Ms. Molina's Blog
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This week was our last at Awesome High. Although I am happy to have made it through the semester alive, I am still kind of sad that this experience is over. I have learned so much from my professors, my cooperating teachers, my colleagues, and the students at Awesome High. This was also the last week we got to work with our ELL buddies. My buddy does have a limited English proficiency, however I feel that with hard work and determination he will be successful in the areas he hopes to be. I hope that the advice and knowledge I shared with him will help. Also, I am happy to have a video of me teaching for the first time so I can look back on it and laugh.
I have learned what it takes to become a successful teacher. There are so many components that I was not aware of at first. However, now I feel more knowledgeable in the areas of classroom management, disciplinary literacy, instructional methods, student assessment, and professionalism. I have also learned about differentiating curriculum for ELL and SPED students.
In the future as a teacher I hope to utilize the things I have learned in the block in my classroom. There are so many great things to consider when teaching for the first time. That is why I am thankful I saved everything in my binder so that I can refer back to it next semester and for the rest of my teaching career.
Observations
This week I got to observe two different classes at Awesome High. It was an “A” week so I did not meet with my ELL buddy. The two teachers I observed this week were both really good. They both had an excellent rapport with their students which was refreshing to see. However, both teachers used different types of assessments. The first teacher I observed used an alternative assessment. He had his students do a project where they made mini-movies over using the leadership skill self-motivation. The other teacher used an objective assessment. She had her students take a quiz over different ways to conduct heat in her IPC class.
I have learned this week that there are several ways to assess students. It is better to use multiple types of assessments on students in order to obtain a more balanced and well-rounded idea of what they are learning. I feel like most students are used to taking objective tests in most of their classes. That is why I believe projects are so valuable to students. It gives them a break from the normal assessments, and also gives them an opportunity to be creative.
In the future as a teacher I plan to do projects with my students in order to keep my content fun and fresh. Don’t get me wrong, objective assessments will be used as well. I hope to create a balance between the two in my class.
ELL BUDDY
This week we got to work with our ELL buddies. On Wednesday we worked on reading a worksheet and identifying vocabulary words that my buddy was unfamiliar with. I would say that my ELL buddy is a intermediate speak as far as proficiency is concerned, however he struggles with his reading capabilities. When I do ask him to read he becomes shy and frustrated. I understand because he probably feels some anxiety about not being able to read well. I tried my hardest to reassure him that I am only here to help him become a better student, not to judge him. In the end I got him to compromise. I started by reading one paragraph and then he would read the next paragraph. This seemed to work better. The vocabulary part of the assignment was actually a lot smoother. It was easy for my buddy to pick out words unfamiliar to him right away. The part that he enjoyed the most was when he had to draw a picture of what the vocabulary word meant.
I have learned that although my buddy is very talkative when engaged in social situations, he becomes very shy and dis-connected when he asked to read or write. Perhaps this is because he is embarrassed about his CALP abilities. In my opinion he just needs the encouragement to continue practicing reading and writing. He does have future plans to go to college, but is unsure how he will be able to pay for it. I suggested that he go down to the college career center at Awesome High so that someone can help him get the ball rolling. I admire him for wanting to further his education.
In the future as a teacher, I am really going to have to work on having an excellent rapport with my students. In order to understand why students struggle or do well in my class I will have to understand things about their personal lives. Also, I will need to be supportive and encouraging to those students who need an extra push for practicing their reading and writing skills. It is important for me to foster an environment where students feel comfortable about learning.
Video Teach #1
This week was interesting and stressful because I got to do my first official teach. I had to teach a sophomore world history class. The topic was on the Scientific Revolution, and my CT provided all the material for the lesson. I was a little stressed because I had to do a lecture over content that I wasn’t really familiar with so it was very important for me to be prepared in order to teach the class. I feel that it ended up going well. I recieved both positive and negative feedback which was awesome. There are things that I would have liked to do better, but I think that is a normal feeling for a beginning teacher.
I have learned by doing this teach that I need to work on my nervousness in front of the class. I also need to work on talking too fast and going over the material too quickly. Also, I have learned that no matter how well prepared you are, there will be things that don’t go your way when planning a lesson.
In the future as a teacher, I plan to have plenty of extra assignments or activities on hand in case my students finish all their work before the end of class. This way the students will be engaged from bell to bell.
Observation
This week I got to observe two classes for observation time. Both of the classes I observed this week were classes of past TX state interns. In one of the classes the teacher welcomed us with open arms and was very friendly. Her rapport with her students was there, and I noticed that she used code switching when speaking with her students. For example, as a part of the warm-up, she asked her class about their spring break experiences. While she was asking what they did her tone was very casual and on their level. She was speaking to them in “their language”. However, when it was time to begin the lesson she turned on her CALP language, and proceeded effortlessly through her lesson. Needless to say I was very impressed with her classroom management.
In the other class I observed, the teacher was very hesitant to let us observe her class when we asked. She stated it was because she knew after we were done that we would go back and share what we saw with the rest of the interns and our TX state professors. After she stated this I wondered what she was so afraid of. I understood once the class got started. This teacher had no rapport with her students. In fact, her students were very disrespectful often shouting out and interrupting her during her lesson. She could not get her students under control.
