Tambree Davis

Elementary Education Major

15 October 2016

Submission II Reflection Essay

Introduction:

Here at Pittsburg State University, I have learned about whom I will be teaching, what I

will be teaching, how I will be teaching, and why I will be teaching. The biggest lesson I have

learned is that my intended profession is one of, constant self-improvement. I will outline my

strengths and plans of improvement under four specific categories and these categories are, (a)

the learner and learning, (b) content, (c) instructional practice, and (d) professional responsibility.

I am passionate about becoming a master teacher and this takes time, practice, constant self-

reflection, and the willingness to improve.

The Learner and Learning:

Within my English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) minor, I have learned how

important it is to access information about the values of diverse cultures and communities and

how to incorporate language experiences, cultures and community resources into practice. The

simple task of saying a greeting in a students native language can have a powerful impact. I

have a resource that has greetings in more than 800 languages. Having members of society from

diverse cultures come into my classroom to have students interview him/her to learn more about

that culture increases diversity in the classroom. I personally had the opportunity to interview

students from China, Saudi Arabia, and Finland in my time here at PSU and they all agree that

they wish teachers would treat them like they treat native peers. I know that this would be an

impactful experience for my students if they were able to talk with individuals form other
cultures. I also learned how to create an instructional environment, which enables students to

understand the role that language plays in a cross-cultural understanding. One way, is to use

students as experts, if those students feel comfortable sharing. It needs to be planned and the

student has to have time to prepare. Another way is to encourage and promote student interaction

with native English speakers in and outside of the classroom.

I have also learned how to design experiences using strategies that enhance learner

motivation and engagement. Allowing students to have choice is one way; this may be as simple

as finding a book in a topic that they are interested in. We had practice doing this in Intermediate

reading practicum where I gave my students a Reading Interest Inventory to find out what they

are interested in, and I plan to find books that match those interests. I have also learned a lot

about cooperative learning and how it ensures that all students are involved in the learning

experiences. I had the opportunity to use numerous Kagan structures in my ESOL practicum and

I found that students were having fun and were actively engaged in learning. There is an

acronym that goes along with cooperative learning and it is, PIES. The acronym PIES is; positive

interactions, individual accountability, equal participation and simultaneous interaction and if we

are able to incorporate the PIES into our teaching we will reach more students.

I understand the process needed to foster a respectful learning community.

I have learned about how to create a positive learning environment in numerous of my classes

here at PSU. I have learned the importance of the first day of school and how the first day is

essential in the process of establishing a positive learning environment. I got to observe a first

day of school at Westside Elementary with 5th graders at Westside Elementary this semester in

my internship. In both my classes and internship experiences, I have noted how important

community guidelines are in a classroom and that they have to be established on that first day.
Team building is also important for the first day. This can be done with icebreakers and sharing

with peers. It is important that all members are involved and active and have equal opportunity to

share.

I look forward to investing more time into learning more about, understanding and

identifying differences in approaches to learning and performance. I will focus on how to design

experiences that incorporate individuals strengths to promote growth. I want to look into more

Evidence Based Practices (EBPs) to find strategies to match students strengths to help students

apply those strengths to numerous areas of their study. I will also take the time to observe and

ask my cooperating teacher in internship about how she enhances learning amongst her more

challenging students.

I am finding that I do not have effective strategies to work with students who have

exceptional needs. In SPED overview it became clear to me that it is important to find ways to

meet students needs in the general classroom. These strategies take practice and time to master

and see results in students so it makes it difficult to see if students are getting their needs met. I

understand the importance of seeking more knowledge about how to work with students with

exceptional needs.

Content:

I have learned that learners should question, analyze and understand concepts from

diverse perspectives. I have gained exponential knowledge in this area and consider it one of my

strengths. Throughout my studies I have learned that effective teaching starts with understanding

students misconceptions in the beginning. In our science and math classes we have practiced

taking those misconceptions from our students and building off of them in future lessons. In my

current placement, my cooperative teacher and I, encourage students to ask questions and use
diverse problem-solving skills when it comes to their math. Through our theorists, classes and

personal experience I know that students learn better when they construct their own knowledge

by questioning and analyzing for their own understanding.

Another one of my strengths is having a deep knowledge of student content standards and

learning progressions in the disciplines. Every single lesson plan I have ever done has been tied

to one of these standards. By observing multiple cooperating teachers I understand that there is a

progression that go in every grade and every subject. I believe this is directly related to

scaffolding which has been presented to us since the beginning of the curriculum here at PSU.

You would think we were engineers with the amount of times we have used scaffolding in this

teaching department.

The final strength of mine in the area of content is being able to understand how

disciplinary knowledge can be applied to a lens to address local and global issues. In my

cooperating classroom at Westside there is an emphasis on soft skills and how we can get

students to apply their knowledge to the real world. In math lessons about volume I brought in

actual boxes from home so students could physically find the volume then we continued a

discussion on why it would be helpful to know this information especially for our packaging

plants and postal services.

An area for growth involves knowing how to use supplemental resources and

technologies effectively to ensure accessibility and relevance for all. One plan for improvement

is all about using the resources we have been given. As a teacher candidate I feel like I have been

given a lot of resources that I have not used in a classroom. In the near future, I want to find

specific resources that supplement my teaching by taking the time to research, ask, and

experiment with these different tools.

