Modules/ Professional Development

9/9/14 Technology: Mr. John Monick

The Technology presentation was very helpful. They helped us log into our computers
and showed us our school email. We got a tour of some of the important resources on the school
website. We got to see the teacher resources and what the students have access to. We even
looked at the parent section briefly. They showed us how to get to the different schools from the
website and the links that were there. They also set us up with the wireless internet.
The librarians were also extremely nice and it was really great to see that and to know
that they are there to help us. The presentation gave me a lot of great APPs and programs that I
can use in my classroom and in my lesson plans. They showed us their website that is on the
school home page. The library has a lot of resources for the kids. The librarians also talked about
the jobs that they do and it was clear that they are a huge part of this school. The APPs that they
showed up were really helpful. We got a lot of great handouts that explained the technology.
There were sheets about the APPs that they talked about and handouts that we could reference. I
was honestly shocked by how much technology they knew about. They were extremely
knowledgeable with the IPads. That was interesting to me because all of the libraries Ive ever
known were old and didnt really do much beside check-out books. This was a refreshing new
look on libraries and libraries in the school. Especially because I knew how involved Central
Colombia is with reading. The kids in middle school and even some high school classes have a
certain amount of books they have to read each quarter. All in all, I felt a lot better about the
technology aspect of teaching and I also felt better having my first full day of school under my
belt. I know that todays module was key in setting the tone and expectations for the rest of the
practicum.

Commented [BaLM1]: NCATE/NCTE 2.3: Demonstrate

reflective practices, professional involvement, and
collaboration
This document contains a reflection of each of the
professional development modules that I went to during my
practicum. Soon after attending, I would sit down and
reflect on what I learned and what strategies or information
I would keep with me and potentially use as a teacher.
These modules also allowed for professional involvement
since the presenters were teachers, principals, school board
members, librarians, etc. Many of the presentations
incorporated collaboration between the practicum
members. Often, I would work with a group of people on a
worksheet or project that helped to enhance the take-a-way
from the presentations.

9/16/14 Guide to Surviving the Practicum: Mr. Matt Swinehart, Mr. Chris Snyder & Miss.
Magney
The professional development today was extremely helpful and insightful. Sometimes
when I get down on myself and doubt my abilities, I hear things like what was said at the
meeting today, and it gives me another kick in the butt to keep going. We talked about first
impressions and how important they are. The new teacher said about how crucial all of her time
spent in the school was and how it was like a constant interview. I had never thought of it like
that before. I should always be striving to do my best whether I am observing, subbing, interning,
or student teaching. Someone is watching and I should always be trying to prove myself worthy
of teaching their children. We talked about being proud of being nervous. I hate that I get
nervous but they helped calm that by stating that it is natural and in fact, encouraged. One of the
things that I paid special attention to was the concern about age. I really soaked up the
conversation about not blurring the line between student and teacher. I also learned about how to
gain respect from the students by admitting to not knowing everything and following up on
promises.
The conversation about interactions with family was also helpful. I have a lot of patience
and am not a confrontational person at all. Their strategies to deal with that will really help me if
I ever encounter a frustrated parent. I also gained a lot of confidence in asking my co-op
questions about lessons and anything really.
Prepare, prepare, prepare! I believe that this will be the best way to calm my nerves about
teaching my first lesson. If I anticipate questions and problems that will arise before they do, I
can think up answers and solutions to them. This will take away a lot of anxiety about my lesson.
One thing that stuck out to me was planning the groups explicitly ahead of time. Make

expectations clear. Organization was also important. Get extra copies made before the morning
of to allow time to collect thoughts and come together. It is also best to keep the days agenda on
the board so that the students and I know what is happening and what is to come next. This will
help keep the flow of the classroom and the management under control.
In conclusion, we talked about the rewards of teaching, which I could list on here forever
and ever. I have not a doubt in my mind that this is the profession for me. I want to be that
impacting teacher for students. They come with a lot of baggage to school and I want my
classroom to be a place where they can relax, unwind, and be free to learn without having to
worry about any issues that may be going on at home. Ultimately, the day today helped answer
some questions and concerns that I had. The question I asked at the end of the day, was how do I
know, as a student teacher, what I am going to be teaching for the year? The answer to this will
be very helpful in my planning of the future.
Anticipatory Writing Assignment:
1. What must I do on the first days of student teaching?
-

