Discussion of what candidate learned about teaching and learning through this Work Sample  

As my work sample came to a close, I began reflecting on the experiences I had just encountered. Each day presented a new challenge, and at times, frustrated me. I’ve found that through those challenges, I have become a better educator. Each student I will encounter throughout my teaching career will come from a different background and will present a new set of issues. My job is to find a way to help those students grow. Learning can be achieved using various strategies and methods and as a teaching staff, you find the one’s that work best for your students.

The most helpful part of this work sample was the assessment planning. Although I have had time teaching, I needed the experience of being given a standard, coming up with objectives to help students in meeting that standard, creating curriculum, and designing a pre and post assessment that truly measures those objectives and shows that my students have either met the objectives or not. Initially I thought in order to create a test, I first needed to make up my lessons. Realistically, when a teacher is teaching toward the standards, the opposite should occur. The standard and the focused objectives should guide a teacher toward the creation of their curriculum and assessments.

Having the opportunity to teach at the middle school level showed me how drastically different the age groups are between students at the elementary, middle, and high school level. Although middle school students are still young in many ways, they are also learning to be more independent and adapting to various social situations. I enjoyed being a part of the classroom during this crucial time in their lives.

This entire process had its ups and downs. The most important aspect I have learned through my teaching experience is to keep and open mind and be accepting to constructive criticism. This is not always easy to do as a professions, however, it is a necessary trait to have. This requires a person to be confident in their teaching ability and desire to help the students, however maintain a level of humility that is transparent to both their students and their coworkers.


Discussion of how data will be used in future planning

Although I won’t have the opportunity to continue working with my students at Waldo, I have had the opportunity to reflect on my unit and determine how I would continue to help the students in that classroom. If I was to continue in this classroom I would make sure to integrate essential vocabulary into my units. This would be an easy task to complete and, I believe, would increase my students’ understanding of the curriculum. An example of a method I would use would be a word wall. On this wall, I would post vocabulary words and definitions of words that may be common throughout the unit. One word I would have included in this unit would have been function. I would also use an incentive program to encourage the memorization of these words. This could be an extra credit opportunity or a reward system. Lastly, I would check for understanding throughout the unit. When asking for exit tickets I would use sentences like, “Before you leave, on a scratch piece of paper, write one function of the circulatory system.” If I saw that the students were consistently not getting the question correct, I would be able to further explore whether it was due to a lack of vocabulary or because they didn’t understand what the functions of the heart were.

I would also encourage my students to inquire about daily activities and how science is a part of the basic things they do everyday. I would have my students keep a journal about things they see happening around them that may involve science. Realistically this could be anything! This journal would encourage them to wonder about life, where it began, and why life continues to evolve in such a way. Ultimately an inquiry based model is the nature of science, and a model that is encouraged throughout many school districts. This model allows students to become more independent workers and analytical thinkers. Both of these skills are ones that are crucial to being successful later in their education and in life.

Not only is the inquiry journal a great source to encourage student reflection outside of the classroom, but it also can be used as a tool to encourage communication and collaboration between parents and teacher. This journal would be something that the student would take home every evening. Although they may not have to write in it every single night, they would be responsible for showing the journal to their parents throughout the week. This journal would also include other daily work. It would have a table of contents, notes, assignments, and a list of missing assignments and grades for completed work. An interactive journal is an easy, yet effective way to encourage parent involvement. Although providing structure in the classroom is important, if the student leaves the classroom to go home and loses all structure, they will not progress. The interactive journal can act as a bridging device between the school and home.

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