Professional Meetings Reflection

Being at Trace Crossings this semester has been a wonderful learning experience. Being
in a school and experiencing firsthand all of the things that our future career will entail is helping
us become better teachers. One example of this is the opportunity we have had to attend
professional meetings at Trace. Attending professional meetings is something that most people
do not associate with teaching, but in actuality, these meetings are important for the betterment
of the school. I attended two professional meetings at Trace this semester.
The first meeting I attended was on our first day there. Mrs. Stone, the vice principal at
Trace, met with the Learning League, which I am a member of, and the STEAM Team. She
talked to us about several things, but the main thing she highlighted was the STEAMaPALOOZA
event. This event was coming up soon after this meeting was held. Mrs. Stone explained to us
what was going to happen at this event. She described some of the ideas that they had been
brainstorming for STEAMaPALOOZA, like the different stations that they were hoping to have.
In addition, Mrs. Stone requested our help for this event. She wanted us to recruit our peers to
help, too, to make this event as good as it could be. It was interesting to learn about the behind
the scenes planning that goes into events like STEAMaPALOOZA. When I was in elementary
school, I remember enjoying so many school-wide events at my school. Until this meeting,
however, I had never really realized how much planning goes into these events. It was neat to
hear Mrs. Stones ideas that they had come up with several weeks in advance to the event.
Overall, this meeting was very interesting, and I am glad that I was able to attend it.
I attended a kindergarten meeting at 12:30 on November 3, 2015. At this meeting, located
in the Maker Studio, three of the kindergarten teachers met with Mrs. Stone and Mrs. Joyner.
First, they reflected on the project-based learning project that they had been implementing for the
past month farm animals. They used a rubric to assess the success of this PBL. They talked
about how successful they were in allowing the students to have a say in the unit. They wanted to
allow the students to be curious and have the freedom to ask questions about the animals they
were studying. They also discussed the importance of following through and reviewing the
animals so that the information sticks with them.
After discussing the PBL that they were wrapping up, they discussed what their next PBL
might be, which will occur in the spring. They talked about possibly doing a PBL on community
helpers, like firemen, policemen, and doctors. They plan to talk about this more at their next PBL
meeting. They also talked about other large units that they are implementing in the spring
semester. One unit that they will be doing right when they start back to school after Christmas
break is a winter unit. They will also be doing a Big Backyard unit in the spring, where they
will teach the students about insects, frogs, and ponds. The teachers brainstormed with Mrs.
Joyner about ways that they can incorporate STEAM into these two units.
Overall, it was interesting to sit in on this kindergarten meeting. I had never attended a
grade level meeting, so this was a brand new experience. I liked seeing how the teachers worked
with Mrs. Stone and Mrs. Joyner to make their PBL projects and units as best as they can be for
the students. I was also impressed with how quickly this meeting went. It only lasted for about
20 minutes, so the teachers were still able to have a break before it was time to pick their
students up from the special they were at. Since I am going to be attending grade level meetings
for the rest of my career, I am thankful for the opportunity to sit in on one and see what they are
like.