4-2 Leadership, Participation, and Collaboration

The candidate seeks appropriate leadership roles and opportunities to take responsibility for student
learning, to collaborate with learners, families, colleagues, other school professionals, support staff,
and community members to ensure learner growth, and to advance the profession.

The candidate should complete a reflective essay detailing how they participated in the school in
terms of leadership, collaboration, other school professionals, support staff, and community
members. Artifacts detailing these relationships and activities should be included.

During my student teaching internship I constantly sought out opportunities to support my cooperating
teacher and the staff within the building. I found it vital to communicate with the staff of FRMS to
determine where I could aid the staff and how I could seek out leadership roles. It was my number one
priority to aid my cooperating teacher and seek leadership roles during my student teaching internship.
In my secondary student teaching experience I sought out duties within and outside of the
classroom to assist my cooperating teacher and assume some leadership roles. Within the school day I
wore several hats such as hall monitor, accompanist, and teacher. Each of these roles allowed me to see
the school and classroom from a different point of view. As a hall monitor I was able to build
relationships with students who were not in choir, I also became familiar with hall policies. Within the
classroom I was able to lead rehearsals, sing with the ensemble, accompany the choir on piano as well
as give and grade theory tests and quizzes. All of these opportunities allowed me to get a clear picture of
the day to day and semester long structure that ensured the class could run smoothly and efficiently.
Within my elementary placement I experienced similar and new leadership roles. Within this
experience I was given the opportunity to choreograph the second grade music program. This role
allowed me to create my own choreography that I felt would best fit the students, the songs within the
program, and the program as a whole. After I choreographed the songs I would teach the movements to
the second graders and then continue to rehearse the movements for fluency and confidence. During
the actual program I sat in front of the stage and mirrored the movements so the students could
reference me or follow along during the program. Along with choreographing for the second program I
also had the day to day experience of leading the students from the music room to P.E. The students
would line up in alphabetical order at the door and quiet down a voice level zero (no noise) once the
students were ready for the hall the first person in line would open and hold the door. The second
person in line would walk on the right side of the hallway and lead their fellow classmates in behavior
and expectations for the hallway.
Throughout my student teaching internship I sought out every opportunity I could to get to
know the students and staff more. I also sought to learn more about the school and district procedures
regarding classroom management and how they structured their school. I am grateful for every
experience I received because by the end of each placement I felt that I had left a positive mark in some
way on the school.