By observing this week, I have learned how rapport can play an important role in classroom management. The lack of rapport the teacher had reflected how her students behaved in class. I don’t believe it was her content or instructional strategies that contributed to her class being wild. I believe she needed to improve upon the relationships she has with her students.
In the future as a teacher, I hope to build a strong rapport with my students by getting to know things about their home life and interests. I feel this will help me develop string ties with my students so that they will be able to trust and want to learn from me. However, I have a feeling this will be easier said than done.
EMT Class Day 1
This week I finally got a chance to observe my first teaching field which is health. My cooperating teacher is really passionate about health education, which is really nice. I was disappointed when I found out that I would be observing an EMT class because I felt I wouldn’t be familiar with the information, not to mention it wasn’t my major or my first teaching field. However, after observing the first class I realized it wasn’t so bad, and that I can actually learn something while observing. All of the class period the students spent time practicing skills they had learned. For example, they practiced how to splint and wrap injuries. The class is a little bit different because my cooperating teacher is actually like one of the students. You see, an instructor from ACC comes over to Awesome High to teach the EMT students. So, my cooperating teacher has to do the skills with the students because she is also seeking certification in EMT. I really enjoyed how excited and motivated the students were to learn and practice the skills.
I have learned that there are programs and classes in the school that students are actually interested in. Most of the classes I have observed thus far have been filled with students who were apathetic. It is nice to finally see students who actually want to be in school learning. I have also learned how important and beneficial it can be to build a solid rapport with your students. My cooperating teacher seems as though she really enjoys all of her students and vice versa. It definitely makes for a calm and positive classroom environment.
In the future, I hope to utilize what I have learned from my cooperating teacher when I go to student teach next semester. I hope to be able to connect with my students on a personal level in an effort to really become aware of their strengths and weaknesses as learners. This way I can adapt my curricula and teaching styles to better accommodate them.
ELL Week 1
This week I got to meet my ELL for the first time. I really did not know what to expect going into the first meeting. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to communicate with my buddy. However, I was relieved when I met him that morning. To my surprise he was actually very talkative and curious. I had no problem understanding what he was saying and vice versa. The first meeting was fun because it was a chance for us to get to know each other. We both asked each other lots of questions about our lives. It was a little easier for me because I had my meposter to help me display my interests. However, I was sad to find out my buddy’s story about his family. He was born in Mexico and came to Texas when he was 10. He is the youngest of nine children, and most of his family including both of his parents still live in Mexico. He has not been able to see his family because he does not have his papers, and is afraid that if he does try to visit them, he wont be able to get back into the U.S.
I got a chance to pre-assess my buddy’s English proficiency level this week. I did this not only from having conversations with him, but also by helping him edit a short passage he had written about me. I was very surprised at the amount of information he remembered about me after meeting just one time. I gathered that his previous education was non-parallel to the one he is receiving now. His had great BICS, but he struggles with his CALP. He can easiuly be understood in conversation, but his grammar, spelling, and sentence structure are below grade level.
From meeting my buddy I have learned about the wide variety of proficiency levels that exist in high school classrooms. ELL’s will need to be considered when I develop my curriculum and strategies for teaching. Differentiation will have to be taken into consideration so that students don’t get left behind or feel bored with assignments and learning.
In the future, as an intern I hope that I can help my buddy as much as I can not only socially but also academically. Also, in the future as a classroom teacher I hope to be able to accommodate my ELL students by creating a comfortable and engaging learning atmosphere. I hope to do this by varying my teaching strategies, and modifying assignments were appropriate.
First day
The first day meeting my cooperating teacher was pretty cool. He definetly wasn’t anything I had expected. Iam happy that I have a laid back teacher who is willing to be flexible with my partner and I on the video teach. The class size was smaller than I expected, and they were also a lot calmer. However, I was a little disappointed with the lesson. The teacher lectured for a long time and it seemed that his students were bored and uninterested. I did like the style of his lectures which were in power point. He also had lecture guides available so his students could easily follow along.
I have learned that as a teacher I should try to keep my lectures short, and have multiple activities available in case I run out since the class periods are extremly long. I also learned that lectures guides do help, and power points are an effective way to showcase your lecture.
In the future as a teacher I plan to use different manipulatives to keep my students interested and engaged.
First Impressions
My first impression of the block experience was a scary one. At first I was afraid of what to expect…not only from the workload of the courses, but also of the students and faculty at Awesome High. However, I was pleasantly surprised after the first couple of days. Not only do I enjoy both of my professors, but I also enjoy my colleagues in class. Everyone is really nice and have interesting things to contribute to our class discussions. As far as the students and faculty at Awesome High, they are not as scary as I first thought. Having had no experience working with adolescents, I was very afraid the students would be mean and disrespectful to us interns. However, this was not the case as we toured the school or as we observed our first class. I can already tell this will be an interesting semester for me.
I have learned from this experience not to “sweat the small things”. Especially if I have not had the chance to experience them. I’m sure this wont be the first or last time that I freak out about things that haven’t happened yet. I tend to worry a lot.
This experience will impact me as a teacher because I will have the opportunity of experiencing new things all the time, especially as a first year teacher. It taught me that I need to approach new situations and changes with optimism because you never know how the experience will play itself out.
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