1.  Environmental and contextual factors for Maplewood Elementary:

a. Community-Maplewood Elementary School is located in a neighborhood where Industrial is the primary business zoning.  There is very little national or franchise retail.  The majority of businesses in the immediate area are small and privately owned. Many are run down or closed up entirely.  Residents of the immediate area can drive or walk one mile to reach a national retail grocery store, however it is the only big box retail grocer in the immediate area.  Next in terms of driving or walking distance is 2.3 miles from the school.

The area is rated as mostly Caucasian by StartClass.com (StartClass.com, 2015) where enrollment is listed as 659 students.  479 of those are listed as Caucasian, giving Maplewood a substantially different, less racially integrated ethnic makeup than the average for the city of Indianapolis and the MSD of Wayne Township as a whole.

73.9 % of the students at Maplewood Elementary are eligible for free lunch using the National School Lunch Program Standards, where family incomes are at or below 130% of the poverty level. (StartClass.com, 2015) Another 7.3% are eligible for reduced lunch under the same program. This is a neighborhood where property values are low, the quality of available housing is often subpar, and transient lifestyles are common.  I have students in my 4th grade classroom who are on their 3rd or 4th elementary school.  Poverty, transient living, and difficult home lives negatively impact students’ ability to fully absorb and retain the lessons.  Students who are hungry and stressed are not able to come to school fully prepared to focus on their education. 

The majority of students in my class do not have access to a computer or internet service at home.  While this is not required in order to be successful in my classroom, this is another area that places academic limits on children of poverty.  Students who have access to the internet outside of school typically use it to enrich themselves and raise their level of knowledge about the world.  This is not to say that access to the internet creates a child whose sole purpose in life is to learn and make A’s in school.  Internet access comes with risk and benefit.  As I have engaged students in highly effective learning experiences using the technology we have available in the classroom, the majority of my students have repeatedly expressed to me their desire to continue the experience at home. They express despair at the lack of matching technology in their homes. These are students who are giving me great effort in class.  They ask me for engaging materials to take home at night because they have no access to such materials once they leave school.  When they desire but are unable to spend their evenings and weekends building on what I’m teaching them, the likelihood that they forget the skills they began to master at school increases exponentially.  This has a substantial negative impact on teaching and learning.

b. District-The MSD of Wayne Township has eleven elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school, and one university high school where students can graduate with an Academic Honors high school diploma and an Associate’s Degree from Vincennes University if they earn it. The district educates over 16,000 students, placing it in the top 10% in the state of Indiana for size.

Ben Davis High School, the main high school for the district, is separated into Ben Davis Ninth Grade Center and Ben Davis High School.  They share the same campus and the same building.  The ninth graders have a separate section of the building with its own cafeteria, gymnasium, library, book store, administrators and administrative offices.  There is unlocked access to all of the high school’s many amenities, but ninth grade students are educated only with peers of their own grade level throughout the school day.  This is a future benefit to my students.  They will spend the delicate transitional years of their adolescence in a closely guarded environment consisting of only peers in their age group, thereby reducing their risk of involvement with older students who may present them with inappropriate temptations.

There are 1,185 ninth graders, plus 3,307 students in tenth through twelfth grades, giving this high school a size rating of “very large”. (StartClass.com, 2015) The school has over one million square feet under one continuous roof.  According to an article published in the Indianapolis Star July 16, 2015, the MSD of Wayne Township has 77.67% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. This is the eighth highest percent in the state of Indiana for this statistic.  (Turner, 2015) However, the district provides free breakfast to every student in grades K-9 every day regardless of the family’s qualification status.  Students in tenth through twelfth grades can purchase breakfast for $1.25.  The district also provides free lunch to students whose qualification is only for reduced price.  (The MSD of Wayne Township, 2014)

There are many challenges that arise from the sheer volume of children we’re educating each day, and the exorbitant level of poverty that exists within our community.  By centralizing our secondary educational resources into a 1,000,000 + square foot facility, we are able to offer enriching experiences to all students in our district that would not be options under a more fragmented secondary education schema.

