Taylor Sunderland

Elementary Education

3 March 2018

Submission II Reflection

Introduction

As my time at Pittsburg State University is nearing its end, I am eager to apply the knowledge

and experiences that the College of Education has given me, as I begin the next step in becoming

an Educator. The professors within the College of Education have equipped me with a well

rounded curriculum that has provided with me a strong foundation of what it takes to be an

effective teacher. Not only have they taught me the content necessary, they have set forth

specific strategies to reach the various kinds of learners and how to appropriately assess each of

them. When reflecting on the kind of professional I was upon entering the program to where I am

now, I have gained a set of skills allowing me to be proficient in areas of the Professional

Knowledge Base. But despite my hard work and continuous effort, there are still areas where I

can improve on. Included below are my current qualifications and professional plan to become

more qualified for my future endeavor.

The Learner and Learning

Within this section, I am considerably proficient in many areas. One of my strongest areas is

understanding how to work with students with exceptional needs and knowing how to use

strategies and resources to meet those needs. In SPED 510, I learned how to differentiate lessons

and activities to meet the needs of those who need adaptations to be made. Part of the class’

requirement was to complete ten hours working with a student who was considered gifted or who

was below target level. I had the opportunity to work one on one with a child who was hard of
hearing. She was considered below target level in mathematics and reading. During our time

together, we would primarily spend it practicing reading aloud and completing comprehension

tests. During the lessons I taught, I would wear a small microphone that clipped to my shirt near

my mouth and the child who was hard of hearing would attach a small device to her hearing aids

that were speakers for her to hear better during instruction time. She did not wear the

attachments all the time, but specifically while myself or the teacher was in front instructing.

Prior to my clinical experience, I did not have any experience with this kind of learner. I consider

my time working with her to be of great value for my future.

Another strength in this area is knowing the necessary processes to foster a respectful learning

community. One of the required texts in Classroom Management, “Harry Wong’s First day of

School,” listed the do’s and don'ts when starting out each year. Some of the important aspects of

the book were how important the first day is, how to be consistent and other classroom

techniques to maintain a respectful learning environment for all. I firmly believe that having a

good grasp on this Knowledge Base indicator will be a huge key to my success as a new teacher

and going forward into my career.

One area that I seek improvement on is the ability to identify different approaches to learning

and performance and how to design experiences that incorporate each individual’s strengths to

promote growth. In Early Childhood Foundations and Curriculum, we learned the various

learning styles. We learned that each person is capable of learning in every style but are more

likely to learn better in their preferred style. I have not had the chance yet to be able to

incorporate more than one learning style in my lessons, only having a minimal opportunity to

teach across subjects. During my Professional semester, while having more reigns on the lessons

being taught, I will practice incorporating multiple learning styles in all subjects.
I had the opportunity to teach summer school this past summer, and was the primary teacher for

all of 3rd grade at my location. I was responsible for 31 students most days. I learned a lot in that

short six week span. After this experience, I feel as if my knowledge on how to access

information about the values of diverse cultures and communities and my ability to incorporate

languages, experiences, cultures, and community resources into practice immensely became

stronger. I worked closely with the ESOL teacher on how to communicate key information about

summer school with the Spanish speaking families of the students in my class. For example, the

ESOL teacher would translate important fliers being sent home with each student from English

to Spanish for my ELL students. After seeing these kind of alterations first hand, I am more

aware of the extra effort it takes to being able to effectively communicate with your students’

family.

Content

In this portion of the Professional Knowledge Base, an indicator that Stem Education helped

increase my overall knowledge in was how to use supplemental resources and technologies

effectively to ensure accessibility and relevance to all. We spent time exploring how to

incorporate Stem and hands on activities across different curriculums. Our class split into groups

to create a Stem lesson to teach to each fourth grade class from George Nettles Elementary here

in town. Our lessons ranged from how circuits work, the six simple machines, and different

aspects of bridges that are necessary for it to be sturdy. While co-teaching, we made it a point to

relate our Stem lesson specifically back to the fourth grade students’ lives.

