Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Welcome to EDU505!

23 comments:

  1. I've enjoyed being back in the classroom environment as a teacher but I didn't really realize how much actually went into class and classroom planning since my last experience was much different. I think it is a long process but builds the foundation or the year.

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    1. I agree Finch! I never realized how much prep is needed for the year. Seems a little exciting and daunting to plan for an entire school year!

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  2. There is a lot to like at Whitford! My team has been so helpful, not just my mentor teachers. I can't wait to meet the students tomorrow and am really hopeful for this year and working with them, especially on reading. Last year they made huge leaps, and we hope to set them up for success again.

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    1. I too have heard about all the success Whitford students seem to make. It makes it exciting to began teaching there, the teachers within my team have been amazing as well. Good luck Krystal!

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  3. Teaching in a middle school is a lot more fun than I anticipated.

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    1. Especially when you have an awesome team to teach with like I do! Also I bet you would be super jealous of the student teacher I get to work with.

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  4. My supervising teacher is extremely organized and well put together. She is a great resource for curriculum structure and helps me understand the learning targets.

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    1. The learning target structure looks more difficult than it actually seems to be once you start working with it. In math, your targets are "shorter" rather than year long, correct? Our trouble in Humanities is that targets are year long, so it is harder to give hard feedback on the short term (quarter, semester etc.). What are your thoughts on "Math Monday"? I have heard opinions on both sides on how Advisory is set up.

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    2. That is really cool, I "think" my teacher is organized also... But I am not really sure, I think his organization is more in his brain so that could be an obstacle I will have to hurdle. But I am glad you have had a good experience thus far.

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    3. A teacher like this is great for both the organized and disorganized student! Not to mention a good example for those of us that aren't quite so organized. That much structure must take practice though.

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    4. Yeah my teacher is super helpful as well and very driven towards student learning and learning through understanding so it's really helpful.

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    5. I wish my mentor teacher was organized, he doesn't have anything planned and the thing he has related to curriculum is a bunch of activities that we need to get set up for.

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  5. I was surprised to find that just about our whole cohort is at the same school. I have enjoyed the school a ton, the administration seems to be extremely nice and supportive. All the teachers are extremely helpful and receptive, and I have a lot in common with my mentor teacher (he too did his undergrad at UO, and MAT at pacific, and also coaches basketbal).

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    1. It is really nice to have everyone there for the support. Especially those first couple days, it was easier to ask other student teachers how to do things than unknown faculty. I am thinking of the copier specifically.

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    2. And the laminator. So many things we learn and teach each other while the teachers are super busy. It's like a group learning system.

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  6. In my first placement, the CityView Charter School, my sixth graders had a hard time doing a timed multiplication test. They were a lot of struggles in answering the questions. As I looked through the timed test, I noticed most people only answered three rows of the test and there were twelve rows. I noticed a lack of knowledge of the multiplication tables. Maybe this could be a critical question of how to enhance the knowledge of multiplication tables among sixth graders.

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    1. Absolutely! You might talk with your mentor about the idea of coming up with some fun intervention that involves helping the kids learn their times tables and evaluate how effective it is [a nice little practical & meaningful study]

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  7. Really I haven't had much experience with anything but setting up the classroom, I went to a couple of the meetings but then my mentor teacher had me organize the massive amounts of junk in the storage closet. I am looking forward to meeting the student tomorrow.
    One thing that was surprising for me was the morale at the school everyone seems fairly happy even though almost half of the staff has been shuffled around.

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    1. It is pretty easy for teachers to become pack rats, storing endless numbers of resources they might use in the future. Keeping it all organized can be a challenge. There is a buzz about the start of the school year that is very exciting. Good to hear that the teaches are keeping positive.

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  8. I have been placed at Glencoe High School and Evergreen Middle School. I have fabulous enthusiastic mentor teachers and they are very excited to have me in their classes this year! Something interesting-between both placements I will get the full spectrum from 7th grade earth science/health classes to 12th grade AP Biology.

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    1. Oh health that sounds interesting, are you getting a health endorsement too?

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    2. Getting experience with more than just one age group is super important!

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  9. Like Alex, I'm finding myself to be increasingly more receptive to the middle school than I previously anticipated. I'm placed solely within the Forest Grove District so it is both interesting and exciting to observe the implementation of district goals district-wide and curriculum goals school-wide and how this is both similar and different among schools, the various entry and exiting level of students, particularly in math, the great effort to emphasize the integration of many subjects within each classroom, and the different teaching styles and philosophies among teachers, yet singular curriculum and academic standards. I'm enjoying the process of utilizing this observation opportunity to learn about the district, individual schools, various teaching philosophies in various subjects, and especially the development of my own ideas. Sorry if this is sounding impersonal and disconnected...it sounds more like an essay than a reflection, but I assure you there's a lot of sincerity and gratitude in my underlying tone.

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