Classroom Reflection

I am a strong believer that one test defines a students. Therefore, variety is key when assessing students. When using formative assessment I use student reflections, journal entries, exit cards in addition to non verbal communication such as thumbs up or down. I also make anadotal notes on students to help assess the overall learning journey of the student. When using summative assessments, I use district assessments, state assessments, portfolios, short answer, multiple choice, and student based projects. In all forms of assessments, students are provided the appropriate accommodations. My learning goal for assessing students is to have a valid assessment that demonstrate the student’s understanding of the specific skill. It is crucial that I understand the purpose of the assessments and the content that is being taught, therefore, I often start instruction with the assessment piece in

My time spent in the Clinical setting, so far, has been extremely inciteful as to how to become a better educator in a classroom setting. Through the data I collected I was able to connect Borich’s Seven Variables of learning to the students. By being in the clinical setting for nearly two months, I have been exposed to new ways of thinking when it comes to structuring a classroom and instructing a classroom. Within this reflection you will find out how I would better plan an effective lesson for the pupils in my future classroom. You will also discover what I will do about certain issues in the classroom and how I will address/fix them.

Formative assessments should be used everyday as a major component of instructional practice. Teachers can use a rubric, a student’s self-assessment, student checklists, journals, observations of classroom activities, questionnaires, or journal writing as part of the assessment process that assists them in evaluating the student’s understanding of mathematical concepts and fluency procedures (Walle, Karp, & Bay-Williams, 2013).

Within my past and current educational course work and field experiences, I have explored and engaged in the use of multiple assessments to gather both formative and summative assessments. Formative assessments are for learning, they assess during learning. Summative assessments are of learning they assess what students ability to apply what they have learned. Formative assessments can be described as check points done frequently through a lesson to assess student acquisition of knowledge. Summative assessments assess student ability to apply what they have learned.

By my definition, a classroom assessment is a measuring tool used to guide instruction and learning on subsequent lessons to follow. It’s an opportunity to evaluate how well your students are synthesizing information and applying it in the classroom. Keeley (2015) states that good assessment practices are integral to informing teaching and learning, as well as documenting and measuring student achievement. Examples of classroom assessments are broken into two categories; formative and summative. Summative have been traditionally a go to for teachers with tests, quizzes, and projects. Formative assessments are an informal evaluation or a checkpoint at which the teacher can use observation or short surveys to understand where their students stand with the curriculum.

Nowadays, homework is seen as a tedious and useless task. In reality, homework is a key strategy to aid a student to success. In addition, classwork and formative assessments can help students improve in school as well. These learning tools enhance a student’s ability to comprehend a certain topic. Homework is assigned to fully grasp the lesson by practicing it. Furthermore, classwork can also help by boosting test scores. Formative assessments can be seen as practice tests, and prepares the student for the actual test. Overall, Homework, classwork, and formative assessments are all beneficial; because they help track a student’s progress, prepare students for the future,

While not every teacher teaches the exact same, there does exist a few, fairly common similarities between those I was able to sit in on. Of these commonalities, there were positives and negatives. Typically, one of the first things I noticed during observations of a “good” class was that from the moment students entered the room they knew what to do. Out of the ten observed classes, eight used some form of bell-ringer that was displayed before and during the ringing of the first bell. Yet, of these eight, only four classes successfully engaged in the bell-ringer. Of these three, there was only one that required the teacher’s full input, which came in the form of reading the question. Even still, the four classes that successfully started off the classroom’s time with learning did so out of routine. The two classes that did not use bell-ringers while I was observing did so voluntarily. One was because the students were to be engaged in a Science project within the class, and the other was because they were expecting to leave to take student yearbook pictures. Excluding the Science outlier, classes that did not start off with a bell-ringer or some form of question/activity at the bell tended not to transition as smoothly into lecture or the next planned activity.

Question 1. How do you make work more meaningful to your students? What motivators are you currently using with your students? Examine the climate in your classroom. What would you change to make it better?

