Introduction

My name is Emily Ramos and I am from Wilbraham Massachusetts. I am a Developmental Psychology and Elementary Education major at Wheelock College. Four year ago, I chose to come to Wheelock because of the small class sizes, the location, and to improve the lives of children and families. During my time at Wheelock I have learned a lot about myself as a learner, an educator and a person. In the past four years I was was part of the dance team X-Clusive , danced through the Colleges of the Fenway, was an Admissions Ambassador, and Vice President of my Class Council. My sophomore year, I also was a math study group leader. I also served as a Jumpstart corps member at Crispus Attucks Children Center in Dorchester.
During my time at Wheelock, I had two fantastic student teaching experiences. My prepracticum was at The Manning School in Jamaica Plain with a fourth grade classroom of 28 students. My practicum was at Graham and Parks in Cambridge with second grade in a classroom of 15 students. I had two different supervisors for my practicum sites who both offered incredible support and guidance. I am honored to have worked in two different districts with such supportive teachers.

Through these experiences, I have developed the following believes about education.

• I believe that good teachers understand all subject area they will be teaching.
• I believe teachers need to understand the whole child.
• I believe all students should have the same opportunities to learn in the classroom.
• I believe teachers are also mentors. 

These are just a few of my beliefs as an educator. Throughout my portfolio I will go in depth about these beliefs and others. 

Standard 1

Standard 1: Advocacy for Social Justice

Educators who embrace a social justice perspective are attentive to inequalities associated with race, social class, gender, language, and other social categories.  They consciously look for alternatives to established educational practices that support the learning, development, and academic achievement of children whose backgrounds place them outside of the dominant culture.  They employ multicultural, anti-racist, anti-bias educational practices that foster deep engagement in learning and high academic achievement among all of the nation’s children.

No matter age, gender, race, social class, language or any other social category, all children deserve the right to education. Education should be the same for all students and every student should have equal opportunities to learn. Educators should be supportive and encouraging of learning inside their classroom. The classroom should be a place where every culture is embraced. Students should feel welcomed no matter their background and be able to succeed. 

Throughout my four year and after learning about different minority groups, I have wondered why there isn’t more change. Beverly Tatum, author of Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria says in her book “many adults do not know how to respond when children make race-related observations” (Tatum, 2003, p. 36). In many classrooms and in society, it is difficult for adults to talk to children about race. Race shouldn’t be something that is ignored and not talked about but rather embraced so we can learn more about other people. 

In order for a classroom to be multicultural, teachers need to allow students to share their  cultures inside the classroom. According to Jeanne Brady, author of Schooling Young Children, “a teacher of multiculturalism affirms students experiences by giving students the opportunity to ‘come to voice’ from their own histories” (Brady, 1995,p.87). Teachers should allow students to share their stories and bring their culture to class. When students bring in food, music, or stories from their culture, it teaches students more about it. This in turn allows children to be more accepting of all students. 

I started to become an advocate for social justice during my sophomore year of college while taking racial and cultural identities. Before this class, race and gender differences really never crossed my mind. I also never stopped to wonder if students who are part of a lower socioeconomic class got the same education as those who didn’t. Through racial and cultural identities I learned so much about advocating so every gets the same treatment. Since then, it has become my goal to help close the educational gap and allow all students to receive the same education. In appendix 1A is my final racial and cultural identities paper where I discuss my thoughts at the beginning of the year and how much they have changed. 

Both my practicum and pre-practicum sites had a very diverse group of students. In my fourth grade pre-practicum site, we noticed that the students began to form certain groups of friends. All the english language learner were together, the girls divided into two groups one being mostly white girls and the other being the minority, the boys divided up by what sports they played. This began to create tension inside the classroom and something needed to be done. We began reading books from all different cultures and learning about where people were from. One of the books we read was Pride of Puerto Rico, the life of Roberto Clemente written by Paul Robert Walker. This book really brought the class together because they learned to use everyone’s knowledge. In order to understand the book, the students who played baseball or softball needed to explain the game. The students who could speak Spanish helped other children pronounce words. The students from Puerto Rico helped explain the geography of where it is and what it is like on the island. By all the children helping each other understand the story it ended up being a very popular book. It was also something for all the students to talk about no matter their background.  In appendix 1B is the description of Pride of Puerto Rico, The life of Roberto Clemente from Google Books. 

