Monique Shaw

Elementary Education K-6

10/6/17

Submission II Reflection Essay

Introduction:

Reflecting back on my time at Pittsburg State University, I find it hard to believe that my

journey as an undergraduate is coming to an end. However, these past four years have prepared

me well for the adventure that lies ahead in effectively educating the youth of today and

generations to come. I have learned many strategies and tools in my education classes to use in

my future classroom. Through the education department, I was given the opportunity to have

numerous and valuable clinical observations and hands-on experiences within different schools

in the neighboring districts. Everything I have learned has been beneficial for my future success

as a student teacher and educator. With these classes and experiences, I have grown in many

areas of the Professional Knowledge Base. Although all areas can be improved if you have a

growth mindset, there are areas that I have identified as strengths for myself, as well as areas that

are my weaknesses.

Learners and Learning:

Knowing how students learn and using the correct tools is arguably the most important

component in being an effective teacher. One strength in this area that I have is that I both

understand students with exceptional needs and know how to use strategies and resources to

meet these needs. In my Overview of Special Education class, I learned strategies to help

students with exceptional needs succeed. One of these strategies is to differentiate my

instruction. Instead of letting the student who is gifted do the same assignment as the rest of the
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class, I can add more to the assignment to help the student grow in their learning. For a student

with ADHD, I can let them use a stress ball to squeeze during a lesson in order to help them

remain focused on the lesson.

A second strength is that I know how to design experiences using strategies that enhance

learner motivation and engagement. I worked at Crawford County Mental Health as a Challenger

employee for two years. During that time I worked with many children with behavioral and

social issues. As a group, we taught the children several skills to help them in school and the

community. I organized and oversaw some of the activities that went along with the skills. I used

meaningful praise to keep the children motivated while doing the activity. I also used techniques

such as the BIST method to keep the students engaged.

In my Intermediate Reading class with Mrs. Abbott we have been shown and given the

tools to do many lessons that enhance learner motivation and engagement. One of these

experiences is the Encyclopedia Explorer project. In partners, we were to pick one topic and

research it in the encyclopedia. Then we were to find three interesting and unique facts about the

topic. Then we presented it to the class. As a college student, it kept me engaged and motivated

to learn. I will be using this in my future classroom to get students motivated and engaged in the

learning process.

One area that I feel that I can improve on is the ability to access information about the

values of diverse cultures and communities and how to incorporate languages, experiences,

cultures, and community resources into practice. Although I have had some experience with this

in my Elementary School Social Studies class, I do not feel fully equip to incorporate it into all

parts of my future classroom. I will continue to improve on this by learning more from Mrs.

Restivo. I will also have my future students give a presentation discussing their own culture and
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background. I will learn about the town that I am teaching in and incorporate the traditions

within the area in my classroom. For example, Pleasanton, Kansas, has an annual General

Pleasanton Days. If I was teaching there, I would give a lesson giving the history of General

Pleasanton Days and teach them the importance of it.

A second area that I can improve on is that I struggle to understand how to manage the

learning environment by organizing, allocating and coordinating the resources of time and space.

This semester, I am taking a Classroom Management class with Mrs. Abbott. I am learning about

how to effectively manage my classroom and use tools and methods to create the best

environment for my students. By the end of the semester, this weakness will be stronger. The

more time I spend in my cooperating teacher’s classroom, the more effective I will be in this

area. The best way to strengthen this indicator is experience within the elementary classroom.

Content:

An effective teacher thoroughly knows the content for the grade level they are

instructing. A strength that I have in this area is that I understand that learners should question,

analyze and understand concepts from diverse perspectives. In my clinical observation in a

second grade classroom I taught two math lessons. In each lesson, I presented multiple ways to

learn the material. I used manipulatives and visuals, and gave auditory and written directions. I

provided students the opportunity to ask questions and make connections in a whole group

setting. This allowed all students to benefit and learn from the discussion.

Another strength I have is that I have a deep knowledge of student content standards and

learning progressions in the discipline(s). In many of my courses in the Education department, I

have created lesson plans based off of different grade levels and content areas. In my Primary

Reading class with Dr. Stuck, I developed and taught several lesson plans that met standards for
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first grade ELA. The lesson plans were spread throughout the course of eight weeks and I was

able to see the progression of the student’s learning in that subject area. I have also seen the

progression of students’ learning in math during my clinical observation in a second grade

classroom.

A third strength is that I realize that content knowledge is not a fixed body of facts but is

complex, culturally situated and ever-evolving. I keep abreast of new ideas and best practices in

the field. In my Elementary Social Studies course, we have been taught and given many lessons

that Mrs. Restivo has changed over the years based on the world around us. Lessons, such as

Little Rock Nine and the History of 9/11, were once lessons that did not exist simply because

they had not occurred. As a pre-service teacher, I watch the news and keep up with local events

for future lessons in order to provide the most up-to-date information for my students.

One area that I can improve on is that I do not know how to use supplementary resources

and technologies effectively to ensure accessibility and relevance for all. Although I have

worked with several online educational apps and programs, I have not worked with them in

depth. I will work towards cultivating my abilities in this area by interacting with different apps

that my students are using in my internship. I will also research the current online resources that

effective teachers are using in their classrooms to strengthen student learning.