I believe that these first days are crucial to being successful. Luckily, I will already know
the ropes of the school from being a part of the practicum. I think it is important to get to
know my students and focus on setting up a positive classroom environment. Knowing
names will be a powerful thing and setting up routines like bellringers and TODs will be
crucial in the first couple weeks. I want students to know what to expect when they walk
into my classroom.

2. What are the characteristics of an effective teacher?

-

I think an effective teacher is one who is caring and passionate. Students can tell if a
teacher really cares about them or even likes their job. They know when teachers are here

because they have to be and wont respect a teacher who doesnt take an interest in
them. I think an effective teacher has to be passionate about what they are teaching. If
you are excited, it will rub off onto the students and hopefully they will be excited too.
Having a sense of humor also helps set the mood and make it a more fun learning
environment for the students. Most of all, a teacher must like kids.
3. How will I manage my classroom?
-

I think my classroom will be an open environment. I want students to be able to voice

their opinions and speak freely without having to worry about being judged. I believe if I
can get the students to respect me then there wont be any behavioral issues. A lot of
positive reinforcement will help students warm up to me and their classmates. I think that
setting up routines will also help with management because the students will know what I
expect from them each day.

4. How will I address negative behaviors in school?

-

If a problem arose during class time, I would simply ask the student/s to stay after for a
few minutes. If it is something quick that I can talk to them about, I would want to
verbally address it with them then. I dont want to address it in the middle of a lesson in
front of the other students, because it will just cause more issues. If it is something that
needs more time, I will find a common time, like a study hall or before lunch that they
can stop by to see me so that we can talk. I think students will gain respect for you if you
talk things out with them rather than just send them directly to the office or to guidance.
You dont know what the student has been through or the baggage that they have. No one
benefits from being yelled at, so that is one thing that I will never do to a student.

5. How can I ensure my happiness and success as a new teacher?

I think that taking it easy on myself and realizing that all my lessons and activities will
not go perfect. Accepting that things will go wrong and that I need to learn from them
and move on. I think just keeping a positive attitude throughout will help me stay happy.
Learning to balance my school work and social life will be important. Having time to
myself and with family will keep me happy and less stressed. In order to be successful, I
will vow to try my hardest every single day. Even if my day isnt going as planned, it is
my duty to be the positive teacher that they have each day. I am making an impact on
them and I need to be a good role model to follow.

6. What kind of teacher will I be?

-

I will be that teacher that, 10, 20, 30 years from now my former students will see and still
recognize. Ill be that teacher that they think of when people ask them about high school,
for good reasons. Ill be the teacher that made a difference in a students life. Ill be the
teacher whose room was a safe haven to get away from their everyday life for an hour
every day. Ill be the teacher that every student wishes they had. Ill teach them all I
know and learn from them. Ill never stop learning and growing.

9/30/14 Learning Styles Do Not Affect Learning: Mrs. Brogowsky

Mrs. Brogowsky came to talk to us about learning styles theories. She gave a brief
overview of some of the theories and asked us if we believed that teaching to students specific
learning styles benefits learning comprehension. All of us answered yes. She told us that we
were not alone and that in fact, 95% of teachers believed this. But why? Since it was established
in the 1980s, learning styles has been the focus of education. She spoofs this by saying that
there is not research that backs up any of these theories. She did a study were students who were
auditory learners and students who were visual learners were taught a lesson directed towards
their style. There was no correlation between their style and their performance. Visual did better
that auditory in all of the results.
I think that this was a good thing to bring to our attention and to shine the light on,
however, it was frustrating to sit through. Knowing that your schooling was heavily based on
something that isnt even scientifically supported is deceiving. I felt like I was lied to the whole
time and could have said, no this is wrong, this wont help students. I think that it is important to
know that there are different types of learners out there, but the fact that every single education
class reiterated this and retaught it was a waste of not only my time, but also my money. Why
should I have to sit and listen to something that isnt even true? However, like many other things
in education, things take time to change. I accepted that this research is relatively new and that
instruction will not change overnight. My concern is, if a professor at the university obviously
did credible research on something and it was published, why isnt it be enacted? Why wouldnt
the curriculum reflect this discovery? Again, an answerless question, but a question none the
less. Overall, I did like the presentation and the insight. I thought it was very interested and