All students should be able to receive the same education no matter what their background is. Students should also be treated the same way inside the classroom no matter their gender, race, disability, socioeconomic class, or language. By having diversity inside the classroom and teaching students about all types of people, the classroom will be a more welcoming place for everyone. 

References 

Tatum, B. D. (2003). "Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?": and other conversations about race. New York: Basic Books.

Brady, J. (1995). Schooling young children a feminist pedagogy for liberatory learning. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Standard 2

Standard 2: Understanding all children in their many dimensions

Educators should know their students as individuals and as learners, and be able to relate to them in a variety of ways. They should be familiar with the cultures, histories, and values of the communities and families they serve, and know the attributes of the individual children and families with whom they work. Educators should be aware of the range of special needs their children may have, and seek out information concerning the strengths of specific children as well as resources to address their developmental and learning needs. They should use their knowledge of variations in development, second language acquisition, and disabilities to support children’s physical, emotional, social, cognitive, linguistic, intellectual, and creative development. Educators should observe and listen to children as they work, learn, and play in a variety of settings to gain insights into what their students know, how they think, what they value, who they are, where they come from, and what motivates them. Their knowledge of children and families, language and culture, and community development should motivate educators to view children’s actions and responses through multiple lenses. The more they learn about their students, the better they can tailor their teaching to engage children in active learning and meet their specific needs.

As an educator, teachers need to understand that all children are different. Children come from all different backgrounds, have different personalities, and learn differently. In order for students to be successful inside the classroom, teachers must not only teach one way. Teachers need to understand all of their students and try to teach in a way that is appropriate for everyone.  It is also important for teachers to know of any learning disabilities of students inside their classroom. Students with learning disabilities may require extra tools to help them learn such as word banks or help reading. It is essential for teachers get to know their students throughout the year. 

Sonia Nieto, an educator at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, believe that each child no matter where they come from deserves to be educated. Nieto discusses in detail how a persons culture can not be identified as a certain group. While all Mexican-Americans for example might share some things in common, no two Mexican-Americans are the same. “In terms of schooling, the problem with thinking of culture as static is that curriculum and pedagogy are designed as if culture indeed were unchanging” (Nieto, 2005, p.131). Culture is always changing and thus teachers need to understand the background of all students in order to teach them adequately.  

In Mary Cowhey’s book Black ants and Buddhist (2006), Cowhey discusses multicultural education. Cowhey is an educator in the diverse setting of  Northampton Massachusetts where every year her students come from all different backgrounds including racial, and economically. In her classroom Cowhey makes sure to address all students and their different needs. “Multicultural education is antiracist education. Multicultural education is basic education. Multicultural education is important for all students. Multicultural education is pervasive. Multicultural education is education for social justice. Multicultural education is a process. Multicultural education is critical pedagogy” (Cowhey, 2006, p. 19). Cowhey knows that multicultural education doesn’t just have one right answer and it’s not always easy. However, it is important to have multicultural education inside the classroom.  

Last semester I took a class entitled “Elementary Teaching and Learning”. Throughout this class we learned different skills that would help us as teachers during our practicum and later in our own classrooms. One of the projects we worked on was creating a student sketch. In our student sketch we needed to pick a student who didn’t have a learning disability. I picked a student in my class who rarely got in trouble. She did well in every subject and always had a friend to talk to. I watched her more closely for a week and took notes on little things she did. Through this I was able to learn more about her such as she always looked sleepy in the morning and was very slow moving during the first couples hours of school. Without looking at her more closely, I would have never noticed. It is important for teacher to do some sort of student sketch for all of their students. Just taking down little notes throughout the day of each student can really educate teachers on all of their students. In Appendix 2A is the essay I wrote about the student I observed for my student sketch. 

