Alex+Beres

=This wikispace logs Alex Beres's experiences in the classroom during the spring 2010 SEED 296 Paraprofessional Experience.  =

This is the first field experience of the teacher education program. Its purpose is to provide insight into the real world of teaching in the K-8 and 7-12 setting. It provides a “hands-on” experience in which students may ask questions and share concerns they may have regarding the teaching profession. The experience will provide an opportunity to observe, record, and assess student behavior, effective teaching practices, and characteristics of different learning environments appropriate for children. This course will provide structure and guidance for the students as they observe, gather information, and reflect on teaching as a career. John Dewey, one of the most famous American educators, wrote extensively about reflective teaching. He defined reflective teaching as avoiding the “routine” and “impulsive” behaviors in favor of taking the time to “give serious consideration” to our actions. According to Dewey, the intelligent person thinks before he or she acts, and action becomes deliberate and intentional. In order for students to secure knowledge and insight from the field experience, their observations and participation have to be made with careful, analytical, and deliberate planning. Paraprofessional students develop their leadership skills while contributing to, learning from and influencing the learning of others.  [|2010SyllabusPara.pdf] [|ParaChecklist.doc]

Placement Course List Goals Contextual Factors FBS Interview Observation of Effective Teaching Lesson Plan, Analysis of Lesson Plan, FBS Feedback form for independent lesson Resume Working Journal Recorded Activities Time Sheet

**Alex Beres's Fall 2009 Paraprofessional Placement** Back to Syllabus and Contents List
 * School: || Canton High School ||
 * Field-based supervisor: || Thomas Merriman ||
 * Content area or grade level: || 9-12 ||
 * FBS e-mail address: || Thomas.Merriman@k12.sd.us ||
 * FBS phone: || (605) 764-2706 ||
 * USD instructor || Mary Collins, Phone: 605-677-5155, e-mail: mary.collins@usd.edu ||

**Course List** The course list is a list of all of the courses you have taken, including the ones in which you are currently enrolled. Use a table format and categorize courses in sections. In each section, list the prefixes alphabetically, i.e. ENGL before ESCI. If you have multiple courses with the same prefix, list them in numerical order, i.e. PE 100, PE 271, PE 354, PE 468. Please refer to Rita Book's example. Be sure your name is at the top of the page. Link the course list to the title of this section. It will also go in your electronic portfolio.

=** Goals **=

Write 3 SMART goals that you would like to accomplish during your field based experience this semester. These achievable goals should be based on School of Education Standards (available in Content and Materials).


 * S**pecific
 * M**easurable
 * A**ttainable
 * R**ealistic/**R**elevant
 * T**imely/**T**imebound

Effectively create a group project to help students comprehend information Standard: Manages and Motivates**
 * __Goal 1:__

Evaluate communication between my FBS and students Standard: Communication**
 * __Goal 2__

Edit or alter a pre-made lesson plan to adhere to the needs of the students Standard: Plans for Instruction**
 * __Goal 3__

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**Contextual Factors**

** TASK ** Write a description of your paraprofessional placement. In your description, include the following: The rubric is on the Contents and Materials page. Back to Syllabus and Contents List
 * **Community, district, and school factors:** Address geographic location, community and school population, socio-economic profile and race/ethnicity. You might also address such things as stability of community, political climate, community support for education, and other environmental factors.
 * **Classroom factors:** Address physical features, availability of technology equipment and resources and the extent of parental involvement. You might also discuss other relevant factors such as classroom rules and routines, grouping patterns, scheduling and classroom arrangements.
 * **Student characteristics:** Address student characteristics you must consider as you design instruction and assess learning. Include factors such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, special needs, achievement/developmental levels, culture, language, interests, learning styles/modalities or students/skill levels.
 * **Instructional implications.** Address how contextual characteristics of the community, classroom and students have implications for instruction.

=** Professional Interview of FBS **=

a. Format: word processed b. Recommended length: 1-2 pages c. Include:
 * 1) 5 professional questions
 * 2) Field-based supervisor’s responses to the 5 professional questions
 * 3) Description of how the responses relate to the corresponding SOE standards.

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**Observation of Effective Teaching**

Record your observation of the following ten categories. Use this wiki throughout your placement; remember that these situations will not occur in one day. Record the date(s) of the observation and a paragraph description of the methods/strategies observed. - My FBS includes a five minute journal entry at the beginning of his english 2 class. This provides him the time to take attendance and allows for the students to start thinking about english. The journal entry will factor in something that the class has been learning about.
 * Criteria for Observation of Effective Teaching **
 * Time Effectiveness **
 * 1. Focus **
 * Date of observation: 3/8/10 **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(The teacher provides a brief transition or preparation activity during the time that students are arriving or switching from the activity just finished to a new activity. //Example//: The teacher puts new vocabulary words on the board for students to define while taking roll.) **

