Sarah+Clayborne

=**This wikispace logs Sarah Clayborne's experiences in the classroom during the spring 2010 ELED 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. 

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

**Sarah Clayborne's Fall 2009 Paraprofessional Placement** Back to Syllabus and Contents List
 * School: || Beadle Elementary ||
 * Field-based supervisor: || Mrs. Messler ||
 * Content area or grade level: || 1st Grade ||
 * FBS e-mail address: ||  ||
 * FBS phone: || 605-660-5064 ||
 * 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 I have taken, including the ones in which i'm currently enrolled in. 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. Upload your course list and put a link to it in this section. It will also go in your electronic portfolio. Back to Syllabus and Contents List

= 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

Standard:**
 * __Goal 1__

Standard:**
 * __Goal 2__

Standard:**
 * __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. Upload your paper and put a link to it in this section.
 * **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.



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= 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.

Upload your paper and put a link to it in this section. Back to Syllabus and Contents List

**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.
 * Criteria for Observation of Effective Teaching **
 * Time Effectiveness **
 * 1. Focus **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Date of observation: ** 02/25/10

Mrs. Messler has a great activity that she does to gain the focus of her students in the morning. Every day when the students first come in, Mrs. Messler plays two songs for the students to sing along to. At the beginning of the year, she taught the students the sign language and actions to the songs. The students are required to perform the sign language and sing along to the songs. This activity provides a transition from play time to school time. It also allows Mrs. Messler to take attendance and prepare for the lesson she has planned.
 * <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.) **


 * <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: ** 03/09/10

Mrs. Messler was teaching a science lesson about heat. She was doing an experiment with hot water and cold water in metal, Styrofoam, and plastic cups. Before beginning this lesson, she stated the objective of the experiment. The objective was for students to understand why certain materials are better conductors of heat. This objective not only enhances the student's knowledge about the specific materials, it also gives the students useful information about safety with handling hot materials.
 * <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.") **


 * <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: ** 03/08/10

The students have been taking turns to read Reading Counts books to the class. After these books are read, the students take a quiz over the books on the Smart Board. The students will go up to the Smart Board to answer the questions. At the end of the quiz, the students can immediately see their score. If the students answer any question wrong, Mrs. Messler will allow the students to find the correct answer. They also will discuss not only which answer is right, but also why it is right. This discussion will help students to better understand the material.
 * <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.)) **


 * <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: ** 03/09/10

The students wrote journal entries about why music is important to them. These journal entries would be displayed in the hallway when they were finished. Before the students could have their work displayed in the hallway, Mrs. Messler had me check their work to make sure that there were no spelling or grammatical errors.
 * <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.) **


 * <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: 03/08/10 **

Today the students were working on writing. To practice writing, the teacher has the students write journal entries. The teacher wrote a prompt on the Smart Board for the students to write about. Instead of helping the students write their journal entries, the teacher let them write on their own. The teacher put on music while the students were working, creating a relaxing environment for writing.
 * <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: 03/08/10 **

The students were particularly interested in the reading lesson that was taught today. They were choral reading the book about dinosaurs for this lesson. During the choral read, Mrs. Messler would stop at certain points and have the students discuss what was happening in the book. For example, at one point she stopped to have the students explain what skyscrapers were. They were enthusiastic about participating in the discussion. The students remained on task and engaged during the lesson. <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.)**


 * <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: 3/18/10 **

Today during a math lesson, the students were actively involved in their learning. The teacher uses the Smart Board frequently. In this math lesson, she had uploaded the worksheet that the students were doing on the Smart Board. Instead of having the students do the worksheet at their desks, she had students come up to the Smart Board and do the problems. After the students do a problem on the board, she gives the a reward of 2 m&ms. To make sure no student is left out, she has a cup of sticks that of the student's names written on them. To be fair, she will draw the sticks so that each student has a turn to participate.
 * <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.) **