In my full time practicum during our Native American unit, the students learned how some tribes named people after things they are know for. As an art and writing project, we had each student make a name card saying what they want to be known for and why they want to be known for that. Each of the students wrote down different things they wanted to be known for, from playing video games, to loving animals, to someone who creates peace. This project in our  Native American study, really helped us teachers learn about the lives of the students in our class outside of the classrom. We learned about their passions and what they do in their spare time. After learning this, we were able to add this new information when teaching students. By teachers knowing students interest, together we were able to make a change such as hanging posters around the school for endangered animals.  In Appendix 2B are samples of students Native American names 

Teachers only have their students for one year but in order to teach successfully, they need to understand the students life in the years prior. By understanding students, the relationship between and teacher and the students is much stronger. This allows students to feel more comfortable in the classroom which in turn allows for a better learning environment. 

References 

Nieto, S. (2005) Why we teach? New York: Teachers College Press.

Cowhey, M. (2006). Black ants and buddhists: Thinking critically and teaching differently in the primary grades. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Standard 3

Standard 3: Knowledge of content and integrated curriculum 

Educators should know, understand, and use the central concepts and tools of inquiry appropriate to the subject matter and age/grade levels they teach.  They should be able to create meaningful learning experiences that develop children’s understanding of subject matter and increase their skills.  Educators should plan integrated units of curriculum, instruction, and assessment based upon their knowledge of subject matter, curriculum goals, and developmentally appropriate practices among the families, communities, and cultures from which their children come.

In order to teach a class successfully, a teacher needs to be knowledgeable across all content areas. Teachers need to be able to answer students’ questions and teach them in all the different areas. These areas include science, social studies, writing, reading, and math. Once teachers understand the central concepts  of different subjects, they can begin to combine subjects. Lessons that focus on multiple subjects are great for students. It helps students to make connections between subject areas. Lots of times, it also provides real life examples for what students are learning inside the classroom.  Good  teachers understand that the learning doesn’t just stop at the classroom, but it continues into the real world. Students need to understand this as well. 

Great teachers understand the importance of integrating curriculum. In the book, Meeting Standards Through Integrated Curriculum(2004) Drake and Burns discuss the importance of integrating curriculum and how to bring it into a classroom. One way to do this is through curriculum mapping. Curriculum mapping is when you map out each different subject’s curriculum. Teachers can then look at all the curriculum maps and see if there are  any places to make connections throughout curriculums. Students and teachers can then look into different lessons and explore them more deeply. A science unit on space can also aspects of a writing unit by having students write about how the moon looks  each day for a month. 

Part of having a successful classroom is planning very well. In the book Understanding Backward Design Wiggins and McTighe (2006) talk about planning lessons using backwards design. An important aspect in designing a lesson using backwards design is creating an essential question. Essential questions are large, open-ended questions that get to the “big idea” of a concept, an historical event, or a subject area.  Often they have a variety of answers.   . By asking an essential question, teachers encourage students to think critically and to answer the question across a variety of different domains. 

Early on while I was in my practicum, I noticed that a lot of the girls in my classroom were involved in cheerleading and liked to make   up cheers.  All the students in my class also really liked movement activities. As we began our geometry unit, the other two teachers and  I thought about different cheers we could make for geometry terms. A favorite in the class was for a parallelogram. As we broke up the word, the things we said about it matched the definition. The lyrics were ‘p-a-r the lines go far, a-l-l hear me yell, e-l-o do they touch? No, g-r-a-m two pairs of them.’ The children were often seen singing the cheer and preforming the moves that went along with it. By the end of the unit, the children were able to make their own cheers up. By having the students learn and create their cheers, they were bringing music into their math lessons. They also brought in dance and movement by doing these different activities. In appendix 3A is the template used when students created their cheers   

