Full Week 2 Reflection

 Week of Reflection: Friday February 12, 2021

This week has been a 4/5! This week, my community had some of the biggest heartbreak. A couple of my students have been sick/in the hospital due to COVID, and they lost their mom due to COVID as well. I have been devastated for my students, and it has been so hard for me to know that I can only do so much to help. However, I have been encouraged by the way that my CE has facilitated community and encouraged my students. She has established such incredible relationships in that class and all of the students wrote letters of encouragement to send them until they return to class. I write about this to ask for prayer from you all for these sweet students as well. 

As for my practice this week, I conducted my BEST rehearsals yet! We had nice weather which meant that I was able to conduct more in-depth rehearsals that focused on more musical elements than I can do when it’s freezing cold and they’re distracted. I have been really focused on my student’s emotional needs this week as well. Several of them have honestly really been struggling. I think that it is very important for choir to be a safe space for my students, so I have been really honest with them and given them space for conversation where needed. In one of my classes, we are singing African Freedom Songs. I think that this has been a really good outlet for my students as well. Finally, I have had a lot of success with getting my students to engage with sight reading. I have even had several students who were willing to perform their excerpt by themself for extra credit. They all were successful which made me more confident that they are prepared to progress to the next level! My apprehension this week mostly came into play when dealing with tragedy, and I notice that I am more apprehensive on Monday and Thursday (after days off). However, I have overall noticed major improvement here.

 My short term and long term goals are aligned because I have completed my second full week. My edTPA preparation goals are also still aligned with the School of Education calendar and my long term plan. However, I need to spend a good deal of time this weekend on my assessment commentary as it has not held as much of my focus as it should have during this week. I have also had some health issues that have impacted my work this week; however, my doctor’s diagnosis and medication prescriptions should help me to feel better and get back to writing effectively this weekend. I can clear the mental clutter of preparing my lessons for next week and can shift to writing edTPA this weekend.

This week, I analyzed my student’s flipgrid assignments, reflection assignments, and their primary edTPA assessment which I am writing commentary for now. I have been pleased with my student’s growth this week!  My advice for my student teacher friends remains the same: trust yourself and treat yourself with grace! You are working hard, and you are doing good work!! Trust the process, and be kind to yourself as you grow. To add to that, please take care of yourself physically! My iron stores and several vitamin levels got low and my energy was ZAPPED. I put off going to the doctor for SO long, but I feel so much better now that I have started taking vitamins! So here’s a friendly reminder: you are not too busy to take care of yourself.

I was a teacher leader (NCTCS 1) in my classroom this week as I facilitated more effective rehearsals, in regard to how I used my class time. I had enough content to fill class periods and kept students on task effectively, providing kind but clear redirections as needed. 

I improved my NCTCS 2 standard this week by working with an EC teacher to implement new behavior intervention strategies for one of my students. Her accommodations are more in-depth than what I have previously worked with, but I think that they have really made a noticeable difference in helping her be successful. I demonstrated knowledge of my content (NCTCS 3) by teaching students complex sight reading and rhythm reading accurately this week. I planned instruction appropriate for my students (NCTCS 4) by listening to their flipgrid recordings and reviewing sections where I noticed consistent errors, and by walking around and spot checking with students. I reflected on my practice (NCTCS 5) when I realized that my students needed direct music theory instruction before progressing to another level in sight reading and modified my teaching to deepen learning by having students practice in small groups/individually instead until I can introduce the content better next week.

(Dr. Johnson and I have not yet discussed my expectations for my portfolio. My CE and I do not need additional support at this time).