The teacher incorporates the innovative tools that google offers free via website. Mr. Merriman explained knowing how to use this program will help them adapt and understand new technologies. Using google also gives students the chance to use different programs for word processing and presentations.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">2. Objective/Purpose **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Date of observation: 3/8/10 **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(The teacher states objectives for the lesson and/or identifies for students why the lesson is important and useful. //Example://"Today we are going to learn about fire safety so you know how to make your own home safer from fire.") **

While going over the google document site, my FBS would explain questions of the students to the whole class. If someone were to answer a question that was effective to learning about the program, then Mr. Merriman would re-iterate this to the entire class.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">3. Monitoring/Adjusting **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Date of observation: 3/8/10 **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(The teacher takes the time during instruction to make certain that students understand the material being presented and does what is necessary to be understood. //Example//: The teacher puts another math problem on the board to demonstrate a formula after student questions.)) **

- The students who were taught the google document program were assigned a presentation to work on during the following weeks. During this time, we reviewed the students presentations and were able to evaluate their comprehension of google docs.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">4. Guided Practice **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Date of observation: 3/22/10 **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(Students are given opportunities to practice the behavior specified in the objective(s) after the instruction has been presented.//Example//: Everyone measures chemicals in science, then has teacher check to see that measurements are correct before moving on.) **

- The students received a work week to fulfill their online assignments. This allowed for the students to work on their own or with groups and finish their presentations.
 * <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: center;">Student Motivation **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">5. Independent Practice **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Date of observation: 3/22/10 **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(Students can perform the desired behavior on their own. //Example//: Students are working on their own without teacher assistance.) **


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">6. Student Interest/Motivation **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Date of observation: **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(The teacher's instruction results in sustained student interest and students seem to be enjoying the task. Few, if any, discipline problems.) **

- In my FBS's journalism class, every time a yearbook page was finished by a student they would all stand up and have a mini ceremony deeming the page complete. He would cross the page off on a checklist poster and celebrate the completion. The students were proud to finish assignments and this helped them stay motivated to meet necessary deadlines.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">7. Student Involvement **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Date of observation: 5/3/10 **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(The teacher makes student involvement an essential part of the learning process by both providing opportunities for it and obtaining it.) **

- The journalism class is very productive! They are all assigned individual assignments and encouraged to help each other with ideas that will improve the yearbook. Each student has specific assignments but they can work on their own terms to complete each page. Students could help each other and switch assignments to fit their comfort level. They would sit in on each others ideas and provide analysis to each page.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">8. Classroom Climate **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Date of observation: 5/3/10 **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(The atmosphere and appearance of the classroom is welcoming and conducive to learning.) **

During the remaining weeks of school, students had a packet assignment to review and prepare for the semester test. If a student struggled during a part of the packet, Mr. Merriman would encourage them to succeed and ask the questions to make the topic more clear. Specifically, students who had trouble with grammar would be paired with other students to teach themselves the proper form of phrases.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">9. Constructive Criticism **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Date of observation: 5/10/10 **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(While letting the student know that his/her response is incorrect, the teacher does something to help the student maintain his/her self-worth.) **

This day was a workday for the semester test review packet. Mr. Merriman would group students together to learn about different parts of the assignments and prepare them for that portion of the tests. The grouping portion of the day was vital because this gave students the time to understand topic areas they were having difficulties with. Back to Syllabus and Contents List
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">10. Prompts **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Date of observation: 5/10/10 **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(When students need help, the teacher asks questions or provides suggestions which point the learner toward the correct answer.) **

=** Lesson Plan and Analysis **= =**<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Link your lesson plan and analysis to the title of this section. (You do not need to hand in anything from the lesson that you co-teach.) You will hand in a hard copy of the FBS feedback form from the lesson. **= Back to Syllabus and Contents List

=** Resume **= <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: left;">Link your resume to the title of this section. Back to Syllabus and Contents List

=** Working Journal: Four Journal Entries **=

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">Framework for Writing - Use this format of **Description**, **Analysis**, and **Reflection** for __each__ of the four entries. One entry should describe your work with an individual or group of students; one entry should describe your creation of a bulletin board or PowerPoint, or your use of the internet for researching material for a lesson; one entry should describe the lesson you cooperatively teach with the Field Based Supervisor; and one entry can be an observation/interaction of your choice.

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=** 30 hours of field-based classroom participation **=
 * **Date** || **<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Hours ** || **<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Description of my activities/participation in the classroom.... ** ||
 * 3/8 || 8 || First full day of observation ||
 * 3/22 || 6 || Observed with cooperative lesson ||
 * 3/29 || 3 || Taught grammar lesson ||
 * 5/3 || 5 || Observed ||
 * 5/10 || 4 || Observed and monitored study hall ||
 * 5/17 || 4 || Completed observation ||
 * || 30 ||  ||
 * || 30 ||  ||

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