I had a chance to use an online blog in a recent course at Kansas State University. It was in my Block A Science Methods class. We paired up with a class in Africa and shared answers to several prompts provided by our instructors. It was really neat to get to see how they felt about certain aspects of teaching and how they would incorporate and use certain methods in their classrooms. It was beneficial to see what they had to say about our strategies and perspectives and allowed me to reflect on my view points.
I think that a similar online activity like this would be successful in my future classroom. I plan to implement an educational blogging experience with my future students, in which they will communicate with other students from around the country. I think students would enjoy responding to comprehension and discussion questions with other students rather than just simply turning in responses to the teacher. This would give students a chance to see others perspectives while learning to communicate with others that come from different backgrounds or cultures. Concerning cultures in particular, it would be interesting for students to ponder questions put forth by those from other parts of the country and get to hear about things that other experience.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Learning Journal
Teaching requires constant reflection in order to grow as an educator. Here is one of my reflections from a lesson I taught throughout my time in Block B...
Name: Nicole Maupin School: Frank Bergman Elementary
Grade Level/Subject: 1st Grade/Reading Date of lesson: April 7th, 2009
(The following form is adapted from Danielson, 1996)
************************************************************************************************
1. a. What did you do to actively engage students in the learning process?
To actively engage the students in the learning process I referred back to spelling words that they were already familiar with. I would say the word, and then get them involved by having them say it back to me. Once their spelling words were reviewed, I then lead the students in a building words activity in which they have to replace or add letter cards in the pocket chart to make new words. I engaged the students during this activity by calling a variety of students. I paid close attention to who was paying attention and who was off task, and called on students who off task in order to bring their attention back towards the pocket chart activity. Our final activity was a page out of the students practice workbooks. To actively engage the students during this portion of the lesson I reviewed the word bank at the top of the page so that all students could join in on filling in the blank for each sentence. I read the sentence for the students and then called on a student who was politely raising their hand to answer. Each students was accountable for filling in their own workbook page.
b. Did your activities effectively engage the students? How do you know the students were or were not engaged?
It was evident that the students were engaged during the review of the spelling words because they were all active in repeating the spelling word list back to me. The students’ participation was evident during the pocket chart activity because they were all eager to come up with the correct letter to add or change to the starting word in order to make a new one. Students had their hands raised before I could even ask them what letter we needed to add or change. During the workbook page portion, it was evident that the students were engaged because they were all exerting effort to fill in their individual workbook pages. They were following along and filling in their blanks as we did the worksheet together as a class. Their engagement was also evident because I had them show me their pointer fingers and then use that finger to follow along as we reviewed the words in the word bank.
2. a. What did you want students to learn or know how to do?
During this lesson I wanted students be able to blend sounds into words and use common letter patterns to build and read words. I also wanted them to recognize words in print to help them fill in sentences.
b. Did you meet your goals? If so, how do you know the students did or did not meet your learning goals?
My goal was for students to participate in the pocket chart activity by responding to which letters needed to be changed or added to make new words. This goal was met because almost every student was able to give a suggestion for what letter should be change or added. Most of the time the students were focused and engaged. There were only a few times that I had to redirect students attention to the activity. The other goal I had for this lesson was for students to correctly recognize and fill in the five sentence blanks on their practice workbook page. This goal was met and evident by the student’s responses on their individual workbook pages. All of the students received a five out of five on the practice workbook page.
c. What evidence of critical thinking did you observe during the lesson?
Evidence of critical thinking can be seen in the pocket chart activity portion of this lesson. Here, students are analyzing the starting word in order to determine what letter or letters need to be changed and/or added the starting word in order to form the new word instructed by the teacher. Students have to recall their phonemic awareness skills in order to determine what letters need to be changed/added. For example, if the starting word were ice, and the students were asked to form the word nice, they would need to be able to hear and then distinguish that the /n/ sound is what changes the word ice to nice.
3. Did you find it necessary to alter the teaching strategies, activities, student groupings, or assessment as the lesson was taught? If so, what changes did you make made and why was it necessary to change?
