Jessica's+Portfolio

=** Welcome to Jessica's Electronic Portfolio **= =** Term 1 **= Key learning about Action Research:

Action research is a very new learning experience for me. I have done many kinds of research for school, but nothing like putting an "action piece " to it. I first needed to define what action reserach is in order for me to begin. I realized it is and objective and plan for children to accomplish and learn an idea or a skill. The teacher, then reflects upon the activity to improve or make changes to. From here, I needed to create a question that I am very passionate about and will want to research. I am ready for the next chapter; data collection.

4 of the 9 IDS program outcomes:

Reflection Action research Community Life History Technology

Reflection:

This has been a key piece of my learning experiences. As teachers, everyday we reflect on what went well and what may need improvements. We ask ourselves questions likes, What worked? What didn't? How can I improve or change the lesson? How can I best modify it to fit the students needs? I feel even though I have not journaled daily, I am still reflecting in my head. For this course, we have journaled our thoughts about our teaching, our students and our curriculum. This really got me to reflect or think about myself as a teacher. As part of my action reserach, I will need to begin reflecting by completing a journal, so this will be a new and exciting experience. I have always said, "I wish I would have written that down!" Now I will be, so I will see and remeber the many new things I have learned. This will hopefully help me remember this "ah ha" moments!





Action Research:

Listed above I spoke about my action research. As for action reserach, I am in a position that I may need to relook at my research question and recreate a new question that may fit the students needs.

Community Building and the Group prcesses I have learned and incorporated in the classroom:

It has been very important to build tine into your day to have "talk time" or a reflection time. I have a morning meeting time for my 3rd graders. Every morning we took time to look at our day and discuss how it may look. We also took time to talk about how we felt that day. It really set the tome of our day. I got to see first hand how the students would recact. If they were accepting of these activities and would reciprocate, or if they would rebel.

The check-ins that we have for class are very simmilar to my morning meetings with the students. I really enjoy having the check-ins, because we can hear how our colleagues are doing professionally and personally. It is good to hear how they are felling and doing. I like that we are able to piggy-back off each toher and sometimes get new ideas from one another.

The caring classroom ideas were agreat way to get new ideas to use in our classroom. I tried a few in the classroom and have posted a few pictures of the examples I have tried.







Life History:

Completing an Autobiography of myself was difficult at first. I don't like talking about myself, so it was hard to become motivated to begin. Then it was how do I begin. Once I got the idea it became easier. As I began, I started to realize how I was on the pathway to becoming a teacher. I guess I never realized how much of my life revolved around becoming a teacher. I knew my parents were a great influencedue to already being in the teachnig field, and the importance of education they have instilled in me today. This project was also a help for me to learn a new way of using technology. I have now added the voice piece to my portfolio.

Listen to my autobiography media type="file" key="001_A_001_Steinmetz_Jess R_2011_04_01.mp3" width="240" height="20"



Technology:

Technology is continuing to grow throughout our schools and one way to keep students interested and motivated is to use the new and up to date technology. I don't consider myself very technologically inclined, but I am learning. For example, I have learned how to use my Smartboard in class everyday. It is used for almost every lesson and subject. The wiki and spruz sites were very new to me this year. I have never tried a wiki and never thought I would know how, but I have come to appreciate the uses for it. I have not tried it at school yet, but I am excited to say that each day I am becoming more familiar with it. I guess that is why I decided to use it as part of my portfolio. Above you will see how I incorporated technology in my autobiography as well.

What I have learned and applied to my own teaching:

[|School: The story of Public Education]

The video we saw called: School: The story of Public Education really taught me the importance of hands on learning and prgressive teaching. All students should be able to have a chance to show what they know by choice activities. Not all students learn at the same pace or the same way developmentally, so all students should not be expected to show their learning in the same ways.

How I applied this knowledge was to use choice boards or tic-tac-toe boards for some lessons and activities for the students to learn.



Another way I incorporated differentiation was to use center rotations in math class. For example, students rotated through 3 centers, teacher center, seat work center, and game center. The teacher center was teacher directed and extra practice, the seatwork was independent review work, and finally the game center was a game played as a group and usually about the lesson learned that specific week.

Key learning "Outside of Classroom"

Carroll University GMARC Conference



I felt that I learned alot at this conference. It really gave me an overview of what lies ahead for me as far as course work, presentations, and research/data collections. What I thought was most helpful at this conference was the fact that we were able to choose the sessions we went to. I chose DEVELOPING YOUR QUESTION AND LOOKING AT RESEARCH for the first session. At this session I found it helpful to speak with other students in the program. They hapened to be in term II, while I was in term I. The students in term II really gave me some incite in to what we should definitely do while collecting data. For example, collect as much data or student samples as possible and store it in a bin or a container, and keep a daily journal. The second session I chose was THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF ACTION RESERACH. This session gave me the chance to listen to other students questions and give feed back on our thoughts after learning about what action reserach really was about.

