Week of March 26, 2021

Candidate Name: Amber Tyson

Week of Reflection: March 26, 2021

   

• Rate your overall experience of the week: 1-Very difficult | 5 – Great week 

My overall experience of the week was a “4”.  It was an extremely busy week with a lot of “extras” including planning some special surprises for our principal that will be leaving for a higher-up position in another school district next week. However, my co-teacher and I effectively worked together to get everything we needed to get done this week without sacrificing instruction time with our students. I find myself especially thankful for such an amazing co-teacher. We work so well together and I told my principal that one of her last greatest accomplishments before leaving our school was matching us up this year, as we are both new 5th grade teachers at our school. 

• Seven questions to end your week:

• Observe: What pleasant surprises / accomplishments did I achieve this week? A pleasant surprise and accomplishment is that I had my last observation of the year which was a peer observation. I received a lot of positive feedback during my post-conference and she commended me for how well I have done this year, considering I wasn’t even given a mentor and have pretty much been on my own, as the only 5th grade Math and Science teacher at my school.  

• Reflect: What lessons did my work/experiences teach me that I will build upon next week? My work and experiences this week reminded me of the importance of continuing to instill accountability and responsibility in my 5th graders, as we prepare them for the transition to middle school.  I have been giving more assignments in which they have a list of items to complete by a certain date, allowing students to work at different paces and better build time management skills which I will continue to build on next week. 

• Focus:  How are my short-term efforts and my long-term goals still aligned? My long term-goals are to nurture relationships with my students while helping them achieve mastery of 5th grade standards. This week I started a new unit on “Living Organisms” in Science and finished up Cluster 5 in Math which means I am steadily moving through my pacing guide. I was responsive to the needs of my students because I recognized that my students needed some extra time before taking our Cluster 5 test this week. I originally planned to assess on Wednesday, but realized it would be more beneficial to assess on Thursday.  

• Be Productive: What could I have spent more or less time doing? I wish I would have had more time to plan my lessons earlier in the week. However, I was consumed with other projects, grading from last week, and meetings this week.  Thankfully, we have an asynchronous learning day on Friday which will allow me some “extra” time to ensure I have next week fully planned and all materials prepped. 

• Have Courage:  How did apprehension and indecision impact what I did and didn’t do? I did not have any apprehension or indecision this week. I am finding that I am feeling more confident and comfortable in my position. 

• Begin Anew: What is the first logical step(s) for next week? What mental clutter can I clear? The first logical step for next week is to use the “extra” time I will have on Friday to finalize my lesson plans. I would also like to start planning my lessons for after Spring Break this week because I know next week is going to be another busy week.

• What were some data you analyzed this week and how did it help guide your decisions? This week I analyzed data collected after offering remediation for students identified as struggling with adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators to see if these students had a better understanding of this standard after being provided additional support. I was very happy to see that most students demonstrated increased understanding. My students also took a District Benchmark Cluster 5 assessment.

• What is one piece of advice you can share with other student teachers?  Sticky notes are your best friend. I know it sounds like silly advice, but I am always writing sticky notes for myself and then stick them on my desk. It’s a quick way to make important notes for myself and it’s also gratifying as I begin to cross off items/throw the sticky notes away.  Whether it’s sticky notes or something else, make sure you have a system to remind yourself of the “little things” you have to do that you can easily forget in the busyness of our days as a teacher. 

• NC Professional Teaching Standards (be sure to reference activities from your lesson plans to solidify your answer)

• Pick an element from standard one of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element. Element Ic.Teachers lead the teaching profession. This week during my post-conference the 2nd grade teacher that observed me mentioned an interest to collaborate next year as our standards closely align and we discussed ways we could buddy up and have my 5th graders work with her 2nd graders next year to mutually benefit both groups of students.    

• Pick an element from standard two of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element. Element IIa.Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults. Even though I am finding myself feeling more and more as if I am in a race against time, I am continuing to implement SEL activities such as “Roses and Thorns”.  On Wednesday, we ran out of time to do this in our morning meeting, so I ended class a few minutes early and we did “Roses and Thorns” at the end of the day instead. My kids have really grown to love this activity. 

• Pick an element from standard three of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element. Element IIIa.Teachers align their instruction with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. All of my instruction was aligned with the NCSCOS, as it is every week, and I am continuing to make progress in ensuring that I cover all 5th grade standards before the end of the year. I also took some time to map out a plan for our next Check-In to ensure that I cover all standards in as much detail as possible before these testing dates. 

• Pick an element from standard four of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element. Element IVc Teachers use a variety of instructional methods. This week in Science, my students learned about the difference in multicellular and single-cellular organisms via 4 centers. Students were able to complete the cell centers in any order and worked through the centers at their own pace with time-management support provided, as needed. The centers included videos, articles to read, vocabulary words and games, etc.  

• Pick an element from standard five of the evaluation tool and explain some activities/strategies you implemented this week to increase your rating for the element. Element Vb.Teachers link professional growth to their professional goals. This week I started looking into what I need to do to become a Level 1 Certified Google Educator. I’m hoping to be able to complete this certification soon, as I already feel very comfortable with using Google Education Suite and use Google Classroom etc. on a daily basis to support my instruction.  

•  Other:

• What components of your portfolio have you started to complete? N/A

• What support does your clinical educator need from Mrs. Suttle? N/A

• What support do you need from Mrs. Suttle? No support is needed at this time :).