The only part of the lesson that I felt necessary to adjust minimally was during the review of the spelling words. I first began by saying the word and then saying it again with the students. This made it difficult to hear that all students were participating in the repeating of the word. Instead I decided to say the word once and then point towards the students and have them repeat it back to me.
4. a. Which teaching strategies, materials, and activities did you find most effective?
I found the pocket chart to be very effective for the students. I pulled out enough letter cards to leave the starting word up after the students had added or changed the letters to make a new word. This allowed the students to see exactly how the adding or changing of letter effected the spelling each time. For instance, the starting word was ice, the students added an /n/ to make the word nice, so the word nice was constructed underneath the word ice in order for the students to see what each word looked like when constructed.
I also found it very effective to review the words in the word bank on the practice page before getting started on filling in the sentences. Students were confused and unfamiliar with several of the words, so before being asked to use them in a sentence I made sure that each word was defined for the students sake.
b. What is your evidence that this was effective?
The evidence that both of these were effective was seen in their ability to actively participate in the pocket chart activity and correctly fill in the blanks of the sentences on their practice pages. Although the worksheet was gone over as a class, the students were asked to use their knowledge of the words in order to put them into the context of a sentence. All of the students were successful at filling in the sentences accurately.
5. a. How did the classroom environment contribute to a positive, respectful culture for learning? If possible, address the following: student behavior, routines and procedures, student grouping, transitions, and physical arrangement of the classroom for this lesson.
My classroom teacher has created an incomparable learning environment in which all students are held to high standards and expected to be respectful during times of instruction. This prior behavioral set-up made it very easy for me to maintain student’s interest and attention. Students are expected to raise their hands if they have an answer or suggestion to provide and usually remain very respectful when their classmate or a teacher is talking. Having a large space of the front of the classroom designates a perfect spot for whole group or small group instruction. Having this space made it easy for all of the students to gather around the pocket chart and partake in the building words activity. To transition between activities, students are called up in small groups by a variety of ways. I chose to use the procedure of calling students up by colors they were wearing on their clothing. This made it a lot less chaotic then having all of the students come up to the front of the room or return to their desk at the same time.
6. a. What assessment did you use to measure your goals?
The assessment used to measure my goals was an observation checklist of student participation, as well as, a correct/incorrect scoring procedure on the practice workbook page.
b. Provide evidence of the effectiveness of this lesson based on student work, and/or evidence of student misunderstanding.
One hundred percent of the students met my goal of achieving a five out of five score on their practice workbook page. Every one of the students correctly filled in the blanks of the sentences. The work page was reviewed as a class, so students had a chance to correct any of their answers that they had misunderstood or filled in incorrectly.
c. Based on your assessment of the student work, what needs to be done next?
My assessment determined that the students are capable of filling in their practice book pages as a class, so in the future I think it would be beneficial to give students instruction on the worksheet, review the words, and then have them fill them out independently to see if they can apply the word recognition knowledge on their own.
7. Describe an instance in which your specific feedback positively affected a student’s learning.
Positive feedback affected one of my student’s learning during the practice workbook page. While we were filling in the sentences, I walked around the classroom to make sure that all of the students were following along and filling in the appropriate words in the blanks. If I saw that students were writing nicely I would say for the whole class to hear something like, “I like your nice and neat handwriting.” This would capture other students’ attention and make them want to write neatly as well.
8. If there was an opportunity to teach this lesson again, what should be done differently? Why?
If I were to teach this lesson again I would engaged the students further during the pocket chart activity by having the students come up and physically add or change the letter cards themselves, rather than them telling me and doing it for them. This would ensure that they were participating and would also involve the kinesthetic learners.
Block B
Reflections on a Single Lesson
Reflections on a Single Lesson
Name: Nicole Maupin School: Frank Bergman Elementary
Grade Level/Subject: 1st Grade/Reading Date of lesson: April 7th, 2009
(The following form is adapted from Danielson, 1996)
************************************************************************************************
1. a. What did you do to actively engage students in the learning process?