During my practicum, we also taught a Native American unit. In this unit, we talked about different types of tribes, where they came from, what they ate, what types of shelters they had, and what their daily lives were like. After we talked about different tribes, I planned a field trip for my students to go to a local park and collect different things they found that Native Americans would have used. Once the students arrived back at school, their task was  to use the items they collected to make a Native American community. The students eagerly created teepees using sticks, and they made longhouses using sticks and bark. Some students even picked up berries at the park and added them in, because we read a story about Native Americans smashing berries to create paints. This lesson showed students that the community around them has a lot of things that Native Americans used to survive. In appendix 3B are images of students collecting items in the park as well as their final product  of creating Native American communities. 

It is important that teachers understand the content they are going to be teaching. Once  teachers understand the content and what aspects of it are appropriate for the grade they are teaching, they can begin integrating curriculum. By exploring different topics in multiple ways, children will become even more knowledgeable about that topic and more motivated and interested in learning

References 

Drake, S. M., & Burns, R. C. (2004). Meeting standards through integrated curriculum. Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2006). Understanding by design (Expanded 2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson ;.

Standard 4

Standard 4: Educational practices that foster learning, development, and achievement in all of the nation’s children 

Educators should use teaching strategies and educational practices that develop children’s capacity to think critically, analytically, and imaginatively, and extend their knowledge and understanding of the world.  They should provide multiple ways for children to deepen their grasp of concepts, stretch their thinking, express their understanding, and learn critical skills.  They should search for appropriate materials, experiment with new technologies, collaborate with specialists and colleagues, and consult with families and community members to meet the instructional needs of all their students.  Educators should establish caring, inclusive, stimulating, and safe learning communities in which all children feel they belong, and in which they can assume responsibility, take intellectual risks, make mistakes, explore alternatives, participate in decision making and work both collaboratively and independently.  They should understand principles of effective classroom management as well as human motivation and behavior from the foundational sciences of psychology, anthropology, and sociology.  They should understand cognitive processes associated with various kinds of learning and how these processes can be stimulated.  They should also understand language development and the role of language in learning.  Educators should understand principles and techniques, and advantages and limitations associated with various teaching strategies.  They should be able to communicate effectively within many domains (oral and written discourse, mathematical/symbolic representation, non-verbal communication, audiovisual and computer-based technologies), and model effective communication strategies in conveying information and in asking questions.

Good educators use a variety of teaching strategies to reach all the different students in their classroom. The students learning should always be the first priority. All students learn differently and thus teachers need to help students understand concepts in deep and various ways. Teachers should also know how to manage their classroom to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible from day to day. Managing the classroom and keeping students motivated to do their work goes hand and hand. If there is good classroom management, students will want to do well. 

Creating a classroom community is very important in every classroom. By creating a community, children will be more successful inside the classroom. Students will feel like they are able to speak up more and not feel like they will get in trouble if they answer something wrong. Building a classroom community also allows students to all be on the same level. Teachers and students will be able to come up with the rules for the classroom all together instead of just the teacher dictating them. In the book From Compliance to Community written by Alfie Kohn, Kohn discusses different activities that can be done inside the classroom. “The single most significant and multifaceted activity for the class as a whole is the class meeting” (Kohn, 2006). Class meetings can be used for multiple things but most importantly as a place where the whole class can come together and talk about anything. 

It is also important for teachers to remember that all children learn differently. This is especially important when teaching english language learners. According to Terry Piper, teachers are talking 78% of the day in the classroom. The other time is split up between the students in the classroom. For english language learners, it is especially important for them to talk inside the classroom. This helps them build their literacy skills.  English language learners also have a difficult time keeping up when multiple people are talking at a fast pace. This is good to remember so teachers can pay careful attention to these students, as they might need additional help in order to participate in class. 

