A New School Year Means New Students And New Opportunities

As an educator, it is my job to find new ways for my students to learn that coincides with their particular learning style and takes advantage of their strengths. In all practical terms, this will mean finding new ways for each of my students to learn in their own particular way. As a whole, my students will need more reason to learn with authentic experiences, hands-on

Learning: By applying the rubric to the assessment, I am able to see Johns’ understanding or lack thereof. His work allows me to see where he is in terms of progression of the concept while also allowing me to see the need for adjustments to instruction. Because I am able to see his work, I can go ahead and make decisions regarding and instruction adjustments that may need to

In America most public schools go to school on a 10-month system established when America was mainly agriculture, and the children had to work in the fields during the summer. Year-round school was first used in the early 1900s to fight overcrowding and underfunding. It wasn’t until the 60s that year-round school was used again when a school in California became the first school to use it since 1904. I believe that the school schedule is fine the way it is. Some of the cons of year-round school are students can’t have summer jobs, most programs such as lunch and buses cost more, and extracurricular conflicts.

I want my students to be responsible and ready learners. I will begin the year providing direct and explicit expectations and routines that should be followed in the classroom. As the year progresses, I will scaffold the amount of teacher control, and slowly give my students more responsibility over their learning. I want to create students who are ready to learn, and who take responsibility for their actions as learners.

One of the most documented reasons for switching to a year round school is what’s known as the “summer slide.” Students leave spring semester after taking their exams and don’t think about school for almost 12 weeks. These students then come back in the fall not only failing at subjects they knew three months prior, but in dire need of having the foundations re taught to them. This forces teachers to spend valuable class time re-teaching lessons, which dips into class time that should be used for grade appropriate lessons. In her article, O’Sulivan theorizes, “the less times students are away from school, the less time teachers will have to spend reviewing material from the previous year and acclimating students to classroom rules and procedures”.

Schools across the country are switching to a year-round schedule. Little do they know many others are switching back to the traditional school calendar. Whether it's the parents, kids, or the teacher, change isn't easy on anyone. Many simply think of it as more school and no breaks but it's kind of the exact opposite. Year-round school is simply the same number of days off just in between and throughout the year. Ultimately switching to a year-round schedule would cause a rise in costs, and greatly affect kids who have summer jobs/vacations, thus creating a scheduling nightmare for kids, parents, and teachers alike.

I hope you are ready for year-round school! This kind of school would be more beneficial for all students because they can choose what career they want to follow. Then, they can pick out those classes associated with that career. Students and their parents would like this school. If I could plan my ideal school, I would make students go all year, take classes that are related to what career the student is interested in, and start school later in the day.

As a way to minimize summer learning loss, the reorganization of the traditional school calendar in the year-round education system replaces long summer vacations with several smaller breaks throughout the year (Raisch, 2008). In year-round education policies, the schools are set on a school plan and track system. This maximizes the use of school facilities by dividing the school attendance days into rotating instruction and vacation segments. According to Chittom and Klassen (2014), “The plan determines the number of consecutive days students attend school and also dictates the break schedule.” In the year-round school calendar, the 45-15 plan, the 60-20 plan, and the 90-30 plan are the most common. For example, students on a 45-15 plan would

When I am developing units plans, I ensure that all my lessons are deeply infused with the Common Core learning standards. I am also a firm believer in incorporating differentiated instruction. I am able to differentiate through analyzing test results. From those results, I design tiered assignments to give students the appropriate level of material to complete. I deem it is important to know all of my students as individuals. When planning, my students interest and learning styles are taken into consideration. I have also enhanced the phonics based reading program, by infusing whole language learning. I enjoy creating hands on centers such as sensory bin dig, book box, and egg addition. When I find that students are having difficulty, I reach out to my colleagues for ideas. I especially do so for my students with IEP's. I regularly communicate with the speech, SETTs, and OT teachers. By taking these steps, I can execute lessons that are curriculum driven and

Describe any changes in the assessment related to the work sample, daily assessment records, and/or lesson objectives from what was described in the lesson plans, and explain why changes were made.

The results were used to review students’ progress and to determine which concepts needed to be worked on. Most schools are using more than one form of assessment. This is good, because if one assessment cannot determine what area(s) a student needs to improve in than the other ones might be able to. The Response to Intervention/Instruction tool requires active collaboration and teamwork from the principals, school psychologist, classroom teachers, and reading or math specialist. Without everyone being involved and onboard with RTI standards and requirements, RTI will not be as effective as it could

The Framework for Teaching by Charlotte Danielson has been developed through research as a guideline for current and future teacher’s professional responsibilities in and out of the classroom. Districts throughout the country are using this framework to assess and guide their teachers to build successful methods of planning and preparations, setting up the classroom environment, instruction and professional responsibilities. Each of these domains builds off of each other to form a successful learning environment. Domain 3 focuses more specifically on instruction using communication, discussions, engagement, assessments and flexibility.

My measurements of success are found in each and every student I teach. One of the most rewarding experiences I have had while student teaching, was watching a child’s face light up at the pivotal moment when they grasp a new concept or master a new skill. In fact, those “aha” moments are my motivators which feed my desire to look for better ways to ensure all students experience those same “aha” moments. As an effective teacher, I am determined and dedicatef to the continual process of researching, implementing, collecting and analyzing data to ensure I am improving upon the curriculum, instructional strategies, and assessment used in my classroom. Learning is a never-ending process. The better skilled I become as a teacher, the better the learning experience I can provide for my students. Therefore, the more I actively research, implement, and reflect, the greater the opportunity for giving my students the education they deserve and hopefully, the inspiration to pursue their own lifelong love of learning.

No longer should teachers see themselves as simply transmitters of content. Indeed, the role of the educator has shifted from the traditional position of being the giver of information to that of a process designer and coordinator. This role alteration from the traditional teacher-centered to the learner-centered approach is a paradigm shift that requires skill in needs assessment as well as the ability to involve learners in planning, link learners to learning resources, and encourage learner initiative (Knowles et al., 1998; Mangena & Chabeli,

During my learning experience, I had the opportunity to re-skill myself and learn new strategies to support my mission as a teacher. Recently, the Practicum course has helped me live an authentic experience by transferring my learning and understanding into reality. I share knowledge, experience, and communication, which increase my awareness in a way to understand the change and implement new ways of