People don’t need money to give their time, their love, and their intellect.  Students at the middle and high school level in my district have access to extensive sports, music, art, literary, and community service resources that rival many college campuses.  This creates an array of positive teaching and learning experiences for the students in my school.  Secondary students use their skills and talents to mentor elementary students.  Students at the elementary level have numerous opportunities to participate in major productions put on by students involved in theater at the high school multiple times throughout the school year.  We have art fairs, sports camps, musical productions, and community outreach projects that are sponsored by the district and run by students, teachers, and community volunteers utilizing the main high school’s vast array of modern facilities and resources.  Children of poverty can give their time and talents to other children of poverty, giving them a true sense of accomplishment and helping them realized their societal value.  Families who may not have money give their time and talent.  We create leaders who have a natural desire to help other children become leaders.  There is not a monetary value anyone could place on the positive impact this has on our entire community.

c. School

StartClass.com gives Maplewood Elementary a rating of 36 out of a possible 100 points.  This places Maplewood in the “lower than average” category, with the average school in Indiana receiving a rating of 61.  This rating is based on “several factors including college entrance exam scores, state assessment scores, and class size.” (StartClass.com, 2015) 

Maplewood serves students in grades Kindergarten through sixth grade.  55.5% are male and 44.5% are female.  The school is ranked in the bottom 10% in the state of Indiana based on students’ performance on state math and reading exams.  It ranks 962nd out of 1027 participating elementary schools based on criteria set by the state for what constitutes “proficient”. (StartClass.com, 2015)

The teacher to student ratio is rated as 15:1. (StartClass.com, 2015) However, the reality of the class sizes from my personal observation during my 12 weeks as a student teacher is that classes vary in size from 22 to 35 students for every one certified general education teacher.  It seems important to note that these national statistics count certified service providers such as Title I, Special Education, Art, Music, Gym, and Media Center teachers when quoting these statistics.  These certified staff members do not run general education classrooms, which seems to skew the accuracy of this statistic.

Larger class sizes negatively impact the learning experience for every student. One teacher spread out across a higher number of students equates to reduced one-on-one attention to each student.  I have been running a classroom of 31 students for 12 weeks.  In the four years immediately prior to student teaching, I was a service provider in this district where my students came to me in groups of 6 to 12 at a time. I have intimate first-hand knowledge of my ability to positively impact students’ learning based upon the number of students I’m educating at one time.  In years where I had only six student at a time, I was acutely aware that the effectiveness of my instruction was higher than in years where I had 12.  Now having 31 all day every day, I am acutely aware of the fact that having to spread myself so thinly has the potential to negatively impact my ability to be highly effective. 

2.  Four classroom contextual factors:

Physical features- The classroom is a square room approximately 30’ x 30’.  The south wall has windows from near the ceiling to approximately 3 feet from the floor, which becomes built-in book shelves.  The southwest corner is the teacher’s desk and storage area.  The west wall is approximately 6.5 feet of white board and 3.5 feet of chalkboard, with the remaining 6 feet of solid wall in the northwest corner open for free standing storage, etc.  The north wall divides the room from the hallway and can be utilized in various ways.  The center 10 feet of that wall currently has a long counter that holds two “Chromebox” computers and some paper trays.  Next to that is a built-in wooden double door storage cabinet, then the classroom entry/exit door. The east wall is completely consumed by student cubbies and cabinetry, all made of old-fashioned heavy, durable wood and metal hardware.

There are 31 student desks arranged mostly in table groups of four, with three students whose desks are placed in areas more distant in proximity to other students.  There is one round table with a half dozen heavy construction metal and plastic stools, and one rectangular table with inexpensive thin metal stools in bright colors.

With 31 students there is very little room to spare.  My ability to move about the room during independent practice is impeded by the lack of available walking space.  When I plan instruction, I have to think very carefully about how I will physically monitor the students during independent practice, and how much time I can reasonably give to each student or group of students during a 40 to 65 minute lesson.  The time I spend on modeling and guided practice takes away from the time I will be able to give to students as they attempt to demonstrate mastery.  I have to maximize my effectiveness while minimizing the time I spend so that I can meet the diverse needs of a larger volume of students during each learning experience.

