Week 15- Friday, April 23rd

I will give this week a 4. It is very bittersweet to be ending my teaching experience in this classroom. I never thought that I would be so ready for it to end but also want to stay awhile longer. This week was a decent week. I have been a little bit stressed with trying to finish my portfolio but I believe it is because it looks like a lot.. when in reality, most of it has already been done. 


A pleasant surprise that I received this week was gifts and lunch today from my CE and other teachers around me. I am overwhelmed with emotions and will never be able to thank them all enough for everything they have done for me. My experiences this week reminded me just how important it is to have positive relationships with your students and co-workers. Having these positive relationships has made this time very hard for me but in a positive way. My short-term efforts of finishing my portfolio are aligned with my long-term goals of successfully completing student teaching and graduating. I could have spent more time earlier in the week working on some portfolio components, this would have minimized my work load for the weekend. Apprehension and indecision impacted me as I was making my student teaching video. I was unsure of what clips to include in the video because I had several, but it finally came together. The first logical step for next week is to be finished with my portfolio and be prepared to present on Thursday. 


Some data that I analyzed this week was new grades for this six weeks. We have been working on text structure and I have been analyzing the data from those assessments to see what next steps are best for the students. One piece of advice that I can share with other student teachers is to celebrate! You are about to cross the finish line and then you’ll be walking across the stage. 


NCTCS 1: I was able to demonstrate leadership in the classroom by taking responsibility for all of my students’ learning.

NCTCS 2:  I was able to maintain a respectful environment for a diverse population of students by maintaining high expectations for all students.

NCTCS 3: I knew the content that I taught this week by using the NCSCOS to guide my lesson plans.

NCTCS 4: I facilitated learning for my students by engaging students in the lessons.

NCTCS 5: I reflected on my practice this week by meeting with my CE and reflecting with myself. 


I have completed edTPA and my student teaching video. I have been working on the rest of the portfolio components. Currently, my CE and I do not need any extra support from my supervisor.

Comments

  1. Donna SuttleApril 24, 2021 at 1:19 PM

    Melissa,
    What a special luncheon to honor you by your CE and co-workers! You are loved and will be missed!! I am sure you will everything ready for your portfolio presentation.
    I am proud of you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Madeline BranhamApril 30, 2021 at 10:47 AM

    Melissa,

    Congrats on finishing strong! I was just like you when I began the portfolio, but it all came together. It's so sweet that you had a celebratory luncheon. You are so deserving! PS: Congrats on your academic award!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 5- Friday, February 5th

      Once again, we have come to the end of another week. My mind still can't comprehend how it is going by so fast. However, I'm kind of ready to get through EdTPA and student teaching so I can hopefully get the job that I have always wanted. This past week was a 3 out of 5 for me. I was overly stressed and had a lot going on in school and outside of school. It can sometimes be difficult to balance everything. Having a life while trying to get everything done for school almost seems impossible sometimes. I'm trying to make time for myself while also doing what I need to do.      This past week was my second full week of teaching. I finished teaching my EdTPA literacy lessons and thought that they went very well. The students took a final assessment and most of them did great! It is refreshing to see evidence that your students are learning something from you. However, there are sometimes setbacks, and not all students will do as well as you hoped. In thos...
Read more

Week 6- Friday, February 12

       My third full week of student teaching has come to an end. I would rate this past week as a 3. The week wasn't bad, but it could definitely be better. It seemed like every time I turned around, there was something else that I had to do. I understand that teaching will never be an easy job, and I'm okay with that because I love it. But right now, sometimes it seems too overwhelming with all of the requirements of college and teaching. I know that even though it is hard, I will get through it.      With Valentine's Day coming up, the kids have been extra sweet and have been giving me gifts (I'm sure yours have too). This was a pleasant surprise, it makes you feel appreciated (even if it is shown through chocolate). The students have definitely gotten more comfortable with me around while still showing me respect. This makes me happier than any amount of chocolate could.  Lessons that I learned from my experiences this week are; always have ex...
Read more

Week 11- Friday, March 19th

 Once again, we have come to the end of another week. At this point, I honestly can't keep track of how long it has been. I can't believe that I will be finished with my 10 weeks in a short couple of weeks. I will give this week a 4 out of 5. It wasn't the best week but it definitely wasn't the worst. It has been getting a bit more stressful with beginning to apply for jobs and trying to wrap everything up but I know I can do it.  A pleasant surprise this week was that the county just posted several jobs on the website. So I am in the process of applying for these jobs. Hopefully, things will go well but if not, I will continue to apply. My experiences this week taught me that I will be planning a lot more lessons. All of our kids are coming back five days a week beginning on Monday. So my lesson planning document is a lot longer than usual. This tells me that I will definitely have to start planning early so that I do not overwhelm myself. My short-term efforts of stud...
Read more