 I am also taking the time to improve my knowledge on major concepts, assumptions and

debates that are central to the discipline. In my upcoming lessons and student teaching I need to

ensure that I am prepared with knowledge I am teaching. This is going to require some review on

my part on the content that is being taught. I also want to get better at identifying students

questions before they ask them so I am prepared to answer their questions in the moment.

Researching common misconceptions that are surrounding the discipline that is being taught can

prepare me for students questions.

Instructional Practice:

My education has provided me with the strength of knowing how to engage learners in

multiple ways of demonstrating knowledge and skills as part of the assessment process. In my

Internship I have seen the benefits of assessing students in multiple ways on the same concept.

While reading the novel Hatchet students were assessed after each chapter, after the book was

finished, they were assessed formatively everyday by asking guiding questions and students also

made a shoe-box habitat using facts from the book. Through my education I have learned that we

have to triangulate information from our students. We have to use multiple methods (3 or more)

to assess if students understand the concept because all of our students are different.

One of my strengths involves understanding the positive impact of effective descriptive

feedback and knows a variety of strategies for communicating feedback. I recently made this my

professional goal for a month and it became clear to me that feedback is an essential part for

students learning. Through my experience I have found that one-on-one conferences are the most

effective when giving students feedback. Through my own learning I know that feedback is

where I make my improvements and I know the importance of having teachers be specific on

how to improve.
 The Elementary Education program places a heavy emphasis on understanding the

theories and process of curriculum. Through extensive studies of multiple theorists throughout

my education experiences this has become my biggest area of strengths. This is my bread and

butter. When devolving a curriculum I will keep my students in mind. I have learned how to

match curriculum to my students by understanding where they are in the Piagetian stages.

I have also learned the importance of having students construct their own knowledge to ensure

understanding. I have also learned how to scaffold curriculum. Students have to learn the

alphabet before they can read or form words. They have to read and form words before they can

read and form sentences. The same can be applied to mathematics with numbers and operations.

One area I need to improve in is, knowing how to engage learners actively in the

assessment process and to develop each learners capacity to reflect on and communicate about

their individual progress. I believe this is an area of in improvement because I have not seen it

be done in my observations or even in my personal experiences that often. In student teaching I

want to make this a priority at least once a month. Once a month I will provide each student with

an opportunity to reflect on his or her individual progress. During students reflection I will help

them develop a plan to better their areas of growth.

The next area for improvement is, understanding the process for aligning instruction and

assessment with learning targets. This is a big are of improvement because it has just been

presented to me this semester in Foundations of Measurements and Evaluations class. This is

such a new concept that I will need to take the time needed to firmly understand how to do this in

practice. In the upcoming months of internship I will take the initiative to ask how my

cooperating teacher aligns instruction and assessment with learning targets. I believe this is all
about teaching with the end in mind, I will need to practice this process in the upcoming

months in internship and during my student teaching experience next semester.

Professional Responsibility:

I feel confident about understanding and knowing how to use self-assessment and

problem solving strategies to analyze and reflect on my practice and how to plan for adaptations

in my future classroom. I have been required to video myself teaching multiple times throughout

my time as a teacher candidate. By going back and watching my teaching I have been able to

effectively practice this self-reflection piece that is so important, maybe the most important, in

the teaching profession. Through observing myself I have been able to identify areas for growth

and have been able to implement plan for growth. Another way I have to learned to self reflect is

by asking my cooperating teachers for feedback. I will continually use my cooperating teacher as

a point for self-reflection.

PSU has made it very clear about the expectations of the teaching profession especially

pertaining to codes of ethics, professional standards of practice and relevant laws and policies

that need to known in this profession. I am aware that I am a mandate reporter and I know there

are laws and policies I must follow to remain in the profession. I have also learned that this

profession goes beyond the classroom. We have to make sure we are a positive influence for our

students inside and outside the classroom.

I pride myself in knowing how to communicate effectively with all members of the

learning community. In the beginning, I thought this to be the most frightening of this profession

but have found that it is easier than I thought. I participated in the back to school night at

Westside Elementary and found it very easy to communicate with parents. I have observed my

cooperating teacher keep open lines of communication with parents through phone, notes, emails
and face to face. It is important to call parents with positive situations and not just negative. I

plan to carry on, as my cooperating teacher has, keeping an open-line of communication for both

positive and negative situations.

One area I could improve on in the professional responsibility categories is, knowing

more about how to use information and technology ethically, legally and safely. Too many times

I have seen teachers just use technology and resources and have questioned its legality. I need to

find a way to self-teach myself about how to find legitimate information and technology before

bringing it into my classroom. In the upcoming months I plan to conference with my cooperating

teacher to identify how she justifies if something is legal or illegal.

The next area of improvement is being able to understand schools as organizations within

a historical, cultural, political and social context and knowing how to work with others across the

system to support learners. This is an area of basic information about school as an organization;

therefore, I will do basic research to refresh my memory on these facts. As a future teacher I also

need to become more aware of the political activities that affect our schools. I will do better at

researching candidates that are being elected into office to ensure that I do my part as a voting

citizen.

Conclusion:

I hope that I have proved that I am capable of being an exceptional teacher because I

went through Pittsburg State Universitys Elementary Education program. I have outlined my

strengths and areas improvements along with specific plans to grow in those improvement areas.

I know that this is a profession is a constant self-improvement profession. Teachers are never

done learning. I will never be done learning and I wouldnt have it any other way. My life goal is

to become a master teacher; it takes time, practice, self-reflection, and a willingness to improve.