Working to be maximally effective in direct instruction is not a bad thing.  The reality is that some concepts take a bit more time and demonstration.  This is a very delicate balance in every single lesson I teach.  There are more students to group with less space to move them.  The groups often need to be larger than what I would normally plan for certain learning experiences.  The culture within the groups is a much more delicate balance.  The abilities and needs of each learner in the group become increasingly more difficult to match with other learners when the groups get larger.  These are challenges that are unique to larger classes with students whose learning needs are diverse. Planning and reflection are crucial to my success as a highly effective teacher.

Availability of technology equipment and resources-All students have access to a Chromebook laptop assigned exclusively to them for the entire school year.  Students at this grade level are not permitted to take their Chromebook off the campus at any time for any reason.  There is a locked Chromebook storage cart sitting under the chalkboard on the west wall, where the machines are housed and charged in one central location at night and when not in use during the day.

Teachers and students use Google Classroom and its many features as part of the daily educational experience.  Students have closely guarded access to the internet at any time they are on their Chromebooks.  The district subscribes to a large number of internet-based educational tools that are used by teachers and students at no cost to the teachers or the families.  These include such resources as IXL.com, ReadTheory.com, BrainPop.com, SpellingCity.com, among many others.

This technology has had a measurable positive impact on student performance in our schools.  By minimizing the amount of instruction time teachers must give to managing paper, we are able to maximize the quality of the instruction time. We are able to utilize highly engaging electronic resources to further maximize instructional quality, effectively differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all learners, and increase student engagement with their learning experiences.

Parental involvement-The extent of parental involvement in this classroom is low.  In my personal experience as both a parent and reading instructor in my district, I have seen the positive impact of higher levels of parental involvement in the classroom and the school.  My sons are 14 and 17 years old and have spent their entire school careers in this district, where my husband and I have always been highly involved.  By giving my time to their classrooms during the school day, I was able to take mundane work off of their teachers so that they could focus more exclusively on the quality of their lesson plans.  When I was making copies, organizing, cutting, and laminating their teachers were spending more time teaching and planning instruction so every child in that classroom got a better education. I was thrilled to be able to give something of value to the process. There are almost limitless opportunities for parents/guardians to positively impact the learning experience through giving their time in the evening or on weekends as well. There is an opportunity to suit nearly anyone’s schedule, and the positive impact is real and obvious.

Students who know that their parents/guardians are in regular contact with their teachers and schools tend to work harder at managing themselves.  Even as a small group service provider I saw a very real connection between the extent of interaction I had with parents and the effort put forth by their student.  Those students whose parents got involved and communicated with me frequently were more engaged in the learning.  I believe that a high level of parental involvement improves the culture in the classroom and positively impacts student effort during the school day.

One other classroom contextual factor – This is a fourth grade classroom consisting of 31 students.  Six students receive services from the Language Assistance Program.  Two students have a 504 plan.  Three students have an IEP recommendation or in process, but various factors outside of school control impede final approval from the state. Two more students have other learning and behavioral needs.  This is considered the cluster class.  The students at this grade level in this school are dispersed so that all of the SPED students are in one classroom and most of the ELL students are in another.  This is a three classroom grade level where each classroom has 28 to 31 students. 

It is challenging to plan one lesson that addresses the needs of every learner in a group this large with such a vast array of needs and abilities.  When planning differentiation for my ELL students, I need to make sure I offer plenty of visual aids and manipulatives in order to maximize their abilities and minimize their language and cultural barriers.  However, I must consider how I’m going to prevent other students from moving or destroying those visual aids and manipulatives.  When allowing extra time for students who need it and are legally entitled to receive it, I must plan for how I’m going to occupy students who will become disruptive because the instructional pace is not active enough for them, or they simply cannot manage themselves regardless of the pace or quality of the lesson plan.  When planning challenges for higher ability students, I have to carefully consider how to manage the self-image of students who are not capable of completing those more challenging activities. 

