Shelbi Giacalone

Early Childhood Unified Birth through 3rd Grade

October 02, 2016

Submission II Reflection

Introduction

Being an educator is a lifetime goal I have strived for since I was a young child. Pittsburg

State University faculty has taught me the skills I need to become a confident and qualified

educator in this esteemed profession. These skills include an in-depth understanding of learners

and learning, content, instructional practices, and professional responsibility. As a professional, I

also understand the importance of continual growth, through lifelong learning. The following is

proof of my qualifications and how I plan to strive for continual growth throughout my teaching

career.

Learners and Learning

From my time in the classroom, along with my coursework, I have learned the

importance of understanding how children learn differently and ways to implement strategies to

reach every learner based on his/her individual needs. For example, while participating in a

practicum at Lakeside Elementary School, I worked with and instructed a student who had an

Individualized Education Plan. After informally assessing his ability using running records, I

implemented the appropriate level of instruction to introduce for his work to be differentiated,

based on his needs, in order to promote growth and potentially increase his level of success. I

also learned the student was better able to focus when given a hands-on activity. If I only had a

worksheet for him to complete, it would take much longer to complete along with a higher

frustration level, opposed to a matching game. Both lessons presented the same target objective,
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but one better fit that students learning style.

I have learned a variety of different strategies to implement with children with

exceptional needs. I was given the opportunity to shadow in a Special Education resource

classroom. Each child in this classroom was, at some point, diagnosed with Autism Spectrum

Disorder. Some were high functioning while others were low functioning. As part of Free

Appropriate Public Education, each child had their own paraprofessional working with them

one-on-one, along with the necessary resources that each student required. One resource we used

was iPads; these tools were used to help the child communicate verbally. Other students used

Picture Exchange Communication Systems. The children would also participate in a variety of

differentiated, educational activities throughout the day. These activities would range from

having the child follow verbal prompts to see if they could comprehend what the

paraprofessional was saying, having the child match different objects together, or having

nonverbal children put numbers in order on the iPad. The Special Education teacher s focus is

different than that of general education classroom; each activity performed throughout the day

was differentiated for each identified child. The experience I gained in this classroom helped me

understand the importance of utilizing different resources and best-practice techniques to meet

the needs of exceptional students.

As a professional, I understand that for the "whole child" to develop properly, children

need formal and informal learning experiences with cognitive, emotional, linguistic, social, and

gross and fine motor development. Each is very important for children to achieve developmental

milestones. In my future classroom, I will plan to include multiple domains into each of my

lesson plans to promote the growth of all my students. I have accomplished this in my

coursework during my combined Science and Social Studies course. My project was to develop
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four Social Studies thematic units. In each unit I was to include two lesson plans, a list of

childrens books that could be shared with students to reinforce the objective during the unit,

other literature genres, such as finger plays, poems, or songs, a game or art activity, a bulletin

board layout, and a technology component. By creating this resource box, I was able to practice

the use of multiple approaches to learning within the classroom.

Though I am confident I am qualified in the area of Learners and Learning, I know I can

improve myself through utilizing my cooperating teachers experience, learned knowledge, and

bag of tricks, strategies that help with classroom management. One area I feel I could develop

in is becoming more familiar of different cultures and their values, their communities, and how

to incorporate language, experiences, and various community resources into practice. I could

improve on this topic by learning as much about my students backgrounds as possible. I can also

teach about different cultures and communities and integrate lessons that explore cultures within

my curriculum. Exposing my children to people within the community to come into the

classroom and share their culture would also be beneficial and a great real-world experience.

Classroom management and creating a unique educational environment will also improve

my understanding of how to manage the learning environment. I am not a very organized person.

Though I do not lose things due to being unorganized, I often forget due dates. One way to

become more organized is by talking with my cooperating teacher and asking what

organizational strategies work best, in her opinion, to find success in this area. By shadowing

her, I hope to get first hand experience about an organizational system that will work for me.

Content

The different courses I have taken during my time at Pittsburg State University has given

me the knowledge in using supplementary resources and technologies effectively to ensure

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accessibility and relevance for all. Technology is always changing; as a professional, it is

important to stay on top of current trends. The course Technology in the Classroom taught me

about different websites to use as a support for my lesson plans. I was also trained to effectively

navigate the various tools of an interactive SMART Board. These are increasingly popular in

todays classrooms and this course taught me about applications and games I can use during

lessons to help learners apply content, forge new understandings, solve problems, and imagine

all the possibilities to discover new learning.

Another course that I found beneficial was Elementary Mathematics. In this course, I

learned different activities and strategies that I can utilize while teaching mathematics in my

future classroom. One activity is called Math Workstations. These workstations consist of

designing several different lessons, direction pages, and activities that students can engage in

during one time period. These workstations provided the students an opportunity to understand

concepts from several perspectives because the activities added an experience for children to

learn through different models. They were able to rotate through different workstations and

compute math facts, write about math, problem-solve, and work on a math-related project that

was fun, challenging and relevant.

I would like to continue to grow in introducing opportunities for learners to question,

analyze, and understand concepts from diverse perspectives. When working with students, I

strive to ask higher-level questions for students to answer. When working alongside my

cooperating teacher, I will observe how she poses questions to students. I will discuss with her

different strategies to use when designing meaningful questions to ask the class. I will take this

information and put it to use during my student teaching.

While in my cooperating teacher's classroom, I also have a goal to improve on topics of

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major concepts, assumptions, and debates central to my discipline. This is an area I have not

stayed current in and feel it would greatly help me by doing so. I can start by reading current

articles, talking with my cooperating teacher and other teachers in the profession, both about

global and local issues, and joining a teachers union like the National Education Association.

