As I reflect upon my experience as a student teacher and prepare for my future classroom, I recognize my own growth across the five core dimensions of the teaching certification program. Throughout my student teaching, I have worked to support students through an engaging, differentiated approach to instruction while promoting a safe and inclusive learning environment. I have found that the following three themes reflect my own learning and practice throughout this program: classrooms as learning communities, supporting student learning, and knowing schools and society.
Classrooms as Learning Communities
The concept of the classroom as a learning community represents an inclusive space that provides equitable access to resources and support. A strong learning community reflects and validates the knowledge, experiences, and values of each student in the classroom. As the facilitator of a learning community, I must consider my own experiences and positionality, and how they influence the ways in which I support students’ learning and growth. Throughout my student teaching, I sought to model what it looks like to be an active member of the classroom. I worked with students individually and as a whole class to identify what it means to be an active listener, respectful peer, and engaged learner. Within my own instruction, I guided students to advocate for themselves and support one another in their learning.
Across all content areas, I frequently utilized “Talk Moves” to validate student contributions by re-voicing their ideas, asking clarifying questions, and encouraging others to add on. Talk moves “guide both teacher talk and student talk” (Kazemi & Hintz, 2014). As a result of these conversations and reflective work, the learning community within our classroom was strengthened and transformed. Students were more disposed to participate in classroom discussions and learning activities. Some students went out of their way to help a peer or explain a concept. The entire classroom became more receptive to one another’s contributions and perspectives, recognizing them as assets to the learning community.
Throughout my student teaching, I also utilized my knowledge of my students to plan and teach effective lessons that reflected my students’ learning as well as their areas of growth. During a mathematics unit on measurement, I drew from my students’ prior knowledge and real-life experiences to support their learning of a new concept. Within this lesson sequence, we learned how to convert different units of measurement, including customary units, metric units, and units of time and temperature. I use the gradual release of responsibility (GRR) model in my instruction. When I modeled examples and guided students to practice with me, I connected the work of converting units to their own lives. For example, when we learned how to convert units of time, students volunteered to share their age so that we could practice converting it from years into months, or months into weeks. In another lesson, we practiced “working backwards” using story problems that provided an end result and required that we find the initial temperature or time after working backward through a series of steps. Within this work, I incorporated elements from my students’ daily experiences, including the school schedule, various afterschool activities, and sports.
With regard to classroom management, I have used my knowledge of my students to establish consistent and effective plans. The students in my placement enjoyed collaborating with one another and they enjoyed being recognized for their work. Throughout my lessons, I emphasized the importance of working together as a collective team within our classroom community to create a healthy and productive learning space. Community building “the thoughtful, long-term teaching, modeling, and habit building of prosocial, positive behaviors and productive habits of mind (Hertz & Mraz 2018). Students worked with their table groups or desk partners to follow school expectations and classroom norms throughout the school day. I used positive behavior reinforcement to recognize students that were following expectations and setting an example for others. I also worked with individual students using behavior plans to promote positive choices and socioemotional learning.
As I consider own teaching practice in relation to classrooms as learning communities, I know that an area of growth is to work on establishing clear, consistent expectations in my future classroom. How will I adapt my instruction and classroom environment to support the learning of all students?
Supporting Student Learning
As a classroom teacher, it is imperative to support student learning in all areas, not just within academics, but also through socioemotional development. I must have a firm understanding of core content, including common and specialized knowledge. Furthermore, I must recognize the ways in which students understand content so that I can effectively use research-based strategies and curriculum to guide instruction. Throughout my methods courses and student teaching, I thoughtfully planned instruction to engage students and support their learning in a meaningful way. Building upon students’ strengths and what they could already do, I sought to further develop students’ understanding across core content areas while providing instructional tools to support areas of growth.
At the beginning of every ELA block, students do a one-minute “power write” about a word or short phrase that relates to the instruction for the day. Quick writes allow student to informally reflect and respond to the theme of a unit or text. This writing helps students “develop their thinking skills and ultimately improve their engagement with and comprehension of texts and ideas” (Templeton 2013).
During a literacy unit in my classroom placement, I drew upon my students’ ability to use close reading strategies, as well as their personal interests in geography and travel, guide a lesson sequence on determining theme. Across the three-lesson sequence, students engaged with a Pixar short film, a story from their reading anthology, and a mentor text, all of which shared stories from different environments and places around the world. I had students use close reading strategies such as analyzing character traits, story elements, and change over time to support their new learning about the author’s message within a text. I knew that students were introduced to theme in third grade, but anticipated misconceptions about the term. For example, I anticipated that students might conflate the definitions of “theme” and “main idea”, since the latter has been taught and emphasized for much of their education thus far. With this knowledge, I facilitated a discussion about what students already knew about theme before introducing a definition and anchor chart to guide our learning for the lesson sequence.
