The Final Review

The Final Review:

As the semester winds down, or pumps up the intensity depending on who you speak to, it is time to reflect on the work I have done or have struggled with along the way.

In this class, we were asked to truly look at ourselves as teachers, not just as teaching candidates. As teacher, then, we had to take our class with us on a journey of education, strap them in tight with prerequisites and count down the blast off with a list of skills they would soon be masters of. But along the way, as our students stared in starry wonder at their new knowledge, we learned all that we didn't know we didn't know. I didn't know that Direct Lesson would become a backbone of my Unit Plan. I didn't know that I could use riddle solving and artifact bags to become this profound new t
ool to open up chapter books, explore web pages and give students a base to leap off into a great unknown. That is the beauty of exploring uncharted territory. That is the absolute fright of exploring unknown territory. Because just when you uncover a rock and are amazed at what could lie beneath, you could turn the rock over and realize you're in for an ugly surprise.

My ugly surprise was time. Just when I thought I had enough it was clear I never did. Time management in the classroom is a trick of the light and a mastery of physics all at the same time. I could settle students into a new classroom, have their attention rapt as I spouted out facts and numbers, but I often came up short. Either I had too much time or too little, as I fumbled around to make the time lapse or time crunch work.

What did I learn? I learned many things. I learned that working with a co-teacher was beyond rewarding. Rachel and I developed our own language, we read one another very well and learned what each other's strength's and weaknesses were. Rachel was a fast paced worker who could read an instruction just once and run with it. I, on the other hand, was someone who needed to mull over the instruction in order to start moving. We both had the same approach to classroom behavior: get in line. Which was important, because that provided that we were on the same page and the students really picked up on our expectations straight away. I would say I was most proud of the way that we were able to command a classroom of students and that we had them so engaged from beginning to end.

EdTPA for the Rest of Us

What is EdTPA, you ask?

THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT, TOO. 

Is it a new restaurant, a complicated Starbucks drink, a fashion blog?
No, how dare you. EdTPA is life and life is EdTPA. There is no beginning or end, there is only EdTPA.

In other words, EdTPA is how teachers become certified in New York State. The idea is fairly simple, a unified system that each teacher candidate follows in order to attain a certification from a state already recognized as having high standards for its teachers. Since not every state demands that the teacher candidates jump through the various hoops of a unified system like New York does, edTPA is unique in that regard. It's a vigorous process that acts both as a moderator between the school program and the state. By every understanding of the word terrifying, it is terrifying.

I have yet to get to a happy place with the EdTPA (is there a happy place?). It's been an uphill climb, so far. I find the language intimidating and the content draining. But for all of this whining and complaining, using the EdTPA has a resource this semester to hone my skills has been successful. Hopefully, when I start Student Teaching next spring, the EdTPA will be less of a daunting mountain over riding my senses and more of a long, tedious chore.

And, of course, I hope I pass!
 

Dactah Havahd

Today we tried our hand at interviewing for teaching positions. It's an exciting idea, testing out your theories and practices in a mock interview, prepping yourself for what will hopefully come down the line sooner rather than later. All our hard work, our research, our fieldwork, our volunteering, our blood sweat and tears!

Colleen acted as Dr. Corrigan, Dean of Imagination School and Mike acted as Dr. Werba, the superintendent of Maple City Schools.

Both Dr. Corrigan and Dr. Werba had done extensive research on their two schools. Dr. Corrigan's school was a centered base school that elaborated on the importance of students conducting their own research and exploring their interests as well as commanding the role of their education.

I enjoyed Dr. Corrigan's mindful questions, which asked how the classroom would be structured; how would you group desks and tables to allow students to work cooperatively and how a teacher would organize a group if students were not meeting the expectations of working as a group.

Dr. Werba's schools, Maple City Schools, was a direct lesson approach with a more teacher centered theme. The distinction between the two types of schools was clear, but I was surprised by the type of questions Dr. Werba asked. The questions seemed more imaginative and exploring. The first question Dr. Werba asked Rachel was if Rachel had her own talk show, who she would have as her first guest. My favorite questioned I was asked, by either Mike or Colleen, was Mike's question about my classroom. Dr. Werba asked me: It's 8:50 am and the students are walking into your classroom, what does your classroom look like?

 I got to really visually walk through what I would want my ideal classroom to look like. I thought over my answer and then decided to put together what I would want. I thought of the classrooms I have peered into during my fieldwork, watched how students ambled sleepily into during the morning routine and witnessed firsthand just how important routine truly is.

I told Mike that my classroom would be set up with a message on the board which came with three instructions: 1. Morning work in math or another content area that covered the lesson that was taught the day before. 2. Time for students to read a book we were reading as a whole class 3. Time for students to write or draw in their morning journals. During this time, students would have morning tasks that need to be completed; watering plants, feeding fish, bringing lunch counts down to the office. By 9:00 I wanted my students at their desks, ready for the day after completing their daily tasks. I told Mike that I wanted my routine so en-grained that the students were able to complete their tasks independently without my guidance while I finished any minor details that needed to be corrected: take attendance, speak to any students privately that needed my counsel.

I got hired! I will be working at Imagination Schools. Come see me! :)