Another indicator within this area that I consider a strength is realizing that content knowledge is

not a fixed body of facts, but is complex, culturally situated and ever evolving and updates with

newly introduced best practices. In EDUC 360, we dissected curriculum best fit for our students.
The class also covered how to interpret the curriculum and standards into objectives to be taught.

Throughout the entire program, many classes have covered varying aspects of content

knowledge evolving when new best practices emerge to better the field of education. But to

ensure that I am knowledgeable and implementing those best practices, I will often attend

professional workshops to better myself.

I am confident in my knowledge of content standards and learning progressions in the discipline.

This indicator became concrete during EDUC 366. When learning the fundamentals of reading,

we started with the very basics such as identifying letters, segmenting and the overall phonemic

awareness. By exploring in depth the basic fundamentals, it stood out as a future educator how

important it is to teach the beginning steps to reading before a student is able to advance to

something like, comprehension.

After observing in my internship, it is not common to see questioning, analyzing or

understanding concepts from diverse perspectives during instructional time. Currently in EDUC

361, we are discussing the Standards for Mathematical Practice and how to bring a student to

their answer through problem solving and inquiry math. Teaching those necessary skills, will not

only allow them to master their current math problem but also when applying it to future

situations. Still learning how to implement this strategy into everyday math lessons, I consider

there to be room for growth. In the future, when given a teacher handbook that corresponds with

my students’ textbooks or workbooks, I will investigate the kind of questions being

asked, identify any analyzing occurring or an opportunity for new learning from a diverse

perspective prior. By doing so, I would have the ability to add things to important math lessons

that require a more developed thought process or ask my school’s principal for an exemplar
teacher for this kind of teaching style to mentor me to gain a deeper understanding and aid me

when incorporating it into my instruction.

During the class EDUC 362, one of our first assignments was to address common

misconceptions about a selected scientific term or theory. When completing the misconception

paper, I embraced this idea as a new understanding or part to learning a new concept or teaching

it to your students. I am seeking another opportunity to interpret all the assumptions and debates

when addressing major concepts that are central to discipline because of my own lack of

familiarity. Therefore, when hired for my first teaching position, I will ask the principal for a

mentor teacher who has many years of experience to aid me. Asking for an experienced teacher

will allow me to learn from them how they address common debates and different assumptions

that come up year after year or newly arise about major key concepts.

Instructional Practice

Throughout this program, I have taken many courses involving assessments that has provided

me with a proficient amount of knowledge and knowing how to engage learners in multiple ways

of demonstrating knowledge and skills as a part of the assessment process. I first learned some of

the kinds of assessments students’ are given during Primary Reading. During practicum, we

practiced giving our students individual assessments that then was a gateway for us to see where

they were level-wise. But in EDUC 464 we delve into the depths of assessment and then sifted

through examples to determine how to properly assess our students in the best possible way in

varying situations, which is why I now know how to specifically analyze assessment data to

understand patterns and gaps in learning, to guide planning and instruction and to provide

meaningful feedback. In class, we compared different examples of assessments given to children

to find the commonalities between them that are either effective or ineffective. I was present
when my internship class was doing KNEA testing and monitored on my cooperating teacher’s

program the commonly missed questions and the content the question was covering as each

student was testing. By having that information at your fingertips instantly, it allows the teacher

to decide whether to go back and reteach certain things or how to incorporate it in future lessons.

Being able to take what I have been taught and be able to apply it and see its effectiveness is

extremely fulfilling. An example of this kind of moment correlates with the indicator regarding

the understanding of positive impact of effective, descriptive feedback and knowing of strategies

for communicating feedback. In this program, I have learned the difference between empty

praises and meaningful praises. By giving a student a specific praise or feedback, they will

recognize that their behavior is what their teacher is wanting. Children are natural pleasers,

especially of those older them. I was instructed to try giving meaningful praise during

Intermediate Reading practicum to each of my students and then in an exercise in Classroom

Management to practice in our internship as well. I quickly learned that empty praises confuse

the child on what you’re recognizing as the good behavior. It’s also important knowing how to

communicate feedback that isn’t always positive. In Classroom Management, we practiced a

recommended method when approaching an upset parents and how to go about it the most

effective way.

Although, I have had a few classroom experiences thus far, I am still on the pursuit to be become

stronger in knowing how to apply a variety of developmentally, culturally, and linguistically

appropriate strategies to achieve learning goals. Following being hired, I will reach out to my

team and discuss different strategies in place and that work well when planning out the units in

each subject for the year. So far in my classroom experiences, I have not had the opportunity to
apply a variety of cultural or linguistic instructional strategies but think meeting with my fellow

team teachers would provide me with insight on when and how to.

One thing that will rely on where I am hired on in the future will be the technology my class will

have access to. By learning what is available, I will know what I have to use to engage my

students in using technology tools to teach a range of skills to access, interpret, evaluate and

apply information found. This is an area where I am comfortable with my ability to engage my

students using technology, but would like to be confident in my ability. When I have my own

classroom, I will spend time getting acclimated with the technology I have, to properly

incorporate it in my instruction to avoid it being disruptive to my classroom learning

environment. By gaining that confidence, I will be able to teach my students how be smart

researchers!

Professional Responsibility

Throughout my time in the program, I have learned many aspects of what it means to be a

professional and have grown immensely. In many courses in the College of Education, reflection

is a key aspect. When implementing new best practices, strategies to try when working with

different kinds of learners, or various forms of assessments there is typically a reflection to

follow. For me, it is beneficial to use as an outlet to debrief my experiences, new insights and

questions I still have. I know a variety of self-assessment and problem-solving strategies to

analyze and reflect on my practices and how to properly plan adjustments/adaptations. By

receiving feedback on our classwork throughout our classes in the program, I have been able to

become a better judge what works and where I can improve. I know that this is a profession that

requires flexibility because not every day is the same and unexpected things come up, so I

consider this indicator to be one of my greatest strengths.

In one of the first courses you take in the Program, Explorations in Education, you are advised

on how to use technology ethically, legally and safely. Part of this specific discussion is to

inform you of how your presence online can either hinder you or help you, all depending on how

educated you are on possible consequences to follow from what you share. Ever since this

discussion, this indicator has been a solid understanding for me.

In my internship, I have been able to see first hand how it looks to be a departmentalized teacher

or to co-teach. Working this closely with another teacher requires the understanding on how to

effectively communicate with all members of the learning community. Being departmentalized,

includes teaching certain subjects to your homeroom class and then another group of students. It

is crucial to communicate amongst other teachers and support staff at your school. One thing I

think works well at my internship is that every teacher sends a clipboard with their homeroom

class when they leave the room to share absences or other key information regarding the class

with the teacher who now has them. Poor communication leads to errors that can be easily

avoidable. Having this understanding early on, gives me the skill set to work with others in the

learning community in my future school.

Through my first clinical experience, I was introduced to a different aspect of what this

profession entails. This concept was the teacher’s responsibilities regarding laws related to

learners’ rights such as IDEA, FERPA, and mandated reporting. Then in SPED 510, we spent

time reviewing common laws in place and what a mandated report is and when to be one. But

this is an area, where I would like to become more knowledgeable in. To become a stronger

advocate for my future students, I will look up what my district policies are, to then research

what laws are in place that support those policies. School is a safe place for children to be, and

part of keeping our students safe is following guidelines to ensure their safety and well-being.
The common culture that supports high expectations for student learning is important for each

student to reach their full potential and to be prepared as they progress. I feel once I begin my

professional semester, I can ask my cooperating teacher how he/she motivates each to student to

comply with his/her high expectations and to gain a deeper overall understanding on how this

works.

Conclusion

As I soon enter my final semester, I find myself doubting that my time here is already shortly

coming to an end. I reflect on how far I have come, the amount of knowledge gained and

continuous support and am quickly reminded that just because my schooling is quickly coming

to an end, that I couldn’t be more ready for my new beginning. Feeling this ready, only means

that I have been well prepared and challenged to be my best. I am eager to take what the last few

years have taught me and apply it in my own classroom. Although, I feel confident in my skills

and drive, I do recognize that there is always room to improve. I will encourage my students to

be lifelong learners by being a role model of one.