learner is different and unique. As it turned out this math class I teach has eight kids in it.  This gives me the time and opportunity to work with the students individually when necessary. The smaller class also allows me to plan lessons that are more tailored to the individual needs of the students.

I have however in my years of teaching taught bigger classes and one thing I have learned is that even when you have a class of “regular” students. Everyone has individual needs and getting to know your students will help you to meet those needs. Having opportunities for students that use different modes of learning can help you meet many different types of learners in one setting. An example of this is a learning menu. Here is a video explaining an example and purpose of using a learning menu to differentiate instruction. https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/differentiating-instruction-strategy. This type of differentiation tool can be used in many subjects and across several different grade levels.

Extra-Curricular Observation- Math Night!

Last week I went to math night at my school. It took place on 3-14, Pi day! Each grade from Pre-K through 8^th came up with a couple of math games and activities. The games/activates were set up and run by the classes (the activities did not have to do with Pi, although it was encouraged to try to come up with connected to Pi). Teachers worked with the students to help them generate idea and prepare for the evening. When I walked into the gym my students had prepared the table with my partner teacher. The gym was bustling with activity. It seems like this is the most popular evening activity at my school. Student and parents were all moving around the room excitedly changing from table to table.

My students had two activities at their table. One activity was to write Pi Poetry. We cut out circles for the poetry to be written on. The idea of the poetry was that the first word should be a three letter word, the second a one letter word, the third a four letter word and so on. In class my students came up with word lists that we had hung up for people (since figuring out the different words is challenging on the spot). The second activity was called “Discovering Pi”. People were to measure the diameter and circumference of several different circles and find that the relationship is that the circumference is about three times the diameter, or Pi! How fun!

Students were to take turns, in shifts, manning the tables. There was one student who very much wanted to man the “Discovering Pi” table, so he spent the whole evening at the table. All the other students rotated between the tables and engaging in activities run by the other grades. It was so fun to see the students having such a good time learning! I also loved the opportunity to watch the students take leadership roles with both adults and other children.