Commented [BaLM2]: NCATE/NCTE 2.5: Connect to

sociocultural/educational developments
This presentation gave us up to date research on
information regarding learning styles. A lot of the things
that we were taught in our educational classes were put to
the test during this presentation. She discussed how there
was no research to back up this extremely popular theory in
education. It was a great thing to have this brought to our
attention as a new educational development.

allowed me to reflect on how I hope to tailor to students in the future and maybe how that view
now has changed because of this information.

10/9/14 Partnering With Families: Ms. Alice Justice & Miss. Jen Flick
This module on families was eye opening and helpful when talking about students who
might bring baggage to the classroom. We researched the positives and negatives of singleparent families, multi-generational, alcoholic, sibling led, etc. I was in charge of students who
come from families where the grandparent is the caregiver. I had to talk about the positives and
negatives of this. Some positives are their wisdom and fact that they are usually pretty spoiling to
grandchildren. The negatives are that they arent with the time and may be absent minded. We
also discussed how we could possibly tailor our instruction to these students. We talked about
alcohol and chemical dependency families and their impact on school/family relations. The most
important thing that I got out of the presentation were the warning signs to look for. Some things
that might characterize the student as being a child of an alcohol or chemical abusive parent.
This is really important for teachers to be aware of. We got a lot of helpful handouts about this
topic. There were articles about students, warning signs, charts, etc. It is just a bunch of great
resources that I can use if I ever need them.
Another activity we did was to list three positive and three negative things that had
happened to us in our lifetime. We had to discuss what made them change who we are, either
positively or negatively. We talked about the help that students can seek if they are struggling in
school with personal issues. This brought to attention the idea of teachers not becoming
counselors. I never really realized this. I am a people pleaser, I will do anything to make people
feel better, smile, and laugh. I never thought about how I dont have the right to be a counselor to
students problems. Theres a line to follow. The last thing we talked about was children of
divorce. The struggles that might follow because of this. All and all it was a good topic to
discuss.

10/14/14 Special Education: Mrs. Christina Fish

This module on special education was a lot like the classes that I have taken at
Bloomsburg. Realistically, special education is a lot of law and paperwork, so that is what this
focused on. First, we were given a sheet with a bunch of acronyms on it. They were all part of
the special education language. We worked with a partner to fill in as many as we could before
we went over all of them together. After that, Mrs. Fish went over some of the key laws that
changed things in Pennsylvania and around the country. Then we got a packet of the parent guide
to special education. It put the confusing language into terms that they parents could understand.
We were assigned sections in pairs and we had to identify the question that the section was
addressing and three main points that it made. We have what are the schools responsibilities to
my child and me.
Another thing that we did was look at some of the paperwork that goes into have a
student who is in the special education program. She showed us examples and most importantly,
pointed out sections that we would need to pay close attention to. By law, we are required to
provide the services that are described in the IEP. I had seen one before, but it was still nice to
review and look at the specific sections. Another thing that we did was ask any questions that we
may have about special education and a few people told stories. We discussed situations and
what kind of services we would offer to students. A lot of us gave examples that we have already
implemented. We also talked about things that we could use in the future in the classroom. Mrs.
Fish also gave us some pointers when it comes to modifications and adaptations.
I liked this module because nowadays it is almost inevitable that we will have special
education students in our classroom. They are no longer locked away in a single room all day.
They are immersed into regular education and we need to be prepared to teach them effectively.

