Internship Blog Portfolio Entry #2.

Internship Blog Portfolio Entry #2.

“8. Professional Practice – The teacher participates collaboratively in the educational community to improve instruction, advance the knowledge and practice of teaching as a profession, and ultimately impact student learning…

8.2 Growing and Developing Professionally 

Teacher welcomes feedback from colleagues when made by supervisors or when opportunities arise through professional collaboration.” 

         For my 2^nd Internship Blog Portfolio Entry I have chosen to dig deeper into program standard 8.2.  This evaluation was precipitated by an opportunity I had to attend a Teaching Tolerance conference in Seattle with a few of my colleagues this last month.  As a new teacher, I believe that I can bring a new set of eyes to the educational environment in my school as well as on a broader level.  At the same time, I understand with confidence that my predecessors have a lot to offer me on a professional level; wisdom often follows experience.  In my opinion, this program standard is paramount for success and growth in the field of academia both now as a novice and hopefully 20 years from now as a veteran.

This standard is a key element in the multicultural growth that must occur in order for any of us to attain an effective stance at teaching in a culturally competent way.  We have to begin with an open dialogue.  We have to accept people for where they are in the moment and personally we have to be willing to transform our own methods for the better.  In reading Gloria Ladson-Billings (1995) article, But that's just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy, I was struck by how frank she was about the current state of education in our predominantly African American public schools.  She states, “Given the dismal academic performance of so many African American students…,” for me these few words are all in takes to bring the urgency of reevaluating the current k-12 institution into the forefront.  As an African American woman, who has tread water on both sides of the train track, I am all aware of the necessity for change.  The most beneficial aspect of researching cultural competence is the awareness that comes with this work and the hope that is highlighted by the few individuals who have dedicated their lives to fixing this innately broken system.

The cultural conversation is sometimes a touchy one.  No one wants to step on anyone else’s toes.  While there are many ways in which one can raise awareness of their own culture and experience to reduce misunderstandings, I have found reading and researching on this topic to be profoundly helpful in my quest to becoming an effective and culturally competent teacher.  According to the Teach for America team (2011), “Dynamics of difference and sameness” is a phrase we use to refer to the complex—often unspoken or even unrealized—dynamics of power or bias that can arise in any human interaction. (p.49).”

As individuals, we all come from different places, ethnically, socioeconomically, academically, and psychologically, to name a few.  We all have our own individual experiences and perceptions of life that have helped to define our thinking and interpretation of our very place in the world.  Chapter 4 in Diversity, Community, & Achievement by Teach for America (2011) addresses the issue of Dynamics of Difference through a vast compilation of Teachers’ Reflections on Diversity in Their Classrooms.  As a new teacher, these uncensored quotes were invaluable for me to gain an understanding of the multitude of perspectives that surround the very nature of a what it means to be culturally aware.  It pushed me to reexamine my own idea of a multicultural classroom. 

The Teaching Tolerance conference held on

Saturday, March 11, in Seattle's historic Washington Hall offered a symposium on teaching about immigration and migration. As we all know, immigration has recently taken center stage in our national conversation.  In my current population of students and families, these immigration policies have hit very close to home.  We have had first hand experiences of individuals being held at the borders and airports.  There has been a real fear associated with the current climate.  My school administrator recommended we attend this conference.  Learning Specialist Lauryn Mascarenes walked us through the  a curriculum entitled “Viva La Causa” and shared with us ideas about how teaching About César Chávez can engage students and create a more inclusive classroom environment.
 

          As teachers it may not be within our reach to generate reform the entire educational infrastructure, however, we do have the power to make change within in our own spheres.  We can start by incorporating culturally relevant pedagogy into our classrooms.  In my next steps toward professional development I intend to teach the Viva La Causa curriculum to my middle school students.  In addition, my mentor teacher has scheduled a middle school cultural awareness meeting, with the intension of beginning the dialogue at a personal level.  Our students come from a diverse background as do we.  We collectively understand that we may not know all of the intricacies of all cultures.  That said, we are committed to teaching in a manner that is inclusive and accepting.  One great suggestions comes from Ladson-Billing (2001), who encouraged teachers “to utilize students’ culture for learning.  This culturally relevant pedagogy is an important tool for teachers to master.  By following this culturally applicable technique, we are able to instantly empower our students and thus encourage academic participation and engagement. The road is not always an easy one to navigate, however, it is our duty to ourselves, our students, and our democratic society at large, to try and do our job in a socially responsible and advantageous way.  In a way that is beneficial to ALL of our members.