During the first few weeks in my practicum, we created a list of rules to follow. We called them “Room 106 cares about...”. The teachers then lead a discussion with the students about what they cared about. The list included respecting others, helping each other and learning along with others. After the list was written on poster paper, the students then each got to trace and hand print on construction paper, cut it out, and sign their name on it. Once they did that and glued it to the poster paper, they were agreeing to follow this contract the whole class helped to create.  When this list was created by everyone in the classroom, it build a sense of community inside the classroom. Everyone know what the goals were inside the classroom and the students began to help each other so everyone could be successful. Attached is a copy of the poster contract created (Appendix 4A).

The school I was at, Graham and Parks, believed in CARES. CARES stands for curiosity, aiming high, respect, engaged, and showing kindness. Every student in the school knows what CARES are and is excepted to abide by them. In my classroom, we focused on a different CARES value every day for a whole week. During this time students were asked to draw pictures on stars of what each CARE value meant to them. This was all put on a poster board and then hung inside the classroom for the students to look at. If they were ever not showing CARES, we would point out that they weren’t and ask them if they knew how they could change how they were acting in order to follow the CARES values. We also started a contest inside the classroom. Every day at closing meeting, students could mention any student that they saw showing CARES. Every student who got mentioned got a heart that we put on a bulletin board. At the end of the month, if the students showed more CARES than the month before, they would get a reward. The CARES hearts really motivated the students to do their best work. They were aware that even when a teacher might not be watching them, another student was to see if they were following the CARES values. Attached is a picture of the CARES heart wall (Appendix 4B).

During my pre practicum and practicum classrooms, I had my first experiences with english language learners. These students while many of them soared in math, really struggled inside other subjects such as ELA, social studies, and science which required more reading. The lead teacher and myself in both classrooms began making vocabulary sheets to help english language learners that they could place on their desk. The sheets would have common terms of any new terms they might come across. This sheet helped students so they could comprehend the material they were reading better. This, in turn, helped students writing become stronger. 

By remembering that all children learn differently, the classroom can be a more successful place for everyone. It is important for students to feel safe and like they are part of a community. By having everyone in the classroom be on the same level when creating rules and having students have discussions as a whole class, it helps students feel like they are really a part of the classroom. Students also gain more ownership inside the classroom thus creating a better environment for all students to learn. 

resources

Kohn, A. (2006). Beyond discipline from compliance to community (10th anniversary ed., 2nd ed.). Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Piper, T. (2001). And then there were two children and second language learning. Toronto: Pippin Pub..

Standard 5

Standard 5: Assessment in a multi-racial, multicultural democracy 

Educators should understand that assessment is an integral part of teaching, and that children’s developmental and academic interests, accomplishments, and challenges should drive their daily instructional decisions.  They should know that various types of assessments, including self-assessment, have different uses, advantages, limitations, and biases.  They should understand that appropriate assessment must consider the cultural, familial, and community contexts from which children come.  Educators should know how to use a variety of formal and informal assessment tools and strategies to monitor and promote each student’s learning and development; use both formative and summative assessments to determine students’ understanding in each subject area; and be aware of technological tools that can facilitate assessment.

Assessments are an important part of a student’s education. They allow both teachers and students to see what objectives have been met and which still need some work. Teachers should use a variety of formal and informal assessments to truly assess students and understand their learning. Through assessment teachers can learn where students are still struggling and then find ways to make sure they learn the material. Teachers can also learn what types of assessment work for each student. Giving students  the opportunity to write a song about a math term might be a great assessment for some students but for others it might be a challenge and they would do better drawing a picture to describe the term or write a definition. 

