Full Week 6 Reflection

 Week of Reflection: Friday March 12, 2021

I will rank this week as a 5/5. I have absolutely loved this week because I have been able to focus fully on my students, free from the looming deadline of edTPA. I expected to be experiencing some continued apprehension as I wait for scores to come back, but I have done much better with this! I have felt a weight lifted off from me which has helped me to better connect with my students. They are the best!  I have continued to be thankful for the support of my school staff, CE, and family. I have even had wonderful conversations this week with a principal at my school, and I am feeling confident with how I have been able to network here. Dr. Johnson also facilitated a virtual choir tour this week, so it has been cool to have worlds colliding a bit for my students. They have enjoyed learning about college and seeing who my professors and friends are from Gardner-Webb.

My classroom management skills have been growing. With the high school age, I have had to work very hard at keeping them on task while using positive language to keep them motivated and excited to learn. I enjoy talking with them and learning about their lives, and I have noticed that they sing more confidently because they are comfortable together. I analyzed my students perspective on choral music when grading their listening journal assignments. I also analyzed my student’s performance of sight reading melody excerpts and scaffolded their understanding of skips vs. steps to help them improve. My short term goals and my long term goals are still aligned, and it’s crazy how I am past the halfway point. Time flies! I have begun to polish up the elements of my portfolio, and I am glad that I have done some of the smaller assignments already because it is a lot more manageable. My advice for my student teacher friends: begin networking at your school if you have not already. It has been so rewarding to meet more and more people who are committed to helping me find a job! 

I was a teacher leader when I improved upon my classroom management skills to provide smoother transitions that were effective for keeping my students on task (NCTCS 1). 

 I improved my implementation of NCTCS standard two this week by encouraging my students of differing beliefs to be more respectful of each other’s perspectives during a classroom discussion. I demonstrated content knowledge by conducting effective sectional rehearsals with multiple voice parts when working on a challenging Mozart piece. I facilitated effective learning for my students (NCTCS 4) by integrating literacy into my lessons in having students complete written listening journals and written self-assessments of their performance which aligns with my Schools SIP goal of improving literacy performance. I reflected upon my practice between Monday and Tuesday when teaching 6/8 meter using ta-ka-dimi to change my delivery to be clearer for students when they struggled on Monday. I have begun filming excerpts for my portfolio video, have completed my resume, and have begun tracking my student for the classroom management portion of my portfolio. I look forward to working on my website next week! My CE and I do not need additional support at this time.