To actively engage the students in the learning process I referred back to spelling words that they were already familiar with. I would say the word, and then get them involved by having them say it back to me. Once their spelling words were reviewed, I then lead the students in a building words activity in which they have to replace or add letter cards in the pocket chart to make new words. I engaged the students during this activity by calling a variety of students. I paid close attention to who was paying attention and who was off task, and called on students who off task in order to bring their attention back towards the pocket chart activity. Our final activity was a page out of the students practice workbooks. To actively engage the students during this portion of the lesson I reviewed the word bank at the top of the page so that all students could join in on filling in the blank for each sentence. I read the sentence for the students and then called on a student who was politely raising their hand to answer. Each students was accountable for filling in their own workbook page.
b. Did your activities effectively engage the students? How do you know the students were or were not engaged?
It was evident that the students were engaged during the review of the spelling words because they were all active in repeating the spelling word list back to me. The students’ participation was evident during the pocket chart activity because they were all eager to come up with the correct letter to add or change to the starting word in order to make a new one. Students had their hands raised before I could even ask them what letter we needed to add or change. During the workbook page portion, it was evident that the students were engaged because they were all exerting effort to fill in their individual workbook pages. They were following along and filling in their blanks as we did the worksheet together as a class. Their engagement was also evident because I had them show me their pointer fingers and then use that finger to follow along as we reviewed the words in the word bank.
2. a. What did you want students to learn or know how to do?
During this lesson I wanted students be able to blend sounds into words and use common letter patterns to build and read words. I also wanted them to recognize words in print to help them fill in sentences.
b. Did you meet your goals? If so, how do you know the students did or did not meet your learning goals?
My goal was for students to participate in the pocket chart activity by responding to which letters needed to be changed or added to make new words. This goal was met because almost every student was able to give a suggestion for what letter should be change or added. Most of the time the students were focused and engaged. There were only a few times that I had to redirect students attention to the activity. The other goal I had for this lesson was for students to correctly recognize and fill in the five sentence blanks on their practice workbook page. This goal was met and evident by the student’s responses on their individual workbook pages. All of the students received a five out of five on the practice workbook page.
c. What evidence of critical thinking did you observe during the lesson?
Evidence of critical thinking can be seen in the pocket chart activity portion of this lesson. Here, students are analyzing the starting word in order to determine what letter or letters need to be changed and/or added the starting word in order to form the new word instructed by the teacher. Students have to recall their phonemic awareness skills in order to determine what letters need to be changed/added. For example, if the starting word were ice, and the students were asked to form the word nice, they would need to be able to hear and then distinguish that the /n/ sound is what changes the word ice to nice.
3. Did you find it necessary to alter the teaching strategies, activities, student groupings, or assessment as the lesson was taught? If so, what changes did you make made and why was it necessary to change?
The only part of the lesson that I felt necessary to adjust minimally was during the review of the spelling words. I first began by saying the word and then saying it again with the students. This made it difficult to hear that all students were participating in the repeating of the word. Instead I decided to say the word once and then point towards the students and have them repeat it back to me.
4. a. Which teaching strategies, materials, and activities did you find most effective?
I found the pocket chart to be very effective for the students. I pulled out enough letter cards to leave the starting word up after the students had added or changed the letters to make a new word. This allowed the students to see exactly how the adding or changing of letter effected the spelling each time. For instance, the starting word was ice, the students added an /n/ to make the word nice, so the word nice was constructed underneath the word ice in order for the students to see what each word looked like when constructed.
I also found it very effective to review the words in the word bank on the practice page before getting started on filling in the sentences. Students were confused and unfamiliar with several of the words, so before being asked to use them in a sentence I made sure that each word was defined for the students sake.
b. What is your evidence that this was effective?
The evidence that both of these were effective was seen in their ability to actively participate in the pocket chart activity and correctly fill in the blanks of the sentences on their practice pages. Although the worksheet was gone over as a class, the students were asked to use their knowledge of the words in order to put them into the context of a sentence. All of the students were successful at filling in the sentences accurately.
