Exit Performance

Description

(EPD) Report Cover Sheet



The five-year teacher certification program at Michigan State University prepares college graduates to assume
the responsibilities of beginning teaching. The program consists of a planned sequence of professional courses
and field experiences including a year-long internship after students complete their bachelor's degree. A fiveyear program enables teacher candidates to acquire a solid grounding in their teaching subjects as
undergraduates and to spend a year of guided learning to teach in a school and classroom setting. The program
meets all the requirements for the provisional elementary and secondary teaching certificate of the State of
Michigan. It also reflects state and national standards for beginning teachers.

The internship combines observation and guided practice teaching averaging about 30 hours per week with
twelve credit hours of master's degree courses. These experiences are designed to support the intern's growth
both in classroom teaching and in the performance of a teacher's other professional roles, such as working with
parents and colleagues in the school. The internship includes a sustained period of lead teaching. With the
collaborating teacher's support, the intern bears primary responsibility for planning, instruction, and
assessment.

Monica, Rachel
Intern





Robertson, Josh
Mentor Teacher




Anderson, Blythe
MSU Field Instructor

Elementary Education
Major








Donley Elementary
School Name






East Lansing Public Schools
School District

Please place an X by the correct item:

Internship Area Team Assignment:

X Elementary Education



Report prepared by:

X Mentor Teacher




Report prepared for:

X Fall & Spring Semester




Report is based on the school year:

Secondary Education

MSU Field Instructor

Fall Semester




FS15-SS16

Special Education
















Spring Semester


Date: April 27, 2016

MSU is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution

ELEMENTARY INTERN
FINAL ASSESSMENT REPORT
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF TEACHER EDUCATION
INTERN NAME: Rachel Monica
MSU NetID: monicara@msu.edu
SCHOOL: Donley Elementary
DISTRICT: East Lansing Public Schools
MAJOR: Elementary Education; Social Studies, ZS Endorsement FIELD INSTRUCTOR: Blythe Anderson
Report Prepared By: Mentor Teacher: Josh Robertson

Field Instructor: Blythe Anderson

THE INTERNSHIP SETTING

Rachel Monica completed her internship at Donley Elementary School in East Lansing, Michigan. Donley is part of
East Lansing Public Schools and is a preschool-5th grade building. Donley serves 276 students, of which 17% are
English Learners, 50% are minorities, 10% receive special education service and 54% have free or reduced meals.
Rachel worked in a third-grade classroom with 25 students. One of these students receives special education services
and seven are English Learners.
KNOWING SUBJECT MATTERS AND HOW TO TEACH THEM
Rachel is a reflective, diligent, and patient educator. She taught literacy, mathematics, social studies, and science
lessons while lead teaching. Her lessons show great thought and preparation. Rachel takes an inquiry approach to
teaching, using a cycle of assessment, planning, instructing, and reflecting. She regularly uses data to make
instructional decisions. For example, she uses the practice of student work analysis to create small groups and
differentiate math instruction, building on what each group has mastered and addressing next steps in mathematical
thinking. Rachel demonstrates both knowledge of subject matters and instructional methods.
Rachel plans with engagement in mind, designing lessons that grab students attention, provide choice and open-ended
learning opportunities, and make use of discussion strategies that enable all students to share their thinking. In a social
studies unit on Michigan, Rachel facilitated map exploration using an inquiry approach for students to discover how the
grid system works. During this unit, students created iMovie advertisements on Michigan symbols in the style of the
Pure Michigan campaign, mapped their travels across the state on a class map, and compared primary and secondary
documents on the Cuyahoga River fire. During a persuasive writing unit, Rachels students selected an issue of
concern in their daily lives at school (e.g., a recess policy requiring student to play in the field certain days), wrote
persuasive letters to address their issue, and delivered the letters to the school officials in a position to make a change.
Students were motivated by choice of topic, personal investment in the outcome of the letters, and the authentic nature
of the assignment. These examples highlight the investment Rachel makes in creating learning experiences that require
high-level thinking, encourage students to connect with the content, and stem from students interests.
WORKING WITH STUDENTS
Rachel shows a sincere interest and concern for each childs social, emotional, and academic development. She
intentionally develops relationships with her students and builds trust to establish a sense of safety. At the beginning of
the school year, she met with students and families individually to get acquainted, answer questions, and help everyone
feel more comfortable on the first day. Rachel draws on students strengths as resources, is aware of her students
individual needs, and takes measured steps to include particular students in activities and discussions. She helps
students develop strategies to cope with challenges such as high anxiety.
MSU is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution

Rachel works with students in a number of settings, including small-group instruction and individual conferences as
part of reading and math workshops. In these settings, she is able to differentiate instruction to meet the individual
needs of her students. In addition to working with the students in her class, she also works with students from the other
third-grade class during a daily flexible grouping intervention period focused on either literacy or math instruction.
With one such intervention group, Rachel extended students learning through a unit she developed with the A-Z
Mysteries series. During this unit, she established routines and guidelines for student-led discussions, and students
successfully carried out these discussions with minimal teacher prompting.
During her internship, Rachel embarked on a classroom redesign pilot with her mentor teacher to create a more flexible
and choice-based learning environment. This undertaking included reading research, collecting data on student
engagement, and eliciting input from students. These examples exemplify Rachels commitment to helping all students
be successful.
CREATING AND MANAGING A CLASSROOM LEARNING COMMUNITY
Rachel respects and values each child as an individual. She has established a community of learners, has developed
routines and procedures, and provides clarity and consistency with expectations. Rachel uses movement in transition
times and as brain breaks. For example, she plays interactive GoNoodle videos to refocus or energize students for
learning. Rachel is responsive to students and is flexible in her instructional strategies, clearly valuing opportunities for
student participation and engagement. As part of the school-wide Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports
(PBIS) system, Rachel sets expectations prior to the start of each lesson, reteaches expectations and routines regularly
throughout the year, and calls attention to positive behaviors.
Rachel has encountered a number of difficult behavior situations with a challenging class to manage and, through this
experience, has developed a number of effective, differentiated classroom management strategies. She partners with
families, the school behavior specialist, and her mentor teacher in order to develop plans as needed to set students up
for success. When behavioral issues do arrive, she seeks to understand the situation before acting and addresses
behavior concerns in a caring and consistent manner.
WORKING AND LEARNING IN A SCHOOL
In addition to working collaboratively with her mentor teacher, Rachel has been an asset to the third-grade team and
larger school community this year. She volunteers at school events, participates in district grade-level meetings, and
attended a school board meeting. She participates in school and district professional development opportunities and
those offered through Michigan State University, where she is also taking courses. Rachel is a lifelong learner,
constantly reflecting on her practice and seeking continuous improvement.
Rachel Monica is a highly qualified teacher and she has our strongest recommendation.

MSU is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution