4a: Reflecting on Teaching
Below is a section taken from my formal evaluation that my supervisor from The College of Idaho and lead teacher from Sage Valley Middle School completed with me. This evaluation was completed by the three of us after my placement at SVMS. I had been teaching a sixth grade ELA/Reading class with guidance for about 2 months and then with minimal help for the next few months . I firmly believe in being able to grow as a person, and as a teacher. In order to be a better teacher I encourage and often seek out feedback from both administration and colleagues.
4c: Communicating with Families
I feel as though communicating with families is a very important part of being an educator. Not only do I want the students to be involved and active in their learning, I want parents to be aware and informed about what is going on with their student's progress. In both placements at Sage Valley, we used email and phone calls to stay in touch with the parents.
Below is a letter that my lead teacher and I used in my first placement at Sage Valley to make the parents of our students aware of what they would be doing and working on throughout the year. This letter is in both Spanish and English because we have a very diverse population at SVMS. For this same reason, when I call home and I know it is a Spanish speaking home, I will use google translate in order to speak directly to the parent, this is not a perfect solution but it is a good resource to try and use if I am struggling.
Below is a letter that my lead teacher and I used in my first placement at Sage Valley to make the parents of our students aware of what they would be doing and working on throughout the year. This letter is in both Spanish and English because we have a very diverse population at SVMS. For this same reason, when I call home and I know it is a Spanish speaking home, I will use google translate in order to speak directly to the parent, this is not a perfect solution but it is a good resource to try and use if I am struggling.
4d: Participating in a Professional Community
At Sage Valley Middle School I was part of a several teaching teams. One group that was instrumental to me throughout my year there was my sixth grade team As a team member, I was able to have a voice in the activities and curriculum during ELA (1st semester) and Math (2nd semester). My contributions were very respected by my colleagues, and during those meetings, I was able to gain knowledge about the subjects that I wouldn't otherwise have. Those collaboration sessions added value to the overall outcome of my student teaching experience there. Having my colleagues opinions/input helped me to grow as a student teacher. Even though I was a student teacher, I felt like I was respected as a colleague and I know that I can always reflect on the knowledge gained from those relationships. Going to school festivals, wearing spirit wear, dressing up on dress up day, all of that contributed to my sense of community.
I don't have a picture that shows the entire value of our team building sessions. But I am sharing a picture that shows the community and connection of my sixth grade team. |