5. a. How did the classroom environment contribute to a positive, respectful culture for learning? If possible, address the following: student behavior, routines and procedures, student grouping, transitions, and physical arrangement of the classroom for this lesson.
My classroom teacher has created an incomparable learning environment in which all students are held to high standards and expected to be respectful during times of instruction. This prior behavioral set-up made it very easy for me to maintain student’s interest and attention. Students are expected to raise their hands if they have an answer or suggestion to provide and usually remain very respectful when their classmate or a teacher is talking. Having a large space of the front of the classroom designates a perfect spot for whole group or small group instruction. Having this space made it easy for all of the students to gather around the pocket chart and partake in the building words activity. To transition between activities, students are called up in small groups by a variety of ways. I chose to use the procedure of calling students up by colors they were wearing on their clothing. This made it a lot less chaotic then having all of the students come up to the front of the room or return to their desk at the same time.
6. a. What assessment did you use to measure your goals?
The assessment used to measure my goals was an observation checklist of student participation, as well as, a correct/incorrect scoring procedure on the practice workbook page.
b. Provide evidence of the effectiveness of this lesson based on student work, and/or evidence of student misunderstanding.
One hundred percent of the students met my goal of achieving a five out of five score on their practice workbook page. Every one of the students correctly filled in the blanks of the sentences. The work page was reviewed as a class, so students had a chance to correct any of their answers that they had misunderstood or filled in incorrectly.
c. Based on your assessment of the student work, what needs to be done next?
My assessment determined that the students are capable of filling in their practice book pages as a class, so in the future I think it would be beneficial to give students instruction on the worksheet, review the words, and then have them fill them out independently to see if they can apply the word recognition knowledge on their own.
7. Describe an instance in which your specific feedback positively affected a student’s learning.
Positive feedback affected one of my student’s learning during the practice workbook page. While we were filling in the sentences, I walked around the classroom to make sure that all of the students were following along and filling in the appropriate words in the blanks. If I saw that students were writing nicely I would say for the whole class to hear something like, “I like your nice and neat handwriting.” This would capture other students’ attention and make them want to write neatly as well.
8. If there was an opportunity to teach this lesson again, what should be done differently? Why?
If I were to teach this lesson again I would engaged the students further during the pocket chart activity by having the students come up and physically add or change the letter cards themselves, rather than them telling me and doing it for them. This would ensure that they were participating and would also involve the kinesthetic learners.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Personal Thoughts
I recently finished my last week in the first grade classroom for Block B. It has proved to be one of the more enlightening events of my educational career. I was placed in a classroom with a teacher who has taught first grade for almost 30 years. She has so much experience with this particular age range and she was able to teach both my partner and I so much in the 5 short weeks we were there. She also had a student teacher in the classroom which proved to be very helpful as well. The student teacher was in our very same shoes just last semester, so she was able to help us with anything and everything we needed. It was very helpful to have the support of both the cooperating teacher and the student teacher. I really enjoyed visiting and teaching the first grade classroom each day and am really going to miss being involved in the classroom atmosphere. I am excited to get my student teaching placement and can't wait to start with that adventure in the fall!
Links To My Life
Visit these interesting sites to learn more about what I have been involved in this past semester!
http://www.k-state.edu/- University Website
Frank V. Bergman Elementary School- Block B school
Wamego West Elementary- ESD instructor (place of employment)
http://www.k-state.edu/- University Website
Frank V. Bergman Elementary School- Block B school
Wamego West Elementary- ESD instructor (place of employment)
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Resume
OBJECTIVE
To obtain an elementary teaching position, preferably in a primary grade, which will allow me to create an inviting learning environment that inspires children to obtain their person best.
EDUCATION
Kansas State University, Manhattan KS Projected: December 2009
Bachelor of Science in Education, Elementary
Concentration Field: Special Education, to pursue toward a provisional endorsement
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Bergman Elementary, Manhattan KS January 2009-May2009
Practicum Experience, 1st Grade
• Planned a 10-day instructional social studies unit on Economics over the concepts of needs, wants, goods, services, and the importance of jobs.