In the book, Making Formative Assessment Work: Effective Practices in the Primary Classroom Hall (2004) advocates for formative assessment in all grades in classrooms. Early on in the book,  she states that “each learner interprets, makes sense of and builds  his or her own unique representation of what was taught because it gets connected to each learner’s unique set of prior understandings” (Hall, 2004, p. 5). Teachers should always try to make sense of lessons for students and if possible, relate them to prior knowledge or to their lives outside of school. This will make understanding the lesson easier for students and thus allow them to learn even more. Along the way , teachers should look over students’ work and check in with them to see how they are making sense of the topic. 

Assessment was originally thought of as just formal tests. However, educators are now learning that teachers can also learn a lot by looking at students’ work throughout their learning and not just on an end- of- unit test. In the article, From Formative Assessment to Assessment For Learning, Stiggins (2005) discusses how teachers are beginning to do more assessments for learning. “Teachers can use many different assessment methods to provide students, teachers, and parents with a continuing stream of evidence of student progress in mastering the knowledge and skills that underpin or lead up to state standards” (Stiggins, 2005, p. 327).  By using different methods, teachers can see how students learn best. If students are struggling, it is easier for teachers to help students along the way rather  than at the end of a unit when it’s time to move onto something else. 

During my practicum, I had students do a lot of informal assessments. In math, the students were learning about how to double numbers, for example 12 doubled is 12+12 which equals 24. I started off introducing this lesson with a book about a magic pot where anything that goes in the pot is doubled. The students then had to create their own magic pot problems where they doubled a number and solved for the equation. After all the students completed their problems, I gathered the students on the rug and had a few students read their problems while the rest of the class tried to figure out the answer. This was the first type of assessment I did. The students were helping each other solve different magic pot problems and it allowed me to see who could solve using really high numbers, who was struggling a bit, and who knew what doubling was. After students shared, I then collected all of their magic pot problems. After school I read through them and looked at each of the student’s work to see how they solved their problem. In appendix 5A, there are a few samples of some students’ magic pot problems and how they solved them. 

Another informal assessment I did was with my reading group. My group had just finished reading a Nancy Drew book and in reading workshop, the students were all learning about different character traits. With the completion of the book, I split my group up into groups of two. Each group got a poster and selected a character from the story. They then had to draw the character, write different character traits around the character, and present the poster to the class. The students were so excited by this activity and sharing with the class that they would hide their posters so nobody could see them until they were done. This whole activity provided an excellent assessment for me to see if the students understood what a character trait really was. The students also had to answer questions from their peers about the characters they  chose and why they picked certain traits. Almost all the students were able to  choose a scene from the book where a character fulfilled a certain trait.  In Appendix 5B are images of the students’ posters that they made. 

Every week in reading, there would be a different set of words we were working on, for example, consonant-vowel-consanant (CVC) words or how to make plurals (s/es) rules. The students would get a word list and had to pick 8 words at the beginning of the week. Throughout the week, students would work with these 8 words making sentences, building them, finding other words that were similar, and on Friday, the students would each have a quiz to see if they could spell the words. After students were done, teachers would look at the quiz and see which words students struggled with and which words students excelled at. Teachers would then write the correct spelling next to incorrect words. By  reviewing the quizzes and letting students see their results, students are able to see where they might have made errors and teachers can work with students who might struggle with a specific phonics rule. In Appendix 5C, are samples of students’ corrected quizzes. 

Assessment is important for the education of children. It allows teachers to see the progress students are making. When people think of assessment, they often think of just tesst and quizzes but assessments don’t have to be just that, they can be projects or collections of students’ work. Children can be assessed in a variety of ways and it is our job as educators to discover new methods of assessment so each student can be assessed fairly.

