Week 2

What did you learn in terms of new ideas, concepts, techniques, strategies, best practices, etc.? Did you have any personal insights about your own teaching practices? Describe any changes in your perspective or fundamental beliefs about teaching, student learning, teacher or student roles, or new connections.

This week I learned about the importance of school culture and climate. I also learned that I have a lot of acronyms to learn😅. 

This week teachers participated in full-day professional development with the exception of Friday. The first day the principal presented the vision and mission of the school. We were then split into our grade-level teams and we were asked to come up with a shorter version of the mission and vision statement. Many teams agreed to change the phrase found in the schools' vision: "bilingual, bi-literate, and bicultural" to multi-lingual, multi-literate and multi-cultural. The reason being, we want the school to be more inclusive and represent other cultures and languages. 

Last school year Calmeca went through a difficult time. I don't want to really dive into what happened but let's just say by the end of the school year team spirit was at an all time low. To heal from the past the principal really focused on building morale this past week. She made sure that there was enough time on the agenda to engage in fun and meaningful team-building activities.

As a staff, we discussed

•  The difference between school climate and school culture. 
• We talked about ways to improve your relationships with your co-workers. 
• We read an article titled, “The Art of Being a Great Co-worker."
• We also chased each-other around during a game called "triangle tag."
• The Sunshine Team(a committee formed to promote school culture) created a list of fun activities we can engage in as staff members to improve school culture.

My favorite day this week was Wednesday. The principal arranged a field trip for the staff. We were picked up by school buses and taken to Lake Katherine Nature Center where we engaged in more team building activities and had a delicious lunch cooked by our principal and administration.

We were asked to find a partner. My partner was blindfolded while I gave her directions. The objective was to build trust. It was so much fun! 

Our principal cooked LECHON!

Perfect weather and beautiful scenery 💜💜

 Last but not least on Friday Mrs. Estrada and I finished cleaning and organizing the classroom. We also met as a team to plan our lessons. The team believes that lesson planning should be done collaboratively. Each team member is responsible for a specific subject/content area.  All of the units and lessons are accessible on google drive. As a teaching assistant, I was never really present during planning meetings. I was always assigned to be somewhere else. I think sitting at the table with my teacher mentors really solidified this experience for me. In my mind, I was thinking, "OH- WOW, this is really happening!" It was definitely an eye opener to see how much work teachers put into their craft. I also realized that I have a lot to learn including a list of seemingly endless acronyms 

list of acronyms I learned:

ILT (instructional leadership team) Mrs. Estrada and I will be part of ILT committee 

MTSS (multi-teared system of support)

CIWP (Continuous Improvement Workplan)

TRC (Test Reading Comprehension)

SQRP (School Quality Rating Policy)

TBE (Transitional Bilingual Education)

TPI (Transitional Program of Instruction)

LAS Links (Language Assessment System) what language do they take this test in?

ACCESS (* tests English proficiency) 

Goals for next week

• Get to know each student
• Make connections with students
• Go over classroom expectations and rules
• Pass out the media consent form
• Tell class I will be recording them (go over expectations)
• Observe
• Decide on an edTPA lesson. 

CLASSROOM CONFIDENTIAL

From reading chapter three in Schimidt, what have you learned about behavior? Use specific examples from the book and from your student teaching experiences. 

I learned that all behavior is motivated by one of two basic insticts:

1. To seek pleasure.

2. To avoid pain.

I learned not to label a child as a trouble maker and that a great teacher understands that all children want to learn and behave just as much as their peers. Teachers can help students accomplish their goals by:

1. Creating an environment in which they can learn using appropriate accommodations.

2. Helping them develop the courage and confidence they need to give up their camouflage and tackle the real job of learning. 

A couple of key notes I took away from reading chapter 3 

• Great teachers allow students to self-accommodate. After all, adults do it too.
• Differentiated learning is best practice
• There are different types of accommodations including, physical, social, and cognitive. 
• Many students with achievement challenges camouflage their disability to avoid embarrassment and rejection. 

Students start school on September 3rd so I don't have examples from my student teaching experience. However, in the past, as a teacher assistant, I have always been an advocate for different types of accommodations. Specifically, sensory tools for the fidgety child. I have invested in fidget spinners, pull strings, stress balls, weighted blankets and much more. I know that it's really difficult for young students to stay seated for a long time, so I make sure to incorporate a lot of movement breaks and sensory tools as needed to support the needs of the students'.