• Taught three lessons from my planned instruction social studies unit, including a learning centers activity on needs and wants and a review lesson over the reasons people save money.
• Organized a text set to correspond with my instructional social studies, which included books such as “Trouble with Money” and “Community Careers.”
• Conducted a reading case study to assess an individual student’s progress in phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.
• Constructed and taught mini reading lessons based on the five key reading components- phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.
• Lead small group reading groups in fluency and sight word activities prepared by the classroom teacher.
• Acclimated to a diverse classroom at a Title 1 school with a Socio-Economic Profile of 42% of students on free and reduced lunch.
• Accommodated lessons for three students on Individualized Education Plans for speech.
Theodore Roosevelt Elementary, Manhattan KS September 2008-December 2008
Clinical Experience, 3rd Grade
• Collaborated with two classmates and team taught three science lessons on magnetism, polarity, and simple circuits.
• Planned and taught 3 math lessons with two classmates, that reviewed multiplication sentences and “things that come in groups.”
• Cooperated with a 3rd grade classroom teacher to determine appropriate lessons for the students.
• Accommodated lesson plans for children with Autism and behavioral/emotional disturbances.
Morris Hill Elementary, Fort Riley KS September 2007–December 2007
Early Field Experience, 5th Grade
• Organized and graded thirty students' assignments that attended a school in a military setting.
• Designed bulletin boards in place of existing ones.
• Assisted individual student's that were seeking help with assignments.
West Elementary, Wamego KS February 2008-May 2009
Extended School Day Instructor 3rd and 5th Grade
• Administered math and reading lessons to students below achievement level.
• Motivated a group of five students through math and reading lessons.
• Collaborated with third grade teachers to develop appropriate math and reading activities for small group settings.
Haas Family, Shawnee Mission KS June 2008-December 2008
Family Nanny
• Assisted a mother with necessary childcare procedures including, feeding, potty training, and sign language recognition practice.
• Stimulated a sixteen month old to use fine motor skills when playing with her learning toys.
Helpers Inc., Overland Park, KS July 2008–August 2008
Family Assistant
• Corresponded with a family in need of assistance with their child with special needs
• Scheduled time to meet with and take care of a twenty year old boy with autism
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Kappa Delta Pi February 2008-Present
• Assisted in membership council to select members for the upcoming initiation.
• Volunteered for the children's carnival, book fair, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters Events.
Council for Exception Children (CEC) February 2006-Present
• Executive Council Historian- recorded members attendance in monthly meetings
• Executive Council Membership Chair- sent meeting memos and helped plan meeting speakers.
• Planned and volunteered at local volunteer opportunities put on by the council.
ACTIVITIES
Pi Beta Phi Women's Fraternity August 2006-Present
• Recruitment Processes- organized recruitment rounds for the Fall 2008 sorority recruitment.
• Homecoming Chair- developed and put together the float for the 2008 homecoming parade.
• Panhellenic Committee Member- assisted the Chapter President in Panhellenic meetings.
Relay for Life Team Captain February 2008-April 2009
• Assembled a 15-member team to raise money for the American Cancer Society.
• Raised over $3,000 dollars for the American Cancer Society through fundraising.
To obtain an elementary teaching position, preferably in a primary grade, which will allow me to create an inviting learning environment that inspires children to obtain their person best.
EDUCATION
Kansas State University, Manhattan KS Projected: December 2009
Bachelor of Science in Education, Elementary
Concentration Field: Special Education, to pursue toward a provisional endorsement
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Bergman Elementary, Manhattan KS January 2009-May2009
Practicum Experience, 1st Grade
• Planned a 10-day instructional social studies unit on Economics over the concepts of needs, wants, goods, services, and the importance of jobs.
• Taught three lessons from my planned instruction social studies unit, including a learning centers activity on needs and wants and a review lesson over the reasons people save money.
• Organized a text set to correspond with my instructional social studies, which included books such as “Trouble with Money” and “Community Careers.”
• Conducted a reading case study to assess an individual student’s progress in phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.
