Casta Garcia Rosen

EDUG 856- Supervised Fieldwork

Dr. Kosky
12/11/14
Growth Statement
During the semester I learned instructional strategies for both
general and special education students, how to conduct a school
profile analysis, and more about the edTPA lesson requirements
necessary for student teaching. With the opportunity to learn from
classroom presentations, classroom discussions, and my fieldwork I
gained insight about the different needs of students and how to
differentiate a lesson plan that meets students needs.
At the beginning of the semester we learned about instructional
strategies, we learned how to use graphic organizers with students.
Each presentation covered different strategies such as the jigsaw
puzzle, KWL, and cooperative learning. Learning about each of these
strategies was very beneficial for new educators who are not
accustomed to using different graphic organizers. We learned how to
assess students prior knowledge and build comprehension with the
use of graphic organizers. This is an important skill to learn in order to
differentiate with special needs students who need to build
comprehension skills.
Another aspect of learning I found beneficial was conducting a
school profile analysis. I learned how to research a schools
demographics and achievement data using different sites-New York
City website is http://schools.nyc.gov and NYSED.gov. This will help me
next semester with the edTPA. Using these websites I can research
more about a specific school and look for achievement data in Math
and ELA based on grade level. This is an important tool for educators
as they figure out the trends that occur in different schools.

One of the most important aspects of this course was learning

more in depth about the edTPA requirements by presenting lesson
plans. Doing the edTPA lesson plans was a strenuous process, but it
has proven to be very useful. I have a concrete understanding of what
the focus and expectations of the writing a lesson will be. I liked
working with a partner and then doing a second lesson individually.
This helped me apply many of the concepts we learned in class about
using graphic organizers, differentiation, and grouping students. This
was also great opportunity to share and learn from each others lesson
presentations.
My fieldwork experience was also learning experience. I was in
two different schools that helped me discover different styles of
teaching and strategies that teachers use with different students
depending on their needs. I was able to learn more about students who
have ADHD and helped me clarify misconceptions about working with
these students.
I have grown a lot since the beginning of the course, both as an
individual and as an educator. I plan on using everything I learned from
this semester next semester during my student teaching. I have
learned more about myself as a teacher and how important it is to
differentiate and address the needs of students. I have also learned
from my fellow educators who teach me new information about how to
best handle teaching situations.