Reflective Urban Educator
Effective urban educators are Reflective Practitioners who can accurately assess themselves and develop plans for improvement.
InTASC Standards
Standard #9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice
The teacher engages in ongoing professional learning and uses evidence to continually evaluate his/her practice, particularly the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (learners, families, other professionals, and the community), and adapts practice to meet the needs of each learner.
The teacher engages in ongoing professional learning and uses evidence to continually evaluate his/her practice, particularly the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (learners, families, other professionals, and the community), and adapts practice to meet the needs of each learner.
I am an instinctive and natural teacher. This is what I was born to do with my life. While I am getting my MAT as a second career, I have spent most of my adult life teaching in some capacity or another. As a teacher, I need to assess myself. I do this in several different ways. Are my students progressing towards their goals? If not, what do I need to do differently to teach them? If yes, stay the course. What do those around me say about what I am doing in the classroom? This group includes other teachers, parents, assistants, administrators and most importantly my students. Their comments and observations are invaluable to me as they give me a different perspective on teaching and learning. Are the processes that I have put into place effective and working well? Not everything we try will work, so teaching must be a process of trying and modifying and trying again until you find what works for each student and class.
As a second-career teacher, I bring many individual strengths to the classroom. I am a parent of a special needs student. This allows me to have a unique perspective that many Special Education teachers do not have. I have been on both sides of the IEP table and this makes me more approachable to parents. I work very hard at establishing good working relationships with parents, staff and most importantly the students. I rely on the Golden Rule and try and treat people the way I would want to be treated.
I love to learn and am always looking for ways to improve myself, my classroom and those around me. I am famous for sending emails with tips and ideas to parents and other staff. I am loving, innovative and creative. I am hard working and full of grace.
Like any teacher, I have my areas of weaknesses that I need to work on to be an even better teacher and human being. There are days that others see my grace as not being strict enough. I try hard to balance the two and provide the right amount of discipline in the classroom. Physically, I need to get into better shape. I am losing the weight and exercising more. I am wearing a Fitbit to and using this to monitor not only my exercise, but also my food consumption.
There are days that I feel that I am scattered and I need to spend more time planning and following through on the plans I have made. To combat this, I have set up a weekly calendar with all of the assignments and assessments that are schedule for the week. I have a page for each grade with a spot of each teacher. At the beginning of the week, I check the teachers’ websites and email the teachers to find out their plans. This allows me to not only make sure that my students are prepared for what is expected of them in the gen ed setting, but it also gives me time to plan for the modification and adaption of assignments that may be necessary. Like many of my students, I find that I do better when I have a schedule and I follow it on a consistent basis.
My professional development has been limited to a few district wide training opportunities during my long-term subbing experiences. One to the district wide trainings I attended was in November, 2013. The district set up a day of peer-led training with a key-note speaker. I participated in two different seminars: incorporating ULS (Unique Learning Systems) into a categorical classroom. This session provided practical tips for the implantation of this newer Common Core-aligned, special ed. curriculum. The other session was on current legal issues found in Special Education and was presented by the district’s lawyer. The question and answer format allowed us to ask a variety of questions we had regarding FERPA and IDEA. The day was very informative and I gained some very practical knowledge.
In my current student teaching placement, I am a resource room setting and we collaborate with two different math teachers. I learn so much from watching and listening to these two veteran teachers. As an observational learner, I gain many insights and ideas this way. I find that my development continues in all sorts of school settings as I sit back and listen to those around me, both students and other teachers. We also have Professional Learning Community time each Monday morning which allows me to experience new and different perspectives of my chosen profession.
The following are examples of my reflective nature.
At the end of the day, I have grown and changed not only as a teacher but as a person. I’m finding that I am much more observant than I once was and that I take the time to reflect on students and situations. I have grown to be a reflective urban educator who is committed to diversity. I can’t wait to go out and teach!
As a second-career teacher, I bring many individual strengths to the classroom. I am a parent of a special needs student. This allows me to have a unique perspective that many Special Education teachers do not have. I have been on both sides of the IEP table and this makes me more approachable to parents. I work very hard at establishing good working relationships with parents, staff and most importantly the students. I rely on the Golden Rule and try and treat people the way I would want to be treated.
I love to learn and am always looking for ways to improve myself, my classroom and those around me. I am famous for sending emails with tips and ideas to parents and other staff. I am loving, innovative and creative. I am hard working and full of grace.
Like any teacher, I have my areas of weaknesses that I need to work on to be an even better teacher and human being. There are days that others see my grace as not being strict enough. I try hard to balance the two and provide the right amount of discipline in the classroom. Physically, I need to get into better shape. I am losing the weight and exercising more. I am wearing a Fitbit to and using this to monitor not only my exercise, but also my food consumption.
There are days that I feel that I am scattered and I need to spend more time planning and following through on the plans I have made. To combat this, I have set up a weekly calendar with all of the assignments and assessments that are schedule for the week. I have a page for each grade with a spot of each teacher. At the beginning of the week, I check the teachers’ websites and email the teachers to find out their plans. This allows me to not only make sure that my students are prepared for what is expected of them in the gen ed setting, but it also gives me time to plan for the modification and adaption of assignments that may be necessary. Like many of my students, I find that I do better when I have a schedule and I follow it on a consistent basis.
My professional development has been limited to a few district wide training opportunities during my long-term subbing experiences. One to the district wide trainings I attended was in November, 2013. The district set up a day of peer-led training with a key-note speaker. I participated in two different seminars: incorporating ULS (Unique Learning Systems) into a categorical classroom. This session provided practical tips for the implantation of this newer Common Core-aligned, special ed. curriculum. The other session was on current legal issues found in Special Education and was presented by the district’s lawyer. The question and answer format allowed us to ask a variety of questions we had regarding FERPA and IDEA. The day was very informative and I gained some very practical knowledge.
In my current student teaching placement, I am a resource room setting and we collaborate with two different math teachers. I learn so much from watching and listening to these two veteran teachers. As an observational learner, I gain many insights and ideas this way. I find that my development continues in all sorts of school settings as I sit back and listen to those around me, both students and other teachers. We also have Professional Learning Community time each Monday morning which allows me to experience new and different perspectives of my chosen profession.
The following are examples of my reflective nature.
- Final General Education Reflective Journal Entry
- Teaching and Learning Statement
- Article_ Review
- Summative and Formative Assessments
- Principal Interview
- Most Challenging/Most Rewarding
- A Successful Teacher
- Differentiation
- Case Study - Kevin
- Case Study - Patrick
At the end of the day, I have grown and changed not only as a teacher but as a person. I’m finding that I am much more observant than I once was and that I take the time to reflect on students and situations. I have grown to be a reflective urban educator who is committed to diversity. I can’t wait to go out and teach!