One experience that impacted my personal/professional life:

[|Wretches and Jabberers]

The __Wretches and Jabberers__ Movie has impacted my personal and professional life. As I watched the movie, I was very awstruck by the way Tracy and Larry had communicated with one another as well as others. They were advocates for others just like them. It was amazing to me to see them interact with their computers. I wondered if the students in our district with autism use computers. I have worked with a few students with autism, but all of the students were on different ends of the spectrum, so assuming that once I learned how to work with one student, it was definitely not the same with another. I was always learning something new from each one of them. Somedays it was frustrating to see that they were trapped and didn't know how to communicate what they wanted or needed. I didn't know what do or how to help them. I gained much knowledge from each individual I have worked with.

Personal Goals: My personal goal for term II is to continue to be a life long learner as an educator and see where my action research leads me. I am excited to begin the next chapter of our research.

=** Term 2 **= Since term l, I have continued my professional growth as an educator. Below are the goals I had for the IDS program and I believe I have completed many of these goals such as learing all about being a reflective teacher, learning about political and economical issues surrounding our schools, engaging in my action research, learning about community in my classroom, my life history, many new technology uses and the growth and development of my students.
 * Personal goals from Term I: Personal Growth as a teacher **

**Key learning about the literature review:** The literature review brought me back to my college years of finding supportive information about what I am researching, editing draft after draft, and then remembering how to put the final paper into APA style/format. I gained much information about children, how their literacy develops, and building their confidence levels at these earliest stages in life. I realized by keeping a journal, taking pictures or video taping and having outside observations the learning the students have accomplished, but most of all, the learning I have done. I look back now and really see how much I have supported and guided the student along every step of the way. The students have really learned alot with me walking them through step by step everyday. I, as well as others, are amazed at what the students know and can do at this time in my classroom.



**Key learning about he Implementation and Data collection:** I have gathered 5 months of data and I am just now wondering how to organize it and analyze it. Reading the chapter in the book: The Art Of Classroom Inquiry gave a few ideas on how to organize my data. I am beginning to think about what my results might portray after reading my journals entries. As I sift through all the papers I have collected from October-February I am noticing the growth of my students. It is amazing to see what they have really accomplished in 5 months.



**4 out of the 9 outcomes:** Reflection School Issues Technology Student Growth

Reflection: I have really taken the time this term to become a ref;ective practioner. The reflective journal I have keep weekly has helped me grow as a teacher. I have noticed many things that I have changed and improved as I look back on these journal entries. I can also really see the growth of my students.

School Issues: Diane Ravtich, Alfie Kohn, Bradley Burns-Educational Pioneer [] Diane speaks about achievement gaps, parent triggers, and how closing schools solves nothing. [|Alfie Kohn] Alfie speaks about how homeowrk can be pointless and damaging. He feels learning is driven by prjects, problems and reasoning how the world works. Bradley Burns-Photo of Educational Pioneer-Caroline Pratt

Technology: This term, I have used a camcorder to record guided reading in my classroom as well as taken many photos. I have also learned how to use another wiki server called PBWorks. The PBworks is used for outside learning as well.

Student Growth: PST meetings,assesment data, implementing new programs The assessment that is attached is an assessment that I made this year. I took the 25 high frequency words that our kindergarten students need to know by the end of kindergarten.

**Assigned Text-Books, Articles, Movies**
 * RULES-Cynthia Lord **
 * JOEY PUGZA LOSES CONTRL-Jack Gantos **

These stories are about autism and ADHD. Both of these stories were very important to me, because I felt that I learned a bit more about each child's inabilities. Sometimes it had to do with the child that did not have an inability. Both books taught me about life lessons and how to accomodate for them. Everyday is a new day in teaching 5 year olds and everyday can be a challenge at times. These books helped me to open my eyes to these 2 very different conditions. I have had students with Autism and I may have had students with ADHD in the past, but these wo stories made me think about the students that I have been teaching or will teach in the near future.

**Key learning "outside of the classroom"** I really enjoyed going to everyone's school and learning about how their curriculum works as well as their daily schedules. I also liked reading and talking about what we may find in teacher's classrooms and what we don't, but possibly should.



**Key learning about my Classroom Assessment system** Every year our assessments seem to be changing and all of us need to adapt to these changes. This year we did not do all the assessments that we had to in the past, but we have added new and consistent assessments. These assessments are called AIMS WEB assessments.





**An Experience that has had an Impact on my Professional Life** The Daily 5 program that I have impleemented into my classroom as well as the reflective journal I have been keeping weekly has really impacted my teaching. I really like how this program has helped the students feel success while learning to read.





**Goals for TERM lll** **My goals for term lll are to continue to be a life long learner as well as branching out and learning more about multiculturalismand change agents.**