• Constructed and taught mini reading lessons based on the five key reading components- phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.
• Lead small group reading groups in fluency and sight word activities prepared by the classroom teacher.
• Acclimated to a diverse classroom at a Title 1 school with a Socio-Economic Profile of 42% of students on free and reduced lunch.
• Accommodated lessons for three students on Individualized Education Plans for speech.
Theodore Roosevelt Elementary, Manhattan KS September 2008-December 2008
Clinical Experience, 3rd Grade
• Collaborated with two classmates and team taught three science lessons on magnetism, polarity, and simple circuits.
• Planned and taught 3 math lessons with two classmates, that reviewed multiplication sentences and “things that come in groups.”
• Cooperated with a 3rd grade classroom teacher to determine appropriate lessons for the students.
• Accommodated lesson plans for children with Autism and behavioral/emotional disturbances.
Morris Hill Elementary, Fort Riley KS September 2007–December 2007
Early Field Experience, 5th Grade
• Organized and graded thirty students' assignments that attended a school in a military setting.
• Designed bulletin boards in place of existing ones.
• Assisted individual student's that were seeking help with assignments.
West Elementary, Wamego KS February 2008-May 2009
Extended School Day Instructor 3rd and 5th Grade
• Administered math and reading lessons to students below achievement level.
• Motivated a group of five students through math and reading lessons.
• Collaborated with third grade teachers to develop appropriate math and reading activities for small group settings.
Haas Family, Shawnee Mission KS June 2008-December 2008
Family Nanny
• Assisted a mother with necessary childcare procedures including, feeding, potty training, and sign language recognition practice.
• Stimulated a sixteen month old to use fine motor skills when playing with her learning toys.
Helpers Inc., Overland Park, KS July 2008–August 2008
Family Assistant
• Corresponded with a family in need of assistance with their child with special needs
• Scheduled time to meet with and take care of a twenty year old boy with autism
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Kappa Delta Pi February 2008-Present
• Assisted in membership council to select members for the upcoming initiation.
• Volunteered for the children's carnival, book fair, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters Events.
Council for Exception Children (CEC) February 2006-Present
• Executive Council Historian- recorded members attendance in monthly meetings
• Executive Council Membership Chair- sent meeting memos and helped plan meeting speakers.
• Planned and volunteered at local volunteer opportunities put on by the council.
ACTIVITIES
Pi Beta Phi Women's Fraternity August 2006-Present
• Recruitment Processes- organized recruitment rounds for the Fall 2008 sorority recruitment.
• Homecoming Chair- developed and put together the float for the 2008 homecoming parade.
• Panhellenic Committee Member- assisted the Chapter President in Panhellenic meetings.
Relay for Life Team Captain February 2008-April 2009
• Assembled a 15-member team to raise money for the American Cancer Society.
• Raised over $3,000 dollars for the American Cancer Society through fundraising.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Helpful Teaching Sites
Take some time to explore some of these sites they are
really great for teachers, parents, and students!
really great for teachers, parents, and students!
http://www.ksde.org/
This is the Kansas State Department of Education site where you can find all of the state standards for reading, writing, math, social studies, and science. This is also a helpful place to find available jobs in school districts around Kansas.
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/home.jsp
This site is a great source for a variety of print sources. It offers teacher resources, student activities, and an abundance of information about books and authors.
http://trackstar.4teachers.org
Here, teachers and students can type in specific topics and find a multitude of sites that supply information, activities, links, and other related material pertaining to the specified subject.
http://kids.discovery.com/
Kids will love this website! It has many educational games and lots of neat videos for them to enjoy. Teachers, parents, and students will have fun searching through the vast array of topics that this site covers. You can explore everything from polar bears to skunks.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Pictures of Family & Friends
My puggle (pug/beagle) puppy, Sadie!
My Mom, Brother, and I on the beach in Florida
More friends pictures...
These are my best friends from and I on a trip to Chicago over Christmas break.
These are some of my best friends and I getting ready to tailgate before a football game!
These are some of my sorority sisters and I on our Cancun vacation this spring break
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