Instructional Practice:

A strength that I can understand is the positive impact of effective descriptive feedback

and I know a variety of strategies for communicating this feedback. In my Classroom

Management class with Mrs. Abbott and my Educational Psychology class with Dr. Brannock, I

have learned that effective descriptive feedback can enhance students’ learning and confidence.

Students recognize the amount of effort you put into your grading. The more students know you
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care, the more effort students will put into learning. I have experienced effective descriptive

feedback from teachers in the education department as well as implemented it in my clinical

experiences and internship. A way to communicate feedback is to give meaningful praise to

students. This can be written or given orally. If it is written, it can be put at the end of a students’

assignment or be expressed in an individualized note to the student. Meaningful praise is most

effective when given immediately.

A second strength in the area of Instructional Practice that I have is that I have learned

several ways to engage my students in multiple ways of demonstrating knowledge and skills as

part of the assessment process. For example, in my Curriculum Development for Elementary

Education course, I learned about formative and summative assessments and how to implement

them in the classroom. Formative assessments are informal assessments that can be used in many

formats. One of the ways I have used a formative assessment was during my clinical experience

and internship. I would walk around the room observing the students while they worked on

assignments to see how they would work on problems. I would also grade different small

assignments to check their progress. One way I have seen summative assessments used in my

internship was at the beginning of the school year when I observed the students taking MAP

testing.

In my Primary Reading course with Dr. Stuck, I developed the ability to analyze

assessment data to understand patterns and gaps in learning, to guide planning and instruction

and to provide meaningful feedback. During Primary Reading, I had the opportunity to work

with two first grade students. When we met, I would give them different reading assessments to

see where they were in order to decide at what level to begin my instruction. Over the course of
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the semester, I organized and evaluated the data into an assessment analysis for each student.

This allowed me to provide instruction at their own individual ZPD.

I struggle to apply a variety of developmentally, culturally and linguistically appropriate

instructional strategies to achieve learning targets. I did take Diversity in the Classroom with Dr.

Sildus, but I have not had any experience working with students who are ELL. I have also had

very little experience working with students who are culturally different from me. To improve on

this indicator, I will review the material from Diversity in the Classroom. My aunt has been an

ESOL educator at the high school level for ten years, and she is an excellent resource for me to

ask questions about working with students who are ELL.

A second area that I have not fully developed is how to engage learners actively in the

assessment process and to develop each learner’s capacity to reflect on and communicate about

their individual progress. I have learned about the basics of student portfolios in my Foundations

of Measurement and Evaluation course. I will research student portfolios deeper in order to

improve my knowledge base. By doing this, I will be able to implement student portfolios

effectively into my future classroom.

Professional Responsibility:

In my Overview of Special Education class with Dr. Flynn, I learned the laws related to

learners’ rights and teacher responsibilities (e.g., IDEA, FERPA, mandated reporting, etc.). Dr.

Flynn taught me that all students have rights and are protected under laws such as IDEA and

FERPA. In her class, I was also able to complete ten hours of field work in a fourth grade

classroom observing and assisting a student with an IEP. In order to work through Crawford

County Mental Health, I was required to complete an eight hour training session on mandated
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reporting. I also completed online modules reviewing ways to appropriately respond to different

legal situations that may arise when working with children.

Another strength I acquired through the Education department is that I understand and

know how to use a variety of self-assessment and problem-solving strategies to analyze and

reflect on my practice and to plan for adaptations/ adjustments. In many of my courses, including

Overview of Special Education, Intermediate Reading, and my internship placement, I have

written reflections on how the session went, what I learned, and what I can do to improve upon

what I did. In my clinical experience, I was required to film myself teaching two lessons and

then watch each video and write a written reflection on how I felt I did. This included listing my

strengths and weaknesses with examples of each. By using tools I learned in these classes, I was

able to develop a plan for each of my areas of improvements and then implement them in my

teaching later.

I know how to use information and technology ethically, legally and safely. In my

Technology for the Classroom course, I learned about the laws that allow teachers to legally print

off various sources off the internet, including worksheets, poetry, and short stories. In my

internship, I have learned about how to safely set up the iPads in order for students to have the

least amount of opportunity to find a website that they should not find. In order to help with this,

I have found that is most effective to have researched the website before using it in the lesson. It

is also important to explore downloadable apps before allowing students to use them in the

classroom.

A weakness I have in this area is that I need to learn how to communicate effectively

with all members of the learning community. Although I feel comfortable talking to my

cooperating teacher and her colleagues about student learning, I have not had much experience
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talking to administration or other members of the learning community about student learning. As

a future educator, I would like to able to work closely, poised, and effectively with all members

of the learning community. In order to do this, I want to start working now to improve those

relationships with my current learning community. This way, in my future learning community, I

will have the skill solidified and feel confident about my abilities to communicate with them.

Although I understand the code of ethics and professional standards of practice, I need to

be more familiar with relevant law and policy. I will achieve this by researching various

resources. This includes family members in the education field and informational websites

regarding educational laws and policies.

Conclusion:

My educational experience at Pittsburg State University has been an insightful, positive,

and encouraging one. The knowledge and field experience I have gained through the Elementary

Education program is priceless. I know that I have been given the tools to be an effective and

powerful educator, wherever teaching takes me. Pittsburg State University holds their students to

a high level of excellence and that is one of the many reasons I chose it. After being a student

here for over four years, I am glad that Elementary Education at Pittsburg State University was

the program in which I decided to major. I look forward to implementing the strategies that have

been provided to me in student teaching as well as in my own future classroom.