Instructional Practice

Throughout my education, I have learned to analyze assessment data to understand

patterns and gaps in learning, guide planning and instruction, and to provide meaningful

feedback. I gained much of this knowledge during my Primary Reading course. I was required to

assess a student's reading by observing and taking running records. By using the running record,

I documented errors read and self-corrections. This was then used to understand the students

gaps in learning, where his zone of proximal development was, and what I needed to plan in

order to assist in raising his reading level to that of the average first grade student.

Additionally, I am skilled in engaging future learners in multiple ways to demonstrate

knowledge and skills as part of the assessment process. I am currently in the course Foundations

of Measurement and Evaluation. In this class, I have studied appropriate use of assessment and

the most quality methods for certain content. I know that selected response, essay, performance,

and personal communication can all be means of assessing knowledge and skills effectively. I

can apply this knowledge in the classroom by assessing my students' knowledge through a

variety of assessment tools, some as simple as having a mindful conversation with the learner to

explain what he/she learned from a particular assignment or lesson. For older students and

students who excel at reading, a unit test could be given with multiple choice, true and false,

matching, and fill-in-the-blank questions to assess the understanding of knowledge.

I am confident I understand the positive impact of effective feedback and I know a

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variety of strategies for communicating feedback to both my children and their parents.

Throughout my learning at Pittsburg State University, I have learned that providing descriptive

feedback for students' work in a timely manner allows the student to reflect back on what was

correct and what was incorrect. This helps as they can learn from both of these with information

for the future lessons. Getting students involved in their own feedback is beneficial as well. This

can be one-on-one with the teacher or through peer evaluation. Both examples are an easy way

for students to develop new strategies to improve their work, recognize mistakes made, and this

gives the learner a sense of responsibility for their own progress and learning.

An area I am excited to become more knowledgeable in is understanding the process of

curriculum design and building integrated lessons around an idea. State standards and adopted

curriculum are largely put in place by a district, but I have very little experience with curriculum,

scope and sequence, and textbook adoption. I believe attending a district curriculum meeting

and/or observing a team meeting that discusses vertical scope and sequence would be beneficial

in learning about this aspect of education. Working with my cooperating teacher and learning the

steps she takes when building lessons around appropriate sequencing, developmentally

appropriate instruction, learners' prior knowledge and experiences is a piece of this as well. This

will give me a great foundation for what I will use in my own classroom.

The ability to apply a variety of culturally appropriate instructional strategies to achieve

learning targets is something I would like to improve on. What I would like to improve on is

finding research based best practices to use. I would also greatly improve on learning of new

ways to be culturally sensitive to those in the classroom. There are many different cultures that I

would love to learn more about. I plan to ask and observe my cooperating teacher to see how she

learns more about her students. By reading books, articles, and webinars, I will be able to gain
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additional knowledge to gain confidence in supporting various cultures in my classroom.

Professional Responsibility

It is a teachers responsibility to know, follow, and to ensure that laws relating to learners

rights, parental rights, and mandated protocols are followed. As part of the Individuals with

Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), with the support of the Student Intervention Team, Special

Education teacher, parents, and all other support staff involved, I am responsible for providing

students with an appropriate education in the least restrictive environment. This I have learned in

the various Special Education courses taken during my course schedule. While designing mock

Individual Education Plans and planning in the regular education classroom, I have been mindful

about how I will meet all the needs of all the students to ensure they receive any resources and

support they need to thrive and grow as a student. In the regular classroom, this also includes an

in-depth knowledge of Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) guidelines and

mandated reporting of abuse.

I feel confident in my understanding of the expectations in the teaching profession,

specifically regarding a code of ethics. Teachers should strive to be positive role models for

students in both their personal and professional lives. I want my students and their families to

respect me, personally and professionally. I have learned from participating in practicums and

observation hours that the students are observing both verbal interactions and body language in

how I interact with others. It is important that I be self-aware of how my words and actions may

be perceived at all times, as children learn what they live.

Teacher candidates should know how to use information and technology in an ethical

manner, legally, and safely. Teachers, parents, and students need to be aware of Acceptable Use

guidelines when using technology. Technology is a large part of today's society. When using
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technology in the classroom, I know it should always be kid-friendly, age-appropriate and

educational. Students should never be left alone to browse the Internet on their own. Vigilance

and supervision is very important. I should also be knowledgeable about copyright laws and

limitations when using materials, both print and media. I have had experience with this when

teachers have used materials in their classrooms. They have always made it clear that they have

permission to use the documents, books, articles, or video for educational use or have paid for

the material to be used in their classroom.

When working with my cooperating teacher, I would like to improve my communication

skills with members of the learning community. I have always found it difficult to speak with

people I do not know very well, as I consider myself to have a reserved personality. I desire to

improve and grow in this area by building relationships with the teacher I am student teaching

under, along with the other colleagues in the school. This can be done during professional

development days, during lunch breaks, and grade-level planning meetings.

Conclusion

During my time at Pittsburg State University in the Early Childhood Unified program, I

have developed into an educator who is excited to implement all the aforementioned components

into my future classroom. What I do as a teacher impacts each student who walks through my

door. I am prepared to continually grow throughout my career and to become a lifelong learner in

the pursuit of the target areas specified above. In order to be a quality teacher, I need to

constantly learn from my own practices and not be afraid to make mistakes that I can benefit

from in the long run. I can then use those mistakes to improve myself as an educator. I am

confident in the tools and skills I have learned in my program and in my passion to be an

effective teacher for our children.