Fitzpatrick Student Teacher Blog Week #7

Week 7 of student teaching has been a very stressful week for me. Not only did I begin a new Unit, Short Jump Rope, but I have also been taping for the edTPA and I had my 2^nd observation on Thursday. On Monday my cooperating teacher received a call during my 3^rd period that her mother passed away, causing her to have to leave midway through the day. That afternoon I was watched over by either the principal or assistant principal of the school. Also, because of the passing, my cooperating teacher has been pre-occupied with family matters that I have had to take a larger command in the development of the unit lessons. Normally, this has not bothered me in the past weeks, but this unit has been the one I was most worried about because it is a very difficult lesson to teach. Trying to make sure I am hitting all the intricate points of the jump rope sequence while keeping students on task and assessing and giving useful feedback to over 20 students per class, along while attempting to make sure I am hitting the cues of the edTPA rubrics to hopefully ensure a passing grade has been a very exhausting experience.

            In class this week we began our Short jump rope unit. I spent Monday and Tuesday mainly pre-assessing the 3^rd and 4^th graders, along with reviewing the movements. In second, I have pre-tested and began reviewing the forward and backward jumps while introducing the hop on one foot and double side swing and jump (which I named Crazy 8s to make it easier). I began the lesson with a physical pre-assessment and followed up with detailed instruction of the skill movements by myself with the students following my lead. On Tuesday I completed more instruction with 1^st and 2^{nd but} spent half the time instructing and half the time allowing students to practice using a series of aids such as mirrors to concentrate on personal form, GIFs to allow them to follow the continuous video for a demonstration, and designated areas for peer evaluation. On I continued the same format on Wednesday for all classes. On Thursday, I had the students peer evaluate themselves in their Pod Spaces with neighbors evaluating each other. On Friday designated partners to each other and had the classes move around various stations, evaluating each other and allowing each other feedback on how to improve their abilities.

            One thing I did differently this week than weeks past was, at the end of each lesson, instead of asking students what they learned and enjoyed, I used the suggestion of the video watched in the seminar, and I asked the students what they improved on and what they did to improve. This was such a wonderful transition to my daily closure because not only did it settle the students by taking away their ability to take advantage of it to make jokes about friends, but it was enlightening because students were opening and sharing the knowledge I could tell they were learning in the class. Even today, my student who had been giving me the worst time until last week even shared, which he never does. I gave him an opportunity to be proud of himself, which he was, and he shared! I knew calling on him I was taking a risk, but this turned out to be one of my most glorifying moments as a student teacher so far.

            My biggest challenge lately has been something my College Supervisor and I discussed after my observation. It has been a hassle over the course of my student teaching experience, but this week it has been very difficult, and that is trying to fit the excess material into my lessons while still allowing myself enough time to effectively teach the learning task of the lesson. I agree with my cooperating teacher that health fitness and vocabulary related units are important to a full physical education program, and I most certainly will integrate these portions into my own lessons, however being new to the unit and trying to gauge how to process the information to the students while still learning some of the material myself, I found myself wrestling between time and task more than any other week thus far. I am sure as I grow as a teacher these subjects will come easier and the excess will be easier to manage, but this week it just hit me.

            In terms of new ideas and techniques/ strategies, I learned that when you have a classroom as large as a gymnasium, using a microphone to talk is awesome! The students retaliate to my voice much more effectively when it is being echoed off the walls, and I don’t have to talk as loud to be as effective. Without the need to scream, I have been able to have more fun, and I do not sound near as assertive than I had when I was not using the microphone in every class. I have also noticed that when asking random questions during active phases of the unit, like our jogging path or during practice, students can be more willing to answer when they get to speak into the microphone. There is something about speaking into the microphone for the kids that makes them feel important. It is fun for them! Even in my personal state of stress, the students seemed to have more enjoyment in my teaching style, even though, to me at least, had not changed. Although, in my honest opinion, it is not because of the microphone, but because I am not so loud, the softer tones are more inviting than the aggressive tones of a loud voice, and I believe that is what the students are feeding off.

            There is not doubt that from now on all my classes will be led with a microphone unless we are in a confined area, which I had not done, nor would have thought to do before. Also, in the week ahead, I hope to learn than, even though I had such fear of teaching jump rope, my abilities to reach students is paying off and that they are truly acquiring the knowledge I am attempting to implement to become better jump-ropers. I want more experiences like the one I had when my student shared in closure. To assist the students in gaining this knowledge, I recorded myself during my lunch performing all the necessary skills the students need to master in the class, and I am creating a PowerPoint over the weekend specifically designed to their needs of the class. I have used GIFs, but there were only a few that matched the skills the students need to know. I am hoping that by building grade specific slides, the GIFs will be a more effective tool than they had proven this week.

            My goals for the coming week are to create my GIF PowerPoint for the school, help the 2^nd graders learn to effective use peer-evaluation in the class to both aid them and their peers, aid two specific students in reaching two of more skill goals they have yet to reach in jump rope (Forward jumping and Crazy 8s), review and splice film for edTPA, begin writing Task 1 and 2 of edTPA, and video assess my 3 student subjects for final evaluation.   

            Regarding State Standard 1 – Teaching Diverse Students – I am beginning to recognize which of my students come from different backgrounds that are affecting their ability in the classrooms, namely mental disabilities such as ADHD and anxiety and socioeconomic status. Most of the students I have come across with deficiencies such as these have had the common lying factor of personal attention in the family. Almost all my students either have limited to no emotional attention from home, and most carry a sense of self-embarrassment. Taking account but never acknowledging this factor, I have been giving these students more intimate attention when teaching. Instead of instant punishment, I use instant assertive action, then will give personal positive attention followed by personal instruction of the lesson shortly after said action, at various times, so that they know they are still being cared for. I have noticed that while this does not change their instinctive personalities, it keeps them on task for that moment, and I believe if I do it enough, each moment can build onto another moment until eventually, the students will begin to understand the lesson.

            Regarding State Standard 3 – Planning for differentiated instruction – I feel I accomplished this throughout my learning environment. On my whiteboard, I hung signs and picture examples of each of the skill levels the students are participating in. I hung mirrors for students who learn through self-visual could utilize to watch themselves and compare themselves to the picture examples of the skill levels I hung next to the mirrors, I projected GIFs of some of the skills which slowed the movements down while still moving for students who need more time in breaking the skills down to study, and I allowed for peer evaluation and assessment with feedback for students who learn better from their peers as opposed to myself.

            All around, as stressed as I have been this week, I am very happy with the outcome of my student teaching experience, and truly believe this may have also been my most productive and humbling week in teacher life so far. A very good learning experience.