10/23/14 Data in Schools: Mrs. Tracy Krum

Todays module was about the types of data that goes into making a functioning school
and how all of this data affects the teachers and students as well. The first activity was giving us
slips of paper with different things on them like graduation rate, SAT scores, portfolio scores,
etc. With this information, we had to try to group it into categories that we saw fit. Jenny and I
realized how difficult it was. She then gave us headings that we could use, however we still
struggled with some of them because we did not understand what the headings meant. They were
demographic, program, achievement, and perception. After we went over it, it made a lot more
sense. My favorite thing that we did was go over the teacher evaluation form. I remembered
going over it in my first education class, but that was 3 years ago and it was a fuzzy memory. We
talked about the Danielson rubric and its three parts. Observation (2 times a year), building level
data (test scores), and elective data. For the elective data, 15% is your own growth score after 3
years and 20% is the student learning objective. It was shocking all over again. Just how much it
is all worth is a scary thought, but Im glad that I got a refresher on the different parts of the
rubric.
Another really great thing that we did was look at the districts scores and how they broke
down all of the subjects and areas of students. She explained to us how they had 6 years to close
the gap, so each year needed a goal and needed to show an improvement. Another thing we
looked at was a packet about using student data to support instructional decision making. The
examples we gave for these groups were very helpful and the packet itself has a lot of insight on
this topic. It even lists possible set-backs to each of the strategies. Over-all, I learned a lot at the
module. I was really happy to brush up on my knowledge of how the test scores work in relation
to our evaluations.

10/28/14 Teacher Leadership: Mr. Daniel Roesch

Todays module was about how to be a leader as a new teacher. I thought that our
speaker, Mr. did a wonderful job at facilitating the discussion and talk that we had. He asked us
to describe ourselves in a sentence. Many referred to education but I chose to talk about my
desire to help others and do what is best for everyone else. He then asked us to decide if we were
a leader, pleaser, or overachiever. I chose leader. He said that it was ironic that I chose that
because I talked about wanting to please other people. I knew my reasoning but I waited until the
end to further explain myself. He also talked about transactional vs. transformational teachers.
He was a principle at one time and said that he would rather teachers take leadership positions
when they are offered and to do so even if administration does not require it. He also
recommended joining the curriculum team in helping to develop this. Another tip was to be a
mentor and helping to better ourselves and other teachers.
We did a lot of scenario talks in how we would deal with certain situations. He asked if
we would stand up against our principle if we knew something was right. I knew that I would say
something. You cant always stand in the shadow of fear of others. A lot of times, people come
to respect those who stand up for what they believe in. However, you need to do your research
and be educated before you begin questioning and suggesting new policies or ways of doing
things. I think this conversation that we had was really powerful and helped show were new
teachers could gain a voice.
In the end, I talked about why I chose myself as a leader. I said that I tend to take on
leadership roles so that I can be the one who benefits the entire group. I have the control to do
what is best in the eyes of the whole group. I am a people pleaser in the sense that I always want
everyone to be happy, because in turn, that is what makes me happy. However, I am a leader in

doing so because I am the one who takes the necessary steps to try to ensure everyone elses
happiness. It could backfire though, because sometimes that is at the expense of your own
happiness. His final thoughts were for us to think about if we ever considered teaching as being a
leader. I said yes, that we do it naturally, even if we dont think about it.

11/6/14 Differentiated Instruction: Mrs. Abbey Flick & Ms. Megan Kowalchick
So far, I think that this module was the most helpful and beneficial to me. We were really
given some great, hands-on activities and apps to use with the kids. Each of us received an Ipad
to use during the demonstration. They gave us a lot of great handouts that had apps on them and
their descriptions. We talked about a website called padlet. It is an interactive bulletin board that
a teacher could use to have students respond to questions. They could post individual answers on
this space. We learned about an app called reflector. It allows you to display the screen of an
Ipad onto the main board. I can use this to show students writing, display an answer to a
question, etc. It is a really cool way to keep the kids on their toes at all times. Educreations is a
website that allows you to make QR codes. You could put them on worksheets and then they will
be able to scan the code when they walk in and have access to their assignment. Another cool
website is called Kahoot. It allows you to create quizzes, discussions, or surveys for the students
to take. You could make your own or use ones that are already posted on the site. Another
interesting thing that the website allows you to do is create a game for the kids. They earn the
most points by answering correctly the fastest. They get a game code to use and that allows them
to participate. We learned about Ed.Tedd which is a website that lets you take youtube videos
and edit them. You can add multiple-choice or open-ended questions into the video at any point.
It is a really great interactive way to assess if students are paying attention and understanding. A
funny app that we looked at is called facepuppets. You could edit the face of anyone or anything
and put a voice over it. This could be a good activity to use with Shakespeare or someone who is
no longer alive. I learned a lot during this module. I got so many tools that I could use in my
teaching. I went home and told my family that I want an Ipad for Christmas so that I can use
these things in my own classroom.

