Success Journal

"Success of the Day" Tweets:

2/24/14 - "A student who usually sleeps completed writing a thesis for me with little coaxing AND made a passing grade on it! @mrtechyteach #edsuccess"

2/25/14 - "My rowdiest class responded quickly to directives, and my coop. teacher praised my discipline of the loud student! @mrtechyteach #edsuccess"

2/26/14 - "My humor sparked with my afternoon classes & they loved it. They are beginning to respect & admire me as a teacher. @mrtechyteach #edsuccess"

2/27/14 - "My cooperating teacher wants me to begin STAAR grammar with the students Monday even though she'll be out of town! @mrtechyteach #edsuccess"

2/28/14 - "Survived the Friday in spite of having a sub in my classroom. 4th period stayed on task & worked hard for me today! @mrtechyteach #edsuccess"

     Writing the "Success of the Day" tweets did have a positive impact on my week. Each day, I found myself on the lookout for moments that were successful. In the midst of grading, keeping students focused, and trying to take on more responsibility in the classroom, negativity lurks so sneakily around the corner. I began to recognize the temptation to complain about someone or something was coming more easily than it had before. This assignment has played a large role in curing me of what could have become a bad habit. The classroom is a difficult place to work, and the pressure comes from all sides. Students, administration, and even other teachers bring about frustration for various reasons, but if I cannot handle the "real world," how will I ever expect that I can teach my students to? Choosing to encourage myself and others affects every aspect of my day- whether interacting with those around me, planning, completing a duty, or giving instruction. I am thankful for this reminder, and I plan on continuing this practice every day although not necessarily through Twitter.
     Two areas are my primary focus for "success" in the classroom at this point. While I have many areas to improve, two have been on my mind as of late. Discipline and revised instruction. Because of my petite frame, I was afraid teaching my students to follow my directives would be a constant battle. I am learning how to control the classroom, however, and my hope is that I continue to grow in my understanding of how to reach students. I would love to reach the point that I did not have to use verbal cues to warn my students, but nonverbal cues take quite a bit of practice. The other area is revising instruction throughout the day. I would like to successfully pick up on how my students respond to my instruction. While I have no trouble recognizing when there is a complete misunderstanding between my students and me, immediately recognizing when there are slight confusions regarding the material is still difficult for me. I would love to get to the point to where I am not even finished with my 1st period before I see what I can do to improve my lesson for the day.

Reflection #2: Assessment

PART ONE:

     Students spend more time memorizing and less employing authentic thinking skills when studying for multiple choice or chapter tests. The information becomes "what must I remember for a grade" rather than “what do I want to learn for myself." Reflecting on tests I took, I have a difficult time recalling any multiple choice tests or material covered; most of the work is long gone. However, other forms of authentic assessment teachers used recall not only the "correct answers" but my work in studying and information I searched out for myself in the process. As a student teacher, this is true of my students. They struggle to remember ten vocabulary words for "multiple choice"-like tests, but they are able to explain, with detail, events taking place in books they chose. Students self-motivated to learn will have far more success in their education than students who must be motivated through extrinsic factors.

PART TWO:

I.     Formative assessment is a daily aspect the work in my classroom. I use many different types of formative assessment, such as observation, discussion, and in-class assignments. With any assignment my students work on in class, I walk around the room and check on the students’ work. By using this type of assessment, I am able to instantly check on my students’ understanding of what we are doing in class and change my instruction accordingly. Another formative assessment I use more frequently than others is class discussion. For instance, we have been reading The Odyssey in class. When the students are answering questions on the material, we do so through class discussion. Some of the discussion is open, meaning every student has the opportunity to answer. At other times, however, I call on students to answer the question, so that I can tell each student is doing their own work rather than relying on other students for completing the questions. My students complete in-class assignments regularly for me to check their understanding of the content, such as writing reflections on what they read at the beginning of class. Other types of formative assessment include short writing assignments, whether responses, group writing, or essays that help me gauge the students’ comprehension of the work at hand.
II.      Summative assessments I currently use include chapter or unit tests and essays. The students complete a unit test for vocabulary each week in order to test them over their knowledge of the vocabulary they have studied for the week. The students also periodically write essays in order to prepare students to continue to improve their writing skills as well as their reading comprehension.
III.     Using both types of assessments is necessary because I need to be able to test my students both every day in order to improve my day to day instruction and at the end of every unit of study to review the objectives and make sure students have met them in order to improve my instruction and teaching of objectives.
IV.     During my time student teaching, I would like to include some type of exit slip as well as a project of some sort.

1.   I plan to implement the use of exit slips by having students write a quick answer to a question as they leave class for the day. I will hand out the sticky notes right before the students leave the room and they will stick them to a specified place on the board. The exit slip will include information from the students regarding what they have learned that day in class.
2. For the project, I would like my students to complete a project that covers an entire unit of study but contains creative elements, such as art, music, or other literature forms. The students could use different formats or styles of writing, such as creating a newspaper or Wikipedia page, in order to showcase all that they have learned in regards to the unit while also including their writing through a “front page story,” “About the Character,” or some other section in the project.
3. In my future classroom, I would like to implement a portfolio as a type of summative assessment. I believe that the portfolio is an effective way to have students complete assignments with the most creativity and individuality. Portfolios also provide the opportunity to build up to a summative assessment rather than “throwing one in” at the end of a unit. Portfolios are made up of many formative assessments before students choose the best to include in the final portfolio. I would have them write throughout the year knowing they were aiming to put their best papers in their portfolios. They would know the different types of writing they needed to include, and they would have multiple opportunities throughout the year to produce those types of writings. They would choose their best at the end of the year to be included in the portfolio.