School Reflection

Public schools are designated to give equal opportunity to every citizen while introducing these students a variety of curriculum designed to improve society. Nevertheless, this system encourages conformity amongst students, resulting in less individual synthesis and creativity. Individuality leads to innovation and strengthens a society unlike conformity which sets limits on advancement. Thus, the public school system in place in the US needs to be varied to encourage more individuals. Schools should concentrate more on student’s individuality; to find self-fulfillment, but not to the point where society is lost.

Running Head: JOURNAL REFLECTION 1: A CASE STUDY OF A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE, INCLUSIVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

People say that Elementary school is primarily for developing social skills and creating habits of productive school practices. I excelled in the second part of that statement, I put everything I had into learning anything and everything my teachers would teach me. However the social aspect of my early childhood was lacking in certain areas. I didn’t know it at the time but I suffered from severe Anxiety and OCD. So while the other kids would go outside to recess I would beg my teacher to let me stay in and clean the pencil led stains from my pencil bin. All of the other kids would come to school with fun outfits that reflected their personalities, while I would wear the same sweatshirt and shoes everyday to avoid any possible complications. I lived with this mindset for several years, but I didn’t see the problem.

This learning experience supported the science content area physics. It provided the children with opportunity to collaborate as a group to work together to problem-solve. My focus for this lab was to build and construct ramps and pathways in the outside play yard. I implemented technology by letting the children watch a YouTube video about constructing ramps and pathways to generate new knowledge about the activity. They used marbles to travel down the ramps, while recycled bottles and PVC piping were used to make bridges and underpasses. I planned this lesson to connect to some of the children’s prior knowledge about using this type of track. When the children began using the tracks in the outside play yard they chose to put their ramps off landscaping rocks. This gave them the ability to secure the ramp at the top as well as the ability to build bridges and underpasses on the ground. This activity immediately ignited their language such as, “let me try this, I have an idea, what about this, how about if we do this” which demonstrated that the children were engaged in the inquiry process. The learning standards this activity supported was; 3.2 PK.B.1 Explore and describe the motion of toys and objects. AL.1 PK.A Explore and ask questions to seek meaningful information about a growing range of topics, ideas, and tasks.

In my position as a vice president of curriculum programs, I visit many diverse educational settings in public and charter schools, both large urban and small rural districts. Daily, I face issues of race, gender, culture, socioeconomic class, and disability. Because I work with diverse students and a multicultural workforce, my reflection regarding powerful social and cultural influences leads me to two different conclusions. The first is that many children in the schools I visit are disadvantaged. They are born into immigrant and transient families and live in communities that rank in the lowest socio-economic strata in the country.

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.

The week of October16th through October 20th was pretty busy. I had three ARD meetings this week but none of them depicted any issues. All the parents were very complimentary of the teachers and their assistance in providing their children with the necessary tools to be academically successfully. We had our school homecoming on Monday so I was busy assisting the committee on preparation for the evening event. All eight grade teachers are required to be a part of this committee so that includes me. I enjoy events like this because when you participate the students (most) appreciate your hard work and seeing you there at their special event. After school on Monday, October 16th I assisted the band director, cheerleading coach, and football coach in lining up the students outside so we could have a couple run through practices on how the evening would transpire. It was nice seeing all the students and faculty coming together to coordinate and plan such a memorable event. As usual, on Tuesday and Thursday of this week I went to Alexander High School immediately after finishing at Trautmann (whew!). We continued working with the students whose STAAR, benchmark, and CBA scores were low last year so that we can bring them up to par. We have been mainly focusing on seniors, special education, and ELL students so that we can continue documenting procedural safeguards on these students. So far, the numbers have been slowly increasing as we continue calling in students and

During this out-of-the-classroom activity, I chose to attend 1 Million Cups. This is a free, weekly national program designed to educate, engage, and connect entrepreneurs. 1MC is developed by the Kauffman Foundation with different foundations located across the country in order to inform and inspire current or future entrepreneurs. The two speakers that presented during the session on Wednesday September 27 were Jenn with Next Gen Summit, and Simeon Talley with Rad Incubator.