                                                                                       References 

Hall, K., & Burke, W. M. (2004). Making formative assessment work effective practice in the primary classroom. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Stiggins, Rick (2005). From Formative assessment to assessment for learning: a path to success in standards-based schools. p. 324-328. Phi Delta Kappan

Standard 6

 Standard 6: Reflective practice in diverse settings 

Educators should continually reflect on their practice to extend their knowledge, improve their teaching, and refine their evolving philosophies of education.  They should stay abreast of developments in the profession, and be able to think critically about various teaching practices.  Educators should continually strengthen their knowledge of subject matter through scholarly study, professional reading, and discussion with colleagues.  They should deepen their understanding of children’s learning and development through classroom-based action research.  Educators should be open to change and innovation, continually engaging in the process of professional growth.

One of the important aspects of being a successful teacher is being able to reflect on your own work and the work of others.  By reviewing work, teachers are able to improve and better teach their students. After each lesson or at the end of the day, it is good for teachers to look back and think what could I have done better? What really worked with the students? Did the students get anything out of the lesson or were they lost? Have any students improved? Reflection can happen in many different ways for teachers. It can be as simple as a teacher making notes about students on post-its throughout the day, getting feedback from others, or even  by watching a video of yourself teaching and reviewing it afterwards.

According to Zeichner & Liston in Teachers’ Pedagogical Thinking: Theoretical Landscapes, Practical Challenges, , there is an order to reflection. First is Factual which discusses “what has occurred in a teaching situation or what has happened before or what will occur in the future.””. Next is Evaluative where teachers think of what could have been done and what has been accomplished. Third is Justificatory which focuses on the evidence. Why did things play out the way they did? Lastly is Critical where the teacher “assesses the values and assumptions embedded in the form and content of curriculum in instructional practices” (In Kansanen, 2000, p.131). These are important steps that teachers should take when reflecting on their teaching. Reflection isn’t just looking at what was good and what was bad in your teaching, but also thinking about how to improve in the future, and what has been accomplished.     

During my pre-practicum experience at The Manning School in Jamaica Plain, I taught a math lesson on different types of measurement. I had another teacher record me teaching this lesson so I could look back and reflect on my teaching and what I would have done differently. This was the first time I had ever got to watch myself teach. While watching the video, I looked at myself  through a few different lenses. First I looked at it through a teacher’s eyes. Did I say everything I wanted to? Did I meet the objectives? Next, I looked at the video through the eyes of a student. Was the lesson engaging? Did the students seem to understand it? I noticed vocabulary, for example, that I could have changed to  help my fourth graders understand the lesson better. I also noticed that when explaining how many centimeters are in a meter, the students really benefited from my comparisons to other words with ‘cent’ in them, and how many equaled a whole part such as how many cents in a dollar. This explanation helped the students really understand how many centimeters were in a meter. In appendix 6A is a portion of my filmed lesson.

Throughout both of my practicums, I have been observed several times.  . One of my favorite things about getting observed is having a three way conversation after the  Lesson.  My supervisor, supervising practitioner, and  I all share our collective thoughts on the lesson and how we think it went. Seeing and learning from everyone’s different perspectives has really helped me  become a more effective teacher. By having three people observe the lesson and watch the students, I benefit from everyone’s perspectives.   After three- way meetings,  I receive formalized notes about my lesson with positive things, things that could have gone better, and overall thoughts on the lesson. Each time I receive feedback,  I look it over and strive to be more effective the following time. In Appendix 6B is my last observation from my pre-practicum from April 2013 and in Appendix 6C is my last observation from my full time practicum from December 2013. By looking at both of these, I am able to see growth and also what I might need to work on next. 

I have really liked looking back at lessons I have taught and making notes about what worked or who is struggling. While reading a total of four books with my reading group in the fall, I was able to see which students excelled at which genres and which authors some students found easy or more difficult to read. For example, one of the students in my group lives in Ireland for the summer so Roald Dahl’s British phrases made sense to her and she could help others understand them. Through reflection you are not only able to learn about yourself as a teacher, but also about students. Having a good understanding of yourself and your students helps make for a successful classroom.

                                                                                             References 

Kansanen, P. (2000). Teachers' pedagogical thinking theoretical landscapes, practical challenges. New York: P. Lang.