 * <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: ** 02/25-03/24/10

Mrs. Messler does an excellent job of keeping her classroom environment warm and inviting to her students. I have never once seen the students look or feel uncomfortable in the classroom. Mrs. Messler uses a variety of activities to keep the environment of the classroom conductive to learning. The room is set up in a way that the students will stay on task, but are also close enough to help each other on work when they need it. This accessibility to other students and the teacher helps the environment to be a positive one.
 * <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.) **


 * <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: ** 03/09/10

The students were being taught a lesson on heat. The teacher asked the students what things produced heat. The students came up with a variety of answers. One of the girls answered the question by saying that a thermostat produced heat. Mrs. Messler explained that a thermostat does not produce heat, it only measures heat. When the girl got upset, Mrs. Messler reminded her that "we don't sweat the small stuff." Later in the discussion the teacher gave the girl an opportunity to provide another answer, which she did correctly.


 * <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.) **


 * <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: ** 03/24/10

While doing a math lesson on the Smart Board dealing with money, one of the students got an answer to a question wrong. Mrs. Messler told them politely that the answer was not right. Instead of having the student sit down, she asked the other students to help the student at the board with the question. The class discussed why the answer was not correct, and found the right answer together.
 * <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.) **

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= Lesson Plan and Analysis Upload your lesson plan and analysis and put links to them in this section. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> (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. = <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 24pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 24pt;"> Back to Syllabus and Contents List

= Resume = Upload your resume and put a link to it in 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.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Work with an individual or group of students **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Description: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> In my field experience, I often worked with a small group of students on math assignments. The three students that I worked with either had trouble paying attention during math, or they had trouble understanding the subject. I would stay in the classroom with the teacher and the three students would come to a back table to work with me. Mrs. Messler would teach the rest of the group math. The students that I worked with would complete the same assignment that the rest of the class would, they would just receive extra assistance from me. This was only the second time that I worked with this group of students. I was just beginning to figure out the best way to present the information to the students, and they were still getting used to me. On this particular day, I felt that I learned the most about how these three students learned.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Analysis: ** I quickly found that some of the students that I had in the group had a low understanding for math concepts. One of the students was actually quite efficient in math, but he had trouble concentrating during math lessons. This student finished his assignment in less than five minutes. After he was done he grew impatient with me helping the other two students and would often whisper the answers to them. He did this for awhile, then I had him move further away from the students who needed help and he worked on another assignment for math. The other two students were visual learners. When we were working on addition problems, I drew out a number line for them. This number line seemed to help their understanding of math. One of the students caught on quickly with the use of the number line. The other student required a little more assistance, but showed signs of comprehension.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Reflection: ** I was happy with how I worked with this group. Initially, I felt a little overwhelmed because they each had specific problems that needed to be addressed. After a few minutes, I figured out an efficient way to work with the students. It would have been helpful for me to know the level of knowledge that these students had in math. One student did well in math, one student struggled and another student had a very low understanding of math. For example, if I had known that the student with the attention problem performed very well in math, I could have prepared extra problems for him to do. This was a good experience for me because each year I will have little knowledge of how my new students learn. I will have to figure out the best way to teach them, much like I did with this small group.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Your creation of a bulletin board or PowerPoint or your use of the internet for researching material for a lesson **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Description: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> The students were preparing for a music concert they were having that week. The students prepared for this concert by learning about music in the classroom. On this day, they were working on journal entries about music. In the journal entries, they were asked to answer three questions (what does music mean to you, what type of music do you listen to, and who do you listen to music with?). These journal entries would be edited and displayed in the hallway. I was asked to do a poster board that would hang in the hallway along with the student's journal entries. The theme of the poster was "What does music mean to you?"