When I arrived to my classroom today, Mrs. Beach’s students were still at their special. This gave us about ten minutes to talk about my upcoming less. Mrs. Beach would like me to teach my lesson on October 24. I am not certain which standard I will be teaching, but I do know that I will be teaching students how to solve story problems using the standard subtraction algorithm. I am excited to teach this lesson, but I am also very nervous because I don’t know exactly how to introduce this topic to the students. At 10:10 A.M., the students returned to the classroom, grabbed their math baskets and sat down at their desks. I am constantly amazed at how well behaved these students are. I cannot to learn more about the management strategies that Mrs. Beach implements in her class.

First, when this class began I knew I would learn a lot of beneficial information throughout my career as well as my home life. As the class progressed it helped me see things about myself that I did not think was there. The book has helped me see things about my personality I did not think was there, but as the book ended it seems they were there all along. The class puts things in a perspective where you can hypothetically see yourself in at the workplace. It makes you think about different types of issues people experience daily and helps you learn how to handle them in a professional manner that is best for you, the customer, and the business. Sometimes we must go an extra mile to please people, but it is all about doing the right thing the first time and making people happy at the end of the day.

The purpose of this workshop is to explore the vision of and values placed on inclusion of special needs students in a general education classroom by special education teachers as well as general education teachers and how they both can work together to create a shared sense of purpose. “Although scholars have long considered how leaders communicate visions and values to establish a sense of purpose, they have overlooked how these messages can be used to establish a shared sense of purpose, which is achieved when multiple employees possess the same understanding of the purpose of work” (Carton, Murphy, & Clark, 2014). Thus the workshop is recommended for special education teachers and general education teachers, however, special education supervisors and administrators are also invited to participate. “These workshops or clinics are most effective when they are in the teacher's subject area” (Professional Development for Teachers,” n.d.).

On December 5, 2017, I spent my fifth session with class 3-213. As a prospective student teacher, this day provided me with a plethora of information regarding questioning. For my first few weeks of observation, I focused on the differing forms of instructional planning, assessment, and interdisciplinary instruction. However, this week I listened carefully to the types of questions the teacher asked the students. Mrs. Diaz is truly a remarkable teacher, who carefully plans her questions to execute informal assessments. She uses these questions to measure student performance, while simultaneously stimulating collaborative and encouragement in the classroom. Based on this idea, Mrs. Diaz continuously asks questions throughout the duration

One major drawback that Blatchford (2015) has with the idea of differentiation is ‘the fact that teachers have to do this for 30 students at once’ making ‘it even more difficult’. He further continues to express how you can have great experience in this field which reflects ‘purposeful practice’ but you still would not be able to ‘quite crack’ differentiation. In some ways, I agree with Blatchford as from my first placement, I too have felt the pressure of differentiating for the whole class. I always found myself altering my plans as just when I think I have the best plan for that teaching, another need will crop up, thus starting back at stage one. Additionally, I feel it gives the teachers the impression of feeling intimidated by the number of needs that they would need to measure for when planning.

On November 11, 2017 I attended the Victoria Crossroads Council for Math Educators from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. This event is hosted twice a year, once during the Fall semester and once during the Spring semester. The conference is hosted by Dr. Barba Patton and Dr. Teresa LeSage Clements. Students in the education program at UHV in Victoria and Katy, come together to present and teach lessons on Science and Math. There is a morning keynote speaker, a lunch speaker, and a closing ceremony speaker the speakers are individuals involved in the field of education that present on topics regarding education.

As I am studying to become an elementary teacher, I am discovering new strategies and disciplines that have helped me become a more active learner and efficient educator. I admire the saying; we teach what we learn. From my elementary education program and classroom field experiences, I have learned that what might work for one student may not work for another. As a future educator, I believe it is essential to continue to fill my teacher toolbox with research, exploration, and application of new methods and approaches to find what best fits the needs of my students. If I discover an activity or strategy that has worked for me personally or has been scientifically proven to work, I am more open to implementing it