Inquiry Celebration Reflection

This year, at the Inquiry Celebration, I attended four presentations.  I would first like to start by saying how much I appreciated the Interns and other presenters' hard work this year.  I think that by doing my own mini-inquiry research project, I have more respect and understanding of everything they went through in order to obtain data and present their findings.  I have talked to the Interns at my home PDS and I saw all of the dedication they put towards their inquiry, and it truly made me realize what it takes to be an effective, life-long learner and teacher.

The life long learner aspect of a teacher brings me to the first point I would like to make about the celebration.  Two teachers, former Benedum Collaborative students, presented their findings at the first session I attended.  They were teachers from North Elementary School and explained that they were asked to incorporate their own inquiry into their classrooms.  The teachers focused solely on Vocabulary and different strategies they used to get students associated with new words.  Their presentation showed me the importance of reflection during research as well as consistency.  They used a 4-Square vocabulary worksheet for students to write the word, the meaning of the word, write a sentence using the word, and draw a picture of the word.  They also wore name tags that said "Ask me about this word..." with a vocabulary word in the name tag.  Students soon became experts on their vocabulary words.  I plan on using this strategy in my future classroom, as their results proved it to be effective and exciting for the students.  I believe that constant exposure allows students to familiarize themselves with the new words and gives them reinforcement each time they see the word.  The ladies did a wonderful job with their presentation and they showed valuable information in their findings.  Their presentation showed me that when it is my time to present, explaining it in enough detail so that the viewers could implement it makes the presentation worth while and interesting.

The second presentation I attended included three interns that focused on vocabulary.  One focused on vocabulary through art, the other through Word Wall words, and the other through graphic organizers.  Their presentations alone gave me three new strategies to teach vocabulary that I never thought of before.  I enjoyed the presentations because the Interns showed flaws as well as positive findings.  This allowed me to relax and remember that just because something did not turn out exactly as I would want it to, does not mean that it's a failure.  I learned through their presentations to think of my inquiry as a learning process.  If something does not turn out exactly as you wanted it, think of it as a challenge to change it for future implementations.  Most of the information they presented showed effective implementations and positive findings.  The presentations showed me to look to see why something was working for some students and not others.  I believe each of the interns' presentations showed great ways to present vocabulary to students.  It gave me the idea of introducing different strategies of vocabulary comprehension to students and allowing them to choose which is most appealing to them so they can implement it in their own, individualized learning.  This also gives them a sense of accountability for their own learning.

All in all, the presentations were all very beneficial.  They each provided me with a sense of direction and guidelines for my intern year inquiry.  I found as a participant, the inquiry celebration was more relatable and understandable.

Characteristics of a Novice Teacher 2

This week, I would like to address the first and eighth characteristics of the novice teacher, one being life long learners and eight being a reflective teacher.  I wanted to talk more about these two characteristics because as I am spending more time in the classroom, I am recognizing the importance of both of these characteristics. 

In order to be a novice teacher, you must be inclined and determined to be a life long learner.  As we know, learner certainly does not stop at graduation.  Learning takes place each day in many different forms.  We must remember, as teachers, that we want to constantly further our knowledge of content, pedagogy, etc.  We must be open to new ideas and in order to acquire new ideas, we must become life long learners.  In my classes, I am learning the logistics of everything that will go on in classrooms.  However, as I am in my Kindergarten classroom, I have quickly recognized that life long learning is necessary to reach across to all students.  The artifact that I have chosen for characteristic one is a Pinterest board dedicated to education.  Although Pinterest isn’t a meeting, or a conference, it is a great way to learn and integrate new activities/teaching methods into the classroom.  Pinterest boards are filled with new information that other teachers are using around the world.  This is a wonderful way to be a life long learner because you are keeping up with methods that seem to be working in classrooms and you are able to integrate what you are learning to extend your students’ understandings of a particular subject/content area, etc. 

The second characteristic that you must possess in order to be a novice teacher is being a reflective teacher.  To be honest, I would often become discouraged that I had to constantly reflect.  I used to think of it as a ‘job’ rather than something beneficial to my own learning as a teacher.  Reflecting on what has happened leads you to think about what you could have done differently, what went well, why did I think that went well, etc.  By reflecting on lessons and experiences, I am able to address me strengths and work on my weaknesses.  In order to be a reflective teacher, I will continue to keep the artifact of a researcher notebook.  By using a researcher notebook, I am able to see what I have overcome, how I overcame the situation, how I addressed a particular scenario, etc.  Reflecting in a researcher notebook is one of the most beneficial actions I have taken while in the Benedum Collaborative Program.  Reflecting in the notebook has been a great way to identify what I need to work on, what I want to extend my learning on, what I have noticed in the classrooms, etc.  It is a great way to keep your thoughts organized as well as document your wonderings for further studying.  

Big Ideas of Characteristic of Novice Teacher

The 2 Characteristics of the Novice Teacher that I would like to focus on today are #2- Effective Communicator and #4- Learning for all students.  I decided to pick these characteristics because I feel that they are both very important (not that the others aren't).  I sometimes feel that the communication between co-workers, parents, students, etc. is lost.  I also feel that we need to remember we are teaching to each individual, not just a particular set of students, so we must address all learners in our lessons.

The first characteristic I am reflecting on is #2- Effective Communicator.  I feel that we must remember the importance of communicating, especially with the families/guardians of the students.  Since I am going to be in Elementary grade levels, it is important to keep in contact with the families of my students.  Informing guardians of every aspect of the child's time at the school is very important.  Although communication is not/should not be limited to parents and guardians of the student, I chose to focus on that with my artifact.  One artifact that I could use in my portfolio pertaining to being an effective communicator would be the parent letters I sent home at the beginning of this semester to my Kindergarten families.  My welcome letter addressed the guardians of the students and let them know who I was, why I was now in their child's class, and what I intended to do throughout the semester with their children.  I also left a message stating if they had any questions to contact me in their children's folders.  I feel that this relates to being an effective communicator because it allows a connection to the parents/guardians of the students that might not have been there otherwise.  It shows that I value their comments/concerns and I am willing to work with them in any way that I can.

The second characteristic I am reflecting on is #4- Learning for all students.  I feel that sometimes teachers lose sight (not purposefully) that every child is unique and not all of them learn the same way.  We, as teachers, must remember that each child deserves a chance at learning, even if that means we go above and beyond to cater to their needs.  Learning for all students demonstrates just that.  We must allow all students to learn in the class.  One artifact that I would use to demonstrate learning for all students would be my Differentiated Lesson Plan from Sped 460.  This was a great way to learn how to adjust the lesson to meet the needs of all students.  By differentiating a lesson plan, we become more aware of the importance for all students to learn.  This fits characteristic #4, as we create an environment where students are comfortable to learn and understand what they are learning.