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Analysis: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Mrs. Messler showed me to the room where they kept poster board and letter cutters were. I picked out a green poster board and then cut out the letters and musical notes. She had been teaching the students the correct punctuation and spelling, so she asked that I use the right capitalization and punctuation in the words. I arranged the words in a way that I thought was interesting, then added music notes to the board as well.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Reflection: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> This project was pretty straight forward. In the future, I do not think I would change how I approached making this poster board. The teacher was happy with my work and it went well with the student's journal entries in the hallway display.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The lesson you cooperatively teach with the Field Based Supervisor **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Description: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> The students had recently started working on 'Reading Counts' books. The books that were labeled 'Reading Counts' were programmed into computer software that the teacher could access in the classroom. Each Reading Counts book had a quiz that went with it in the computer program. The students had been reading these books and taking the quizzes on the Smart Board. On this day, Mrs. Messler asked me to pick out a Reading Counts book to read to the classroom. I would give them the quiz after I read the book.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Analysis: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> When I was choosing a book, I wanted something that would be relevant to what the students were doing in class. I ended up picking a book titled //The Secret Science Project that Almost Ate the School// by Judy Sierra. Mrs. Messler had planned a science experiment for that afternoon, so I felt the book correlated with her lesson well. The vocabulary in the book was a little above the first grade level, but Mrs. Messler thought that would be good for them. The book had a rhyme and rhythm that was fun for the students to listen to. After reading the book, I gave the students the quiz.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Reflection: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> As I stated above, I was worried that the vocabulary would be too hard for the students to understand. I figured that this would be apparent when we took the quiz. To my surprise, the students got nine out of the ten questions right on the quiz. This experience taught me a valuable lesson about teaching. I learned that I should not be afraid to challenge my students. I could have chosen an easier book that I knew the students would understand, but Mrs. Messler encouraged me to use a book that would help them learn. Mrs. Messler gave me a helpful suggestion, and I am glad I listened to her.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">An observation/interaction of your choice **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Description: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Mrs. Messler tests her students on their sight reading words a few times through the year to see how they are progressing in their reading. When I first started my field experience, I had the opportunity to help her test the students. The tests involved students going through a list of words.They had only a few seconds to identify the word before moving on. I had to keep a record of which words they missed.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Analysis: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> This task was helpful to me because I got to know the student's names and their approximate level of reading. I worked with each student individually, so I was able to tell their strengths and weaknesses in reading. Mrs. Messler has reading groups in her class. I worked through these groups for the testing. It was interesting to see the progression of readers in this grade.

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 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Reflection: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> I was very happy I got the opportunity to test these students on their sight reading words. The process of testing them allowed me to see the different levels of reading there can be in one classroom. One student had a traumatic brain injury as a young child. He has extreme struggles with reading and writing. When I tested him, he only recognized two words out of the hundred or so that were listed. Another student in the class could read well above her grade level, and recognized every word. These tests helped me to realize the gap that can be found in all classrooms. It will be my job as a teacher to figure out how to teach every student at every level. I felt that this was a helpful experience for me to have.

= 30 hours of field-based classroom participation = 15 min. || In the morning, I read another book to the students and I helped the teacher tape a lesson for her National Board Certification. In the afternoon, I worked with the remainder of the students on their writing. After their writing was edited, I helped the students rewrite their journal entries for a hall display on music. || 15 min. || I read a book to the students, tested them over it and helped a small group of students with math. || 20 min. || I taught a lesson on the book //George Shrinks// by William Joyce. My lesson was about how the long e sound was used in the book. We made a word web on the Smart board and completed two worksheets on the Smart board. After my lesson I worked with a small group of students on Math assignments. ||
 * **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.... ** ||
 * 02/25 || 3hrs. || In the morning the students had reading and math. I got the opportunity to help four of the students with their writing skills. ||
 * 03/04 || 3hrs. || This morning I had the opportunity to work with a group of students for about 15 minutes in Math. These particular students struggle with math, so this was a good opportunity for me to work with these students. ||
 * 03/08 || 7hrs. 15min. || In the morning, I got to read to the children and help the teacher give them a Reading Counts quiz over the book I chose. I also made a poster board for the teacher for a unit on music. In the afternoon, I began to work with the students in groups of 2-3 to help them with their writing. ||
 * 03/09 || 7 hrs.
 * 03/18 || 3 hrs.
 * 3/24 || 3 hrs.
 * 4/15 || 3 hrs. 20 min. || Today was my last day. I listened to the students practice their poems for their poetry unit. I also worked with a small group on their Math assignment. ||

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