Throughout the semester, I had a chance to be able to work on all of my goals in almost every combination but still feel I can work on them more. Over the semester I have noticed a lot that I have worked on but still end up freaking out every chance when it came to executing the midterm and final.From taking Modern I my third time I wanted to able to gain insight from each time I took the course.This semester I felt like I took a different approach towards being able to grasp the material as well as having a clear focus what I needed and wished to work on. Evaluating over the course of the semester shows my goals that I wanted to As I continue with taking modern classes in the future there is something that I can always make progress on to keep on improving and be more confident.

Working with students with special needs, teachers have the responsibility of protecting students’ right. Special education teachers are required to keep high standards and meet best practices. According to the Preliminary Credential Competency Checklist Historical and Legal Foundation 1.4 (2014), two of the best practices that are enforced in the special education field is to individualize education and evidence-based practice (p.1). Being a teacher in a special education classroom, there is a diverse level of learners and each student has an individual method of learning. The role of the teacher is to verify each student’s learning is being met. Individualizing a lesson by making accommodations or modification for them to learn the curriculum. Implementing evidence-based practice is using an educational method of learning that will support the student’s learning based on previous research. Using evidence-based practice in a special education classroom is a key component when a student or students need an intervention to support them in the academic area they are struggling. Special education teachers are responsible for meeting best practice standards for students’ academic learning.

My passion about teaching and my students motivated me to learn more about teaching. So, I really have to admit that I enjoyed this course a lot and I was so excited to take this course to know more about the teaching strategies used and the techniques of the classroom management.

During May 2016, School of Visual Art and Design Professors Amanda Wangwright and Mary Robinson led a group of Honors students on a ten day Global Classroom Program to Japan. Professors and students travelled to the historic city of Kyoto and the modern metropolis of Osaka in addition to day trips to the smaller cities of Nara and Uji. While in Japan, the class visited World Heritage Sites and studied firsthand Japanese cultural and religious practices and architecture. Furthermore, the class produced their own art while abroad at a washi papermaking workshop at the Kyoto University of Art and Design and at modern artist Haruka Furusaka's printmaking studio.

Sitting here, I find myself reflecting on the events that occurred in my second year as a classroom teacher. A year that came and went too quickly. A year where emotionally and mentally I was being pushed to the limit. A year where my patience was tested daily by the students that formed the community that was my classroom. A mix that was new, due to the redistricting that our school had put in place for the upcoming school year. A year in which I found my first student of many that I know will always stay in my heart. A student I will always wonder about: Where is he? How is he doing? Has he continued to succeed like I know he can? Has he stayed out of trouble?

While STEAM instruction relies on making authentic and engaging connections between the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, the implementation can look slightly different from classroom to classroom. The first video demonstrates how a STEAM unit can be incorporated in a single content: middle school science. The video shows students working collaboratively in groups to complete the assigned lab and asking questions as needed. The teacher is seen facilitating the activity, as she moves from group to group, addressing those questions, providing suggestions, and guiding students towards the completion of the activity. Although neither the problem nor the driving question of the lesson were explicitly stated or reiterated during the observed clip, the ‘lesson essential question’ and the ‘learning target’ posted on the board communicate and reinforce the objective of this lesson (e.g. students will identify minerals and explain why minerals are important). Thus, based on this and my observations of the teacher and students’ interactions, I predict that this lesson is focused on assessing how well students can identify minerals, as a way to introduce students to the characteristics needed for identifying and classifying rocks. This skill is especially important as students need to solve the problem scenario, which involves describing different types of rocks to assemble a group of “rock” musicians. As I was analyzing the video clip using the

When confronted with learning new and challenging concepts in the field of science, I rely on a variety of strategies to help me make sense of the content material. To begin, during my early educational experience (K-12), I quickly realized that I am a visual and verbal learner, meaning that if I was to truly learn and remember the concepts of a class (and succeed on assessments), I needed to 1) pay attention when the teacher was explaining the content, 2) write down my own notes—both in the form of words and charts/diagrams—and 3) review my notes and other class material frequently.