References

Beaudoin, B. B. (n.d.). Culturally Responsive Pedagogy/Culturally Relevant Teaching. Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia. doi:10.4135/9781452276274.n236

Cross, Terry L., Marva P. Benjamin, and Mareasa R. Isaacs. Towards a Culturally Competent System of Care. Washington, D.C.: CASSP Technical Assistance Center, Georgetown U Child Development Center, 1989. Print.

Ladson‐Billings, G. (1995). But that's just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy. Theory Into Practice, 34(3), 159-165. doi:10.1080/00405849509543675

Nieto, S. (2002). Profoundly Multicultural Questions. Educational Leadership,, 60(4), 6-10. doi:10.1093/019829610x.001.0001

Teach America.   Diversity, community, & achievement: 2010. (2010). Retrieved August 10, 2016, from http://www.teachingasleadership.org/node/404

Program Standard 6. Assessment Meta Reflection -Course Work

EDU 6172

Meta-Reflection

This reflection will focus on Program Standard 6. Assessment ; The teacher uses multiple data elements (both formative and summative) to plan, inform and adjust instruction and evaluate student learning.  Generally, this standard is an important element in the development and growth of teaching certification training.  This standard sets the stage for both design and implementation of assessments in the classroom.  It gives teachers the tools for using assessments as a means of feedback and goal attainment through the process of teaching and testing both formally and at an informal level. 

At this time,  I will focus this reflection on section 6.4 Using Assessment to Provide Feedback to Students; Teacher’s feedback to students is timely and of consistently high quality.  As a new teacher, I am in the beginning stages of understanding how to use the information I attain through the assessment process as a means to encourage the intellectual achievements that my students are capable of reaching.

Recently in EDU6172 I have completed my edTPA preparation assignment which was a mock Task 3 Assessment Commentary.  This task was completed in accordance with the Science TPA handbook.  As I worked alongside my mentor teachers I was able to better understand my current utilization of the above program standard as well as the areas by which I am in need of improvement toward this end.

The edTPA Task 3 Assesment commentary allowed me the opportunity to closely analyze my own work as a teacher. The the assessment that I chose to analyze was part of a planetary science unit that I have been teaching to my middle school 8^th grade students throughout the first half of this academic year. This was a summative assessment that covered two related investigations; Beyond the Moon and The Solar System. 

This pie graph and subsequent commentary was designed to represent the proportion of students who met the learning targets with satisfactory comprehension.  For my middle school students this number was 82% achievement with 18% receiving a score of 69% or lower on their formative assessment.

          This second pie chart demonstrates the grades received on the take home review given to students 4 days prior to the test.  This practice test was reviewed in class the day before the exam.  45% of the class received an A grade and 90% of the class demonstrated competency with a C or better.  100% of students completed this review I felt that it was a good way for me to get a picture of where the class stood as far as comprehension and understanding levels.   The test review provided me with an initial feedback opportunity.  I was able to gage where students were at in their learning and attempt to fill in any gaps from the prior weeks learning targets. 

          Following the exam, I used a couple of methods for feedback to my students.  First off, I had my students complete a reflection.  In these individual reflections, my students were able to think about the learning process and reflect on the big ideas that they were able to take away from it all.  This task was assigned to all students regardless of their grade.  For me as a teacher I used this opportunity to individually check in with my students and I left comments accordingly.  In addition, I left the door open for them to see me after school or during lunch on Tuesdays to discuss their test results and understanding at the current time. 

          In addition, I use a system of test corrections.  Students who did not pass the exam follow a procedure for correcting their mistakes and must clearly prove that they understand not only why their mistakes were made but what the correct choices were.  Although this process can be tedious, I have seen that it is empowering as well.  I feel good as a teacher about changing my students tests scores, knowing that they put this type of effort into the corrections.   Please refer to below image for details. 

If I were to propose a few next steps to increase effectiveness of my feedback process following assessments I would focus on ways to assist my not passing students toward success.  In the article Formative Assessment Empowers, Brookhart stated, “Give guidance that helps students realize they can do what they need to do. Provide clear feedback and achievable steps toward improvement. Help students see the connections between specific strategies that they used and their accomplishments. If those strategies are not helping them meet the learning target, suggest or teach them a strategy that will. Revealing the connection between what students do and what they learn leads them toward self-efficacy.” (Brookhart, 2008 p.56)  For me this is the end goal and my hope is to reach a place by which I am able to effectively provide such strategies.