With the availability of Chromebooks and Google Classroom, I am able to write some very engaging lesson plans and self-grading assessments that students completed entirely on their Chromebooks with absolutely no paper involved in the process.  Students really enjoy this method of instruction.  This also drastically reduces the amount of time I have to spend on tasks that do not involve actual instruction such as passing out, collecting, organizing, and grading papers.  Utilizing their Chromebooks in daily instruction gives me the opportunity to provide valuable tools to my students during each lesson that are tailored specifically to their needs and abilities.

For my higher ability learners I am able to share links to additional learning activities so that they can move seamlessly from whole class independent practice into the challenges I create for their specific abilities without leaving their seats or even a minute of waiting for me to provide them with something they need in order to continue.  For my lower ability learners and ELL students, I am able to share links to resources that will help them complete the whole class independent practice with a higher level of accuracy and completeness.  This helps to boost their self-image and keeps them feeling that they fit into the learning culture, which fosters a higher level of academic success.

4. Student skills and prior learning that may influence my development of: learning goals, instruction, and assessment.

The learning goals need to follow Indiana academic standards, taking into account contextual factors in the classroom.  The district designs pre and post-assessments that follow their mandated curriculum and are based upon the state standards for the grade level.  Students in my class have a vast array of learning needs and abilities, which presents challenges in designing instruction and assessing students in a manner that meets the expectations of district mandated curriculum and the learning needs of the students.

I chose narrative writing using the 6 Traits Process for my TWS.  I completed my TWS during the third and fourth weeks of student teaching.  I was able to spend some time observing students’ learning proficiency during my first weeks.  I have now spent 9 additional weeks teaching them full-time.  I put an enormous amount of thought and effort into planning all facets of instruction for this specific group of students.  The lessons I designed for my Narrative Writing TWS brought these students to a new level of proficiency using a writing process.

These students were accustomed to being given a writing task and completing a writing assignment mostly in one 30 to 40 minute lesson.  They had background knowledge of graphic organizers but needed instruction to effectively integrate that system into a writing assignment, where the final product takes shape over the course of days and weeks instead of minutes or hours.  Some students instantly thrived on permission to brainstorm and organize, while other students found the process extremely challenging.  My ELL students were surprised and thrown off by permission to write small phrases and thoughts, draw pictures, and not produce a finished essay at the end of the lesson.  I found that I needed to spend time explaining why the Six Traits Process is a better way to write and would help them to produce higher quality essays by giving them more time to plan the writing, examine previous work, and receive feedback from peers.

Many students were afraid to receive feedback from peers.  I modeled a process I learned from my supervising teacher called “stars and wishes” where I pair students and give them post-it notes. As their partner reads their own work aloud, the student gives the partner at least two “stars”, which are the things they did really well. They also give them at least two “wishes”, which are things they “wish” their partner would add, change, or otherwise do differently as they continue through the process.  This proved to be very valuable in alleviating fears associated with sharing our work, particularly work we don’t consider finished.

66% of my students were able to complete the lesson series meeting or exceeding the standard for every lesson objective.  89% of my students were able to complete the unit receiving a grade of 73% or higher.  Given the quantity of students in my class and their diverse needs and abilities, I was very proud of their performance and mine.  I learned a great deal from them and I have evidence that they learned a great deal from me.

Bibliography

StartClass.com. (2015, 2016). PublicSchools.StartClass.com. Retrieved March 20, 2016, from StartClass.com: http://public-schools.startclass.com/l/33053/Maplewood-Elementary-School

The MSD of Wayne Township. (2014). MSD of Wayne Township Child Nutrition Services. Retrieved March 20, 2016, from The MSD of Wayne Township: https://www.wayne.k12.in.us/childnutritionservices/pdf/free_reduced_lunch_instructions.pdf

Turner, K. (2015, July 16). Back to school: Which districts have the most, fewest students receiving free, reduced lunches? The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved March 20, 2016, from http://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2015/07/16/back-school-districts-fewest-students-receiving-free-reduced-lunches/30233449/