Commented [BaLM3]: NCATE/NCTE 2.5: Connect to

sociocultural/educational developments
This presentation, in particular, demonstrated how
technology is taking over the classroom, not only in this
district, but districts across the country. A lot of the things
that we learned will help to enhance our classroom with
technology.

11/11/14 Professional Ethics: Dr. Todd Hoover

I had missed this module because of a last minute lesson that Mr. Swinehart and I put
together on flash fiction. The night before I had realized that a short story I wrote over the
summer would make a really good flash fiction story. I modified it that night and then in the
morning I brought it for Mr. Swinehart. I didnt get to show him until the afternoon, but when I
did, he decided he wanted to evolve his lesson around my example. He asked me to stay so that
we could discuss how I decided to write it and what processes I went through to transform it into
a flash fiction story. A lot of the students were struggling with writing short, so it was helpful for
them to see an example of a story that had been 11 pages be trimmed into less than 250 words.
We pointed out aspects of it that made it specifically flash fiction and then I helped them all
work on their own flash fiction stories. Many of them seemed to understand better after this
lesson which was really great and inspirational.
Since the module was during this class period, I had Jenny get me a handout of what was
discussed and gave me a brief overview of the module. The four categories that were talked
about were justice, critique, care, and profession. Justice focused on fairness and equality for
everyone. Critique pointed out that not all laws and policies may be just, but that they can be
modified and fixed. Care focused on the responsibility to watch out for our students and to
consider each students specific circumstance. I think that the profession section was the most
valuable because it is important to be professional at all times. Especially as a new teacher, you
are going to be close in age with your students. It is important to keep that distance and make a
professional barrier between yourself and the students. Of course it was hard to get the
information since I was not present, but it seemed like an interesting discussion would have been
made from all of this information on ethics.

11/18/14 Surviving Student Teaching: Mr. Matthew Swinehart & Miss. Magney
Todays module was about some tips for student teaching. We started by getting answers
for the questions that we asked at the end of the last module that Mr. Swinehart did. They were
helpful in making me reflect on my teaching and confirm some things that I was wondering. One
thing that was really helpful to me was viewing Miss. Magneys portfolio. I got to see all of the
things that she included and it gave me a good example for my own. We also did an activity
about behavioral issues in the classroom. There were three scenarios that we discussed and
talked about our plan of action if it was to happen to us. It made me think about what I would do
if a student got into a fight and what, by law, I can do. I also had to address how I will react to a
student who may not listen. I certainly need to work on yelling and taking control.
We also talked about some of the requirements that we need as teachers. 24 more credits,
and 3 years of experience to get to level 2 certification. We also learned about places that offer
Act 48 classes that we could take to gain some credits. I liked the informal talk that we had. I
learned about some conversations that I should have with my co-op when I start student teaching.
That it is important to ask about things that can be changed and things that cannot. We could
send a letter to the parents talking about what we will be doing with the students. We talked
about a good question to ask at an interview. What makes your school special? Why do you
work here? It is a powerful statement that makes the questioners think. One last thing that we
didnt get to discuss but that I put some thought into, is the first day script. What would I say to
my students when I meet them for the first time? It will be my first day and their first day of
school. I need to set ground rules and establish my environment. But what will I say to do that?
This is something that I need to think about and will plan out before the first day of school. I
think it will be the most important things I might say all year long.