Using a gradual release of responsibility (GRR), or the optimal learning model, I supported students’ practice by modeling how to use graphic organizers and anchor charts to show thinking. The optimal learning model recognizes teaching as “a powerful, invitational relationship that pulls the learner in”, allowing students to practice skills and initiate their own learning (Routman 2003). I also engaged the learners in my classroom in a variety of ways through individual work time, partner activities, group gallery walks, and whole class discussions.
During math lessons, I supported student learning by establishing connections between prior knowledge and new concepts. At the beginning of each lesson, I led the class in a discussion about our previous learning and learning target for the day. We wrote the learning target in our interactive math notebooks using an “I can…” statement. This was a helpful tool to align math practice with grade level standards and phrase them in student-friendly language. Students frequently referred back to their “I can…” statements during their individual practice. At the end of each math unit, I engaged students in review to target areas of common misconceptions and prepare them for the test. Our interactive math practice and learning targets directly correlated to the assessments, where students had an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of basic and foundational concepts while also applying their learning to advanced extension problems.
An area of growth as I consider how I will support student learning is to foster a classroom community that reflects my students cultures, identities, and interests. I have already begun to collect books for my classroom library, and in doing so, I am working to create a library that mirrors my students’ experiences while also providing a window into the values, beliefs, and experiences of other people. How might I facilitate a respectful learning community that incorporates my students’ assets in a meaningful way?
Knowing Students
In my reflection of what it means to “know students”, I have considered the ways in which I adapted curriculum and instructional tools within my student teaching placement to incorporate multicultural education. Multicultural education includes “perspectives from and content about diverse groups, embraces diverse cognitive styles, and promotes equity in a diverse society” (Friend, 2014). In my placement, I supported the assets and strengths my students brought into the classroom by incorporating my students’ values, cultures, interests, and prior knowledge into my lesson plans and instruction. The students in my classroom placement are creative, empathetic, and curious. They enjoy working together to solve problems and construct knowledge. The students in my classroom reflected a diverse range of cultures and perspectives. As an educator, I must always use my knowledge of students to inform instruction, guiding my students to build meaning and establish connections between their lives and their learning.
For mathematics and science lessons, I drew upon my students’ values and life experiences to further their understanding. I adjusted math story problems to reflect my students’ interests and class experiences. During reading, I adapted foundational comprehension questions from the curriculum to engage students in deeper analysis of a text, making text-to-self connections and applying learning to new situations. I also gave students specific feedback using a variety of tools, one of which was a feedback sticky note of “glows and grows”. The “glow” reflected student strengths and understandings. The “grow” focused on something the student was coming to understanding and posed a strategy for further growth.
Throughout my lessons, I frequently used anchor charts, gestures, and visuals to support student learning. These strategies “assist students in organizing and making sense of information that is presented verbally” (Echevarría & Short, 2013). Although all of my English as a Second or Other Language Learners (ESOL) have graduated out of the program, I still used strategies that I know are effective for ESOL students to develop academic understandings. It is important to make concepts clear and understandable for English learners. Visual aids scaffold verbal or written information while providing a reference for later use. In my classroom, I also had two students with IEP’s for reading and written expression. I adapted instruction by breaking long tasks into smaller chunks and provided graphic organizers to support written work. I also facilitated frequent check-ins to support the progress of these two learners.
An area of personal growth with regard to knowing students is continuing to practice and extend wait time during instruction. This is something that I have worked on throughout my student teaching and want to continue to grow in as I teach in my own classroom. Wait time will support all learners, especially ESOL students, by providing a space to think critically without pressure to rush or respond immediately. How can I encourage students who finish quickly or already have an answer to extend their thinking and apply it in a new way.
References
Echevarría, J., Vogt, M., & Short, D. (2013). Making content comprehensible for English learners: The SIOP model (4th ed.).
Friend, M. (2014). Special Education: Contemporary perspectives for school professionals. Boston, MA: Pearson, 4th Edition.
Hertz, C. & Mraz, K. (2018). Kids 1st from day 1. Portsmouth: Heinemann.
Kazemi, E., & Hintz, A. (2014). Intentional Talk: How to Structure and Lead Productive Mathematical Discussions. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.
Routman, R. (2003). Reading essentials. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Templeton, S., & Gehsman, K. M. (2013). Teaching reading and writing: The developmental approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.