Kaitlyn McNamara

Professor Manion
EDR 318
Spring 2017 - Final Reflection Paper

PART 1 (10 points)

Rate yourself in the following areas using the following rubric. Then, discuss your
performance/development in each area with SPECIFIC EXAMPLES from your classroom placement.
Finally, discuss any goals you have for each area as you prepare for student teaching.
EXEMPLARY performed above and beyond expectations
SOLID consistently met expectations
DEVELOPING still working to meet expectations

o Exhibits professional demeanor- arrives on-time, dresses appropriately, has good attendance, stays for
the expected time, follows rules and procedures of school and classroom, engages in appropriate
speech, etc. SOLID
I arrived thirty minutes earlier than expected every day. I maintained a professional demeanor in the
classroom at all times. I dressed appropriately and carried myself as a certified teacher. At Worrall the
fourth grade went to special at 11:15 but my field placement went until 11:50. Depending on the day
and my mentor teacher, I would either accompany the students to their special or I would do any work
my mentor teacher needed help with.

o Consistently asks for and receives feedback appropriately, and acts on suggestions SOLID
I routinely met with my mentor teacher and discussed ways to improve my lesson. My mentor teacher
and I had a relationship where during teaching we would almost co-teach. So during the lesson she
would walk over to me and give me suggestions. I believe this really helped me in the moment and
then in future lessons I would look to act on those suggestions. For example, during one lesson my
students were very tired and they were not participating as expected; my teacher suggested having them
all stand up and do jumping jacks. It worked so well and really helped the lesson move along smoothly.
In future lessons, if my students are sluggish and not responding well I would do some sort of short
activity to get them actively participating.

o Takes initiative in the classroom SOLID

From day one I was very involved in the classroom. Whether it was asking my mentor teacher for
assistance or monitoring the room. I would even ask my mentor teacher if I could pull students to the
back table for one-on-one assistance if I felt they needed it. I would always be monitoring the
classroom and assisting students when they raised their hand. I became so involved that students
starting coming to me specifically for questions or guidance.

o Demonstrates a professional relationship with the mentor teacher through behaviors such as respect,
courtesy, professional communication, and confidentiality EXEMPLARY
As an education major at West Chester I have been in numerous classrooms but none have compared to
this field experience. My mentor teacher and I had a relationship that was spectacular. She was very
 laid back and let me always be involved and teach. She had so much confidence in me that I cannot
thank her enough for. She and I would talk about students, grades and lessons. We respected one
another and I really looked up to her. I would come to her with questions and I was always eager to
learn from her. I thought she was a great teacher with a lot of experience. She was so willing to help me
that I was so willing to ask for help. For example, I noticed from day one how amazing her classroom
management was. I would sit down with her and ask her where she learned her strategies and what
specifically she would do. She told me to pay attention to the teachers I observe and to take little things
from each one to create my own style of teaching. I was so in awe at her classroom management that I
want to mimic it in my own classroom. She told me she treats all students with respect and as if they
were her age. She did not treat them like eight year olds. I loved this idea because I saw it work and I
saw how much they respected her for that.

o Prepares developmentally appropriate and engaging lessons, materials, assessments, etc. SOLID
This year I planned and taught many lessons. Most lessons went really well. I observed my students
meet objectives and standards. Students were engaged and were taught new games or assessments. I
tried to be creative with lessons but stay consistent with how my mentor teacher delivers lessons. This
is an area I think I can always improve on. One lesson this semester did not go as planned. I had to
make adjustments in the moment and it was stressful but I learned the most from that failed lesson than
all the great lessons. That failed lesson taught me to be flexible and creative in the moment. I believe
this a profession where we need to have many back up plans. We do not how students will respond so
being flexible and creatively thinking constantly is important.

o Successfully implements lessons with effective instruction, assessment, and classroom management
SOLID
Over the course of this field placement I have grown in this area. I went from teaching lessons where
my mentor teacher would deal with classroom management to lessons where I completely had control.
I learned from my mentor teacher how to deal with classroom management. I tried implementing
different strategies. Before this semester I struggled with discipline. I would just let things go because I
did not want to be the mean teacher. I learned from my mentor teacher to not call students out in the
middle of the class but rather pull the student aside during independent work. I was not challenged so
much in this classroom because my mentor teacher already set up a classroom of mutual respect.

o Maintains professional relationships with the students by demonstrating behaviors such as professional
boundaries, acceptance of individual differences, and respect for all students SOLID
When working with my fourth grade students I maintained a professional relationship with all students.
I respected each student and accepted his or her differences. In the class we had two ELL students, one
spoke great English but the other was still learning. I made sure they were always actively listening and
participating. I wanted to make sure they were not lost and understood all directions.

o Knowledge of content area and literacy content, pedagogy, and standards SOLID
As a math concentration I am fully knowledgeable of the content and knew different strategies to solve
problems. I struggled a little bit with the grammar portion. In the morning I would review the grammar
lesson of the day to make sure I could assist students correctly. This is something I can always improve
on because I need to know all subjects when teaching a fourth grade class. I learned a lot of new
grammar rules this semester.
o Shows respect for all students as learners by demonstrating behaviors such as: communicating
appropriate high expectations; motivating students; holding students accountable for achievements and
behaviors; differentiating instruction and assessments SOLID
I believe I did a solid job this semester motivating students and communicating my expectations. I
would always tell them what we were doing for the day and what the goal was. I encouraged them and
challenged them, which motivated the students. I differentiated well for the ELL students but I need to
learn how to differentiate for gifted students. I struggle with differentiating lessons for them. I
discovered this semester how challenging it is to teach a lesson with all different learners in the room. I
definitely want to learn more about differentiation before student teaching.

o Exhibits ability to evaluate and respond to students' learning needs SOLID

Over the course of the semester I monitored students work and progress and if needed would pull
students to the back table for extra help. When I saw students struggling to keep up with the whole
class instruction I would pull them to the back table and teach them in a smaller setting and answer
their questions. I felt like some students just needed extra attention and therefore, I made the
adjustment for them. My mentor teacher really appreciated me being there for that reason in particular.

Part 2 (5 points)

Discuss at least 3 specific ways that you incorporated literacy into your content area throughout the
semester. Discuss what you did/how you used literacy, how the students responded, how the use of literacy
supported/impacted (or not) your teaching/students learning, etc. What is the most important thing you
learned about literacy in your content area through your practicum experience this semester?

I am a math concentration and I always found it very difficult to incorporate literacy. Over the course of

the semester I learned a lot of new strategies and ways to incorporate literacy. I found that including literacy

was easier when it was in the assessment or anticipatory set. One way I did that was by asking students to make

inferences. For example, in one lesson I was teaching like denominators and introduced it by having them make

inferences as to what they thought that might mean. Students worked with a partner and made inferences. The

students enjoyed talking to a partner and making inferences. All students were engaged and participating. I felt

like the students were able to make a stronger connection to the content because of that introduction.

Another way I incorporated literacy was by creating exit slips. My mentor teacher never used exit slips

with them so I thought that was cool I could introduce that to them. At the end of the lesson I would use an exit

slip that would ask them questions like: How could you use this in every day life? and What connections did
you make to previous lessons? Students were then able to think, analyze and record their answers. I believe

math students need to know why they are learning what they are so having them make those connections really

helps the lesson. The students liked to be creative and fill out the exit cards.

Lastly, I incorporated literacy by including a lot of turn and talks and discussion. In my first week I

observed that math class was very much pencil and paper and lecture. Over the years at West Chester I know

math needs to be a discussion-based class. I started to teach my lessons by including a lot of turn and talks,

partner work and discussions. The students all enjoyed it so much that my lessons would run out of time. I

found myself and the students diving into the lesson and losing track of time. By the end of the semester I was

able to monitor discussion so time was not getting away from me. Students liked the different learning style and

I think it helped students learn from one another. Students were practicing